Would you do it?
Probably.
I'm here to say
Back in the day, people used to work
at one place most of their careers.
There was honor in being a company man.
Job-hopping was frowned upon.
A resume filled with short term job positions was equivalent
to someone saying "all my exes are crazy."
A major red flag.
it's estimated that most workers will have
twelve jobs over the course of their lives.
This is partly due to the
pandemic making everyone question everything.
- Are we truly happy with our career?
Or is there another opportunity out there
that's better suited to us and that
would make us feel more fulfilled?
- Luckily for folks like her, job hopping
hasn't just become more common, it's actually
starting to look like a wise move.
This is the concept of strategically quitting.
Funny story, I thought I made
up that phrase, strategic quitting.
I was like, this is the perfect phrase,
the perfect tagline for this video.
There we go.
But then I searched it to make
sure that this hasn't been used before.
I wasn't even close.
In fact, it's way worse than that.
Turns out I read a book in 2019
that uses this phrase repeatedly.
My brain just decided to go with it
and convince me that I invented this term.
I feel betrayed.
So I would like to let everyone know,
including myself apparently, that I did
not invent the phrase "strategic quitting".
But what it means is using some simple tactics for
making the most out of your career and your earnings.
This concept of strategic quitting is broader
than just people quitting their jobs.
But the advice certainly applies to careers.
And it's advice people are taking.
If you look at the numbers,
people are switching jobs in record numbers.
A survey from 2019, so pre-pandemic, revealed
that nearly half of the respondents had
made a big career shift, like from
marketing to engineering or teaching to finance.
And from those who hadn't,
65% said they were considering it.
And this is before the pandemic hit.
Since then, those statistics have just exploded.
The numbers now say only 14% of Americans feel like they
have a great job and aren't looking to change it.
Well, around 70% are actively looking for
a new gig as we speak.
All that is to say, if you're thinking
about changing jobs or switching to a new field,
you are definitely not alone.
And you might be onto something here.
But here's the thing.
Even if you're not thinking about quitting, it might
be a good idea to start considering it.
You know that old saying,
"Winners never quit and quitters never win"?
It turns out it's total bulls**t.
Winners quit all the time.
It's part of the reason why they're winners.
- Winners quit the right stuff at the right time.
- The difference between when a winner quits
and a quitter quits is one is strategic and one is reactionary.
Basically, the whole idea around strategic quitting is
that in order to meet your fullest potential,
you have to constantly let go of things
that are holding you back.
Stuff that's a dead end.
A job, a relationship, a specific project.
If it's not going anywhere, if you can feel it
draining your resources and your spirit, quit that *** right now.
Quit it.
- Hey, listen, I quit.
- Going back to that book that my brain stole from, "the dip".
Seth Godin writes that,
But hold on, because
The opposite of strategic quitting
is reactive quitting. It's a trap.
One that a lot of us fall for.
It's quitting as a knee-jerk reaction to
something that's hard or makes you angry.
It's not premeditated, it's not beneficial.
And then there's coping.
Think about something that you've attempted
that wasn't quite working out.
Maybe a new side hustle or creative project or friends.
Something that you kept putting effort into and you just
couldn't bring yourself to move on from that, even though
it's draining you of all your life and happiness.
That feeling just kind of trudging through, that's coping, and
all it does is waste your time and energy.
A key element of coping is that
you're convincing yourself that incremental little improvements
make the grind worth it.
As Godin writes,
Really, all of this is about opportunity costs.
By pursuing one option, you're always
by necessity, foregoing something else.
And the sad fact is that we're not always
so great about weighing these kinds of options.
Our brain that often tells us the
wrong choice is the best one.
One of my biggest enemies personally
is the sunk cost fallacy.
Basically, if you've spent a ton of money or time
on something, you think you should just keep doing it
because, hey, look at everything I've spent on this.
That's why the goal should always be to realize when
your current path isn't working out, cutting your losses and
then spending that time and energy somewhere else.
I have the perfect trick for this
that I will explain in a minute.
Because first we need to
redefine this whole quitting thing.
Experts in labor and psychology are gravitating
towards the idea that we should redefine
career as working a shorter time
(think 7 to 12 years) in a given industry,
and then moving on to something else.
Now, there are some obvious
benefits to this, like money.
Some workers increase their salary by 80% simply
by switching over to a new company.
That's insane to me.
Just money sitting there, ready to grab.
But others aren't so obvious.
By leaving before things start to get stale,
you're keeping yourself from getting complacent or bored.
You're helping ensure you're always doing something you love,
or at least something you like.
