- So I think most lawyers can relate to the feeling
after a rough day, week, or month at their job,
I gotta get out, and it's so tempting
to want to leave immediately, without an exit plan.
And there are some cases where that's the right thing to do
but usually, it's a little trickier to figure out
if you can stay or if you really should get out.
So stay tuned and I'll walk you through
my top 10 signs that you can factor
into your decision as to whether
or not you need to leave ASAP.
So welcome back.
If you're new here, I'm Annie Little
I'm a former lawyer turned career coach
and I created this channel for lawyers who are looking
for a practical process to find and land their ideal job.
There are a few absolutes when it comes
to knowing when it's time to quit your job.
So today I'm asking you to channel your inner
Sandra Day O'Connor, so that you can create
and implement your own personal balancing test
to determine where your breaking point is.
But stay tuned for my last two signs that I share
because they're the ones that I tend to think
tell us, you need to quit ASAP.
The first sign that you probably should think
about quitting your job is dread.
Dread, is dread the first thing you feel
when you wake up in the morning?
It's a really common experience for many lawyers.
So if this is something that you've experienced on and off
or maybe it's been more prolonged, you are in good company.
This doesn't mean you should quit your job tomorrow.
What I would love for you to do
is to explore what's at the root of your dread.
Is it the type of work you're doing?
Is it certain people at your job?
Is it your boss, a great way for doing this
is to get yourself a journal or, you know,
just pieces of paper to write down on
or like an app on your phone.
But the point being, when you wake up and you feel
that sense of dread,
write down what you're feeling and why.
One thing that might surprise you is how often
that you're feeling this way.
And when you have a written record of it,
it can be very eyeopening.
Sign number two that you may wanna be leaving your job soon.
There's no room for advancement.
As a lawyer, you're born and bred to be a high achiever.
So if you're in a job
where they take away those opportunities
for you to earn those proverbial gold stars,
it can be demoralizing.
And what this can look like
is people being promoted over you,
getting taken off partner track,
if that's something that you had wanted to do
or maybe you're just being taken for granted.
So if that's the situation you find yourself in,
you're probably noticing that you're not really able
to do your best work in that kind of environment.
So you may wanna consider taking some of the energy
away from feeling so demoralized, for lack of a better word
and channel that energy into looking for a different job
and creating your exit plan.
Sign number three, you're bored and unchallenged.
So listen, you are not the first
nor will you be the last lawyer
to dream of a job that pays well
and doesn't require a whole lot of brain power.
But in reality, if you find yourself in this situation,
you will learn that you are not particularly comfortable
in this type of job.
When you're bored and unchallenged,
you're likely to become stir-crazy.
You're also more likely to become disengaged
from your work and your workplace.
And then your work product
will just naturally suffer as a result.
So if you're bored and unchallenged,
you've probably got some extra energy to dedicate
to putting together an exit plan, finding a job
that's gonna give you that right level of challenge
for you without overwhelming you.
Sign number four, you have zero support or mentorship.
When interviewing for jobs,
you're probably familiar with the phrase, oh yeah,
we have an open door policy.
But what you may find in some jobs
is that an open door policy doesn't really translate
into an open mind, open hearts policy.
This is especially true for women and BIPOC
who find themselves just naturally on the outside
of the old boys club, that is the legal profession.
And it's really no secret
that if you want to move up in an organization,
that you're gonna have a much higher chance of doing that.
If you've got somebody who can take you under their wing
and like guide you up the ladder.
So if you're unable to get that kind of support,
despite asking for it or being promised that,
that can be a really big sign
that you may wanna find a job elsewhere
where they're gonna invest in your future
'cause this is leading to the sign number two,
where there's no opportunity for advancement.
Sign number five, you're underpaid.
Okay, I know we're all underpaid, just in life, in general.
But what I'm talking about here
is when you are objectively being underpaid.
Now, if you've ever experienced this phenomenon
where you come to realize
that you are being paid less than you should be,
you know that it can be beyond distracting
and over the years, I can't even tell you
the number of lawyer clients I've had
who have needed to confront their bosses
about their knowledge that they are being paid less
than people who are junior to them
or who don't have the same performance metrics that they do.
So again, this in and of itself may not
be a reason you to quit the next day, instead, you know,
put it into your Sandra Day O'Connor balancing test.
See how so it fits with the other signs
that you may be seeing or not.
Decide, what's your breaking point?
Sign number six, your health is suffering.
Unfortunately, this is something that I see
with virtually everybody that I work with.
And I remember what it was like
when I was a practicing lawyer as well.
It's really challenging to maintain your mental,
emotional and physical health
while you're working such a demanding job.
What I'm talking about your mental health,
I'm talking about things like experiencing anxiety
or depression or even substance abuse.
Regardless of whether or not you decide to leave your job
because you want to reclaim your mental health.
Please, please reach out to a mental health professional
to get the support that you deserve.
