6 reasons to change jobs now

Feeling stuck in your career? Changing jobs can be risky — but can also come with a pay bump and exciting new challenges.

• Switching jobs can help you earn more money and take on new career challenges.
• It can also help you avoid getting too comfortable and coasting in a role you know well.
• Even as layoffs sweep corporate America, the US job market is still relatively strong.

It could be time to shake things up in your career.

Switching jobs can be a solid way to earn more money, gain new skills and experience, and take on a fresh challenge. And despite both economists' warnings that a recession is looming and the layoffs that are sweeping tech and finance, the US job market is still pretty strong.

Now, if you're feeling stuck at work, quitting is rarely the only way to improve your work experience. And the risk associated with changing jobs depends on how many openings there are in your industry right now.

But if you're itching for a change and you feel you've outgrown your current workplace, a new gig could be the career boost you need. Below we've outlined some of the most compelling reasons to make a move. Ultimately, the decision is yours.

You're coasting — and it's becoming a problem

When we find comfort in anything, be it a job, relationship, or academia, there tends to be a period of time where individuals use that moment to coast (or quiet quit, to use the buzzword du jour).

Avery Roth, a career-change coach, has seen many working professionals find their comfort zone and stay in it. She said the longer professionals coast, the more they have to lose.

"Coasting keeps you playing small and avoiding the fulfillment of your potential," Roth told Insider. "While that may not seem immediately threatening, there will come a time when comfort with your job turns into boredom."

Roth warns that the longer you stay put, the more energy is required to spur you into action in pursuit of self-growth. Her advice is simple: Act now by changing careers to avoid pain later.

Damian Birkel, founder of job-searching organization Professionals in Transition, echoed Roth's sentiments about coasting leading to boredom. He also noted that your coasting might not be going unnoticed. Birkel said your boss and coworkers may already know what is happening simply by observation.

You're losing money staying in the same job

Workers who switched jobs during the Great Resignation — what some economists are calling the increased rate of Americans changing jobs — are earning more than their peers who stayed put, Insider's Aki Ito reported in May. According to the compensation data provider LaborIQ, salaries for new hires are about 7% higher on average than the median pay for people who already have similar roles.

This isn't an entirely new phenomenon. A 2017 Nomura analysis found that people who had changed jobs earned roughly 1% more year over year than people who stayed with the same employer. Job switchers tend to earn less than those who stick with their jobs in tough economies but earn more in stronger economies, Ito reported.

In general, "switching jobs is one of the best ways to make more money," Nick Bunker, the economic-research director for North America at Indeed's Hiring Lab, told Insider in June 2021.

You're missing an opportunity to challenge yourself

Christian Eilers, a career expert at online resume builder Zety, believes the best time to change jobs is not when you feel an urgent need for a change.

Often when one feels pressured to find a new job, Eilers said, they will be more likely to accept mediocre offers and lower their requirements to get out of an existing position.

"Many candidates sleep through this moment," Eilers said. "They stop advancing in their positions. Eventually, they find themselves in a place where they urgently need a new job."

Rather than accept a role less than your worth, Eilers urges professionals to switch to roles that challenge them. This is, ultimately, an investment in your future — provided you're able to take that kind of career gamble.

Dane Holmes, the former head of human capital at Goldman Sachs, previously told Insider that he evaluates new job opportunities based on how much of a challenge they offer him. And tech-industry exec Libby Leffler previously told Insider that she's always been drawn to roles that "gave me the chance to learn as much as I could, and gave me the opportunity to learn something new."

"People who quickly learn new skills and gain experience from various places and situations are more easily adapted to the professions of the future," Eilers said. (Talent professionals call this trait adaptability.) "Settling down for a longer time without challenges and stimulation makes you stop learning and aiming for more."

You may be secretly 'gratitude shaming' yourself

According to career coach Lisa Lewis, "gratitude shaming" is when you beat yourself up about not appreciating what you already have. It also minimizes your deep-seated desire for more. You may have an internal monologue that begs you to be happy where you are and what you have, even at the cost of wanting more.

"When you weaponize gratitude against yourself, it sends your brain the message that your ambition, hunger for growth, and desire to contribute on a bigger scale isn't valid," Lewis told Insider.

Rather than gratitude shame, Lewis advises understanding which of your four categories of core workplace needs that are not being fulfilled. This includes asking yourself:

• Does this role use my portfolio of strengths?
• Does it align with my areas of interest?
• Does the culture of the organization match my personality?
• Does this role enable the lifestyle I want?

"When one of the four needs isn't being met, it's a great moment to explore what other jobs are out there," Lewis said. "Your gut will tell you if you're in a season where you're craving a bigger challenge and change. Don't ignore that feeling."

Your skills and passions are no longer critical to your employer

Patty McCord, an HR consultant who was Netflix's first chief talent officer, previously shared with Insider a framework that professionals can use to figure out whether to leave their job. (She originally shared the framework in her 2018 book, "Powerful," as a way for managers to determine whether to keep an employee.)

Is this what the person loves to do, that they're extraordinarily good at doing, something we need someone to be great at?

If the answer to the third question — or any of the questions — is no, you may want to start considering your next move.

It's time to do what makes you happy

For years, life purpose and career coach Gracie Miller has helped people change jobs even if they weren't sure they were ready for it. Miller finds that her clients do somewhat like their jobs, but feel like something is missing. They often find they don't use a lot of their skills, are no longer interested in the work, and wish they could help people and find deeper fulfillment.

What these clients come to terms with is the realization that they wish they had found careers that paid for their bills and lit them up inside sooner. Miller discovers that it's not always about wanting to change jobs for the sake of changing jobs. It's the uncertainty that something better exists or that it does exist but you may not get it.

"It's worth the risk to go for long-term happiness," Miller said. "You have to act on the fact that deep down you know you could be more fulfilled."

The trick, Miller said, is to do some self-discovery and research. Rather than look at the same terms in your current role, seek out fields of interest to find careers that might be a better fit. The happiness will ultimately go further than impacting your own sense of self.

"You will be happier for it, and your family, friends, and coworkers will be happier to be around you," she said.

An earlier version of this story appeared on May 14, 2019.