You're also creating a new and ideally better version
of yourself with each and every job iteration.
And one way to do this is
by diversifying, having a secondary career alongside
your main one to test the waters.
And then maybe at some point down the line,
it could take over your primary gig.
I recently advocated for this for my friend Dan.
Maybe you recognize him from a few of my videos.
I offered him a job a few months back,
but told him to keep his current job to
make sure he likes this new one.
So we did both for a few months before
officially telling me, hey, you're the worst boss I
ever had, and I hate this new job. I'm kidding.
He quit his old job and now went full time.
And he makes more money and gets to
work like this from home every day.
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Basically, you can look at having multiple careers in 2 ways,
as an unfortunate reality, or
an opportunity to explore what matters to you
and expand the possibilities of your life.
And let's not forget about the money,
because the numbers here look pretty enticing.
But workers who stay at a company can typically expect a
raise of about 1.3% to 4.5% each year.
Leaving your company for a new job in the same field
can mean a pay increase of 20% to 50%.
Those are typical numbers.
That means the average worker could instantly
make $10,000 to $30,000 more each year.
And this goes for business owners, too.
I've owned businesses my whole life, and what
I've done is constantly keep my eye out
for the next 10X opportunity.
I had a pool cleaning company.
Then I had a moving company.
And then I started exploring media.
I'm going to try to learn how to spin a pen
On each and every switch, I kept my current gig, at least until
I confirmed I could make ten times more
money than the one I was giving up.
And not everything works, within this progression
is probably a dozen or so things
I tried and realized wouldn't work.
So I quit and then moved on to something else.
Also, my tip from earlier to
battle the sunk costs fallacy,
What I do is ask myself,
If the answer is no, it's time to get out immediately.
Now, if you're digging this idea and ready to start
making some moves,
First, if you're moving into a
different field, don't be deterred by what you don't know.
Here's a hint, no one knows what they're doing at first.
This might be a frowned upon story, but
I had that pool cleaning business, right?
Well, the very first time I ever cleaned a pool period
was for a client who was paying me to do so.
I was literally there at their pool looking
at notes and bookmarks about what to do. And guess what?
I ended up building that business and
selling it for over six figures, like
three years after that very first job.
Plus, check this out.
A survey of recruiters found that about 70% of
employers are willing to train the right candidate.
You don't need to know everything.
And if you're not sure exactly what kind of career
you should go for, it's worth checking out the fastest
growing occupation, stuff that's in high demand because it's going
to be easier to get a job.
It's also worth aiming towards a field or
organization that aligns with your core values, the
kind of stuff that you really care about.
Research shows that the top predictor of
career satisfaction isn't paid, but the culture
and values of that organization.
Then, when you're actually in the process of
going after that new gig, especially if it's
in a new field, focus on transferable skills
for your resume and for interviews.
Think stuff like customer service, problem solving,
collaboration and communication, and have some examples
of those skills ready to go.
Anecdotes or specific examples of
those skills in action.
Maybe the time you set your workplace on fire in
order to make sure everyone knows the proper procedures.
Okay, that's an episode of The Office.
Another thing, don't be afraid of learning new skills.
It might seem daunting, but going back to
school, getting a certification, or otherwise investing in
your own education can really pay off here.
Skills seriously do pay the bills.
I like the quote from Alvin Toffler, who said,
Now, lastly, don't feel like you need
to do this all at once.
The average worker takes almost a full year to
consider their options before making a career change.
Researchers say the worst time to quit is when
you're actively feeling the most difficulty from your job.
So if you're able to take the time
to prepare, plot out your options, and try
to test the new gig before quitting the current.
It's become kind of cliche, but the truth
really is that a lot of people don't
find success until later in life.
Vera Wang, Henry Ford, and Julia Child are
just some of the incredibly successful people who
tried out multiple jobs before landing on the
one where they really, really hit it big.
But I don't want to make this all sound
like it's a walk in the park.
- Strategic quitting is a very dangerous idea when thoughtlessly applied.
- Quitting is hard and extremely scary and
sometimes objectively, not the right move.
So don't do anything rash.
Carefully consider your situation before making any
moves and run the numbers on how
much financial insecurity you can handle,
if things don't pan out.
- I would like you to crunch those numbers again.
- But at the same time, remember
that there's also a massive cost in playing it safe.
Michelangelo says,
Pretty quotes aside, the numbers don't lie.
Almost 90% of people who switch careers
say they're happier after making the move.
So do your your homework.
Think deeply about what you actually want,
dip a toe into a new path, and by the time
you've done it, quitting won't feel like a leap
of faith, but the logical next step.