You do not have to feel this way
and you can get relief as soon as possible.
In terms of your emotional wellbeing,
Think about how connected you are
to other people in your life.
Like your family, your friends, your partner,
how's your self-confidence?
Lawyers tend to have surprisingly low
level of self-confidence.
But if you really find yourself
feeling like you're worthless
or you don't have anything to offer,
your emotional health is suffering.
And in terms of your physical health,
think about if you're experiencing
more migraines than you normally would,
is infertility becoming an issue?
That was certainly something that affected me
when I was a practicing lawyer.
High blood pressure is a really common one.
Those are just some things
that I'm drawing your attention to
so that you can factor those in to your decisions.
But for some people, these things
in and of themselves can be enough to realize, okay,
this job is causing these health problems
and I gotta get out ASAP.
Number seven, is that you don't have
any kind of work-life balance.
And that term, work-life balance, is a little,
I don't know, problematic isn't the right word.
But for purposes of this video,
it means you are skewed way more
towards work than you are towards life.
What this can look like is that no matter
how much you're billing in your job,
your job is giving you the message
that it's still not enough.
This can look like your friends and family commenting
on how you're not really present when you're with them
because you're always thinking about work
or you're on call, checking your phone all the time.
You're never unplugged from work.
You're constantly exhausted.
And here's the thing, both work and your life
are going to suffer if you don't unplug once in a while.
And if your job isn't allowing for you to get the rest
and rejuvenation that your mind and body need,
that's a pretty big factor to take into consideration
in terms of how soon you may want to find a new job.
Sign number eight, all you do is complain about your job.
Okay, and this isn't designed to make you feel attacked.
I personally believe in the healing catharsis
of the occasional work bitching sesh,
but the key to this sign is noticing
when it moves from occasional bitching to constant bitching.
And you might start to notice this
when you hear your friends
and family commenting on how all you do is complain,
or okay, you're complaining and complaining
and not doing anything about it, why don't you just quit?
But what tends to be underneath this constant
like compulsion to complain about your job,
or really anything,
is kind of like a deep seated resentment.
And this is usually about stuff that's going on at work.
Maybe your boss, maybe the other people,
but ultimately, it hurts your ability to focus on your job
because you're putting so much energy into this resentment.
If you find yourself in this situation,
really take a close look
at what sort of resentments you're harboring.
And if they're something that you can work through
or if it's something
that you're not gonna be able to work through
and you've gotta start putting that exit plan together
we are coming up on the signs that in my opinion,
tell us that you may want to leave,
even before you have an exit plan lined up.
Sign number nine that you might wanna quit ASAP.
Your boss is a bully.
This is not an absolute,
because for some people they can still function
and put together an exit plan
while navigating this bully of a boss.
But I want you to know that if you find it untenable
and unworkable, to be dealing with this abusive supervisor
while trying to navigate a job search,
you may just need to get out.
So I use the term bully.
You know, some people might say abusive boss,
toxic boss, use whatever term works best for you.
But here's what I'm really talking about
when I say that your boss is a bully.
Your boss belittles you.
The things that your boss says to you
are designed to make you feel small
and less than, and inadequate.
This also looks like your boss
withholding information from you or excluding you
from information that helps you to complete your job.
This looks like them not copying you on emails,
them failing to tell you important deadlines,
excluding you from client conference calls
or client meetings.
This also looks like them throwing you under the bus
with clients or colleagues when it's convenient to them.
This can also look like when your supervisor
claims to be providing constructive criticism
but they're really just delivering personal insults to you.
And these can be sort of cumulative, right?
Like on their own they sting a little bit,
but you can usually get over them.
But when they start to accumulate
and they add up and they're repeated,
that's where we get into like this bullying zone.
Sign number 10, unethical conduct.
This is one situation where I would tell you, get out today.
And I know that feels really scary
if you don't have something else lined up
and you need the money and you need the job,
but hear me out, I promise you,
it's going to feel much scarier
when your law license is in jeopardy
because you are seen as a participant
in the unethical conduct of your boss
or your greater organization.
Basically, anything that your professional responsibility
professor would get fired up about,
those are the things that should be setting off
your personal ethics alarms
and you should really get out as soon as possible.
So I hope those signs have been illuminating for you.
And like I said at the beginning of this video,
think of it in terms of what would Justice O'Connor do?
she would have a balancing test
where you would weigh these factors against each other.
Is this really unbearable and something
where I need to just walk out the door tomorrow?
Or is this something where, yes,
it feels unbearable and it's awful.
And I know I wanna quit
but I'm gonna put an exit plan in place first.
So if you find yourself in a situation
where you are ready to create your exit plan
and find a better job,
check out my free masterclass, three simple strategies
for uncovering any lawyer's transferable skills
and that's gonna help you communicate the value
of your experience and skills to a new and better employer,
so we can get you out of this crappy job.
(upbeat music)