How to know when it’s time to leave a job
Should you take a fun job with lousy pay, or the soul sucking job with great pay? Should you take a lower level position at a place you really love and believe in, or a leadership role at a company that you don’t? These are the kinds of questions that we all rack our brains on throughout the courses of our careers, and they’re tough. That’s due in part to changing needs and desires throughout our lives, and because on the surface it’s easy to place equal value to what we gain from our careers.
Several years ago, someone I admire was telling me about a framework one of his friends came up with for this problem. I wish I could credit the correct person who came up with it, but all I can do here is say that it wasn’t my idea and you should ask Josh Jones-Dilworth.
The Three Ps are Power, Purpose, and Profit. You evaluate how much you want each of these on scales of 1–10, then rank your current job and prospective jobs. I personally rank these relative to my own experience, not everyone else’s. In other words, 10 is “more profit than I’ve ever made at a job”, not Oprah level. I really wouldn’t know what to do with myself.
How about a real-world example? Years ago I left a really cushy corporate job. The profit was at 10, but the power and purpose were probably only around 4 or 5. What I really wanted at the time was to work for a design agency on cooler and more complex projects, and sharpen my skills. The job I wound up rebalanced these things. I sacrificed some profit by doing that, but I was more than willing, and I never regret having done it.
When I’ve talked to people about the Three P’s they’ve often suggested additions, and I don’t see why not. For instance, Prestige is something you may really crave if your work isn’t respected very much, or if it’s really dull, you may want something with more Pleasure. People can really make or break a job as well. Maybe Prerogative if you feel like autonomy is really important to you. But I think the argument can be made that the balances of the Three Ps will naturally create these other things.