The Best Time to Leave Your Job

People remember your exit, not your entrance.

The best time to leave your job is when you are at your high.

I have over two decades worth of work experience. I’ve worked in coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores, law firms, accounting firms, and tech companies. No matter where I worked, it was never a good thing when someone left or quit when things were bad.

On the flip side, I also witnessed many folks who left companies when they were at their high, ie. when things were great - they were making change at the company, they had an excellent reputation, they seemed happy in their role, they were making progress. Whether they purposely meant to leave at that point or it was just happenstance, it seemed like a good choice that only benefited them after.

We are human. Over time, we lose momentum and inspiration. We become complacent. We lose a little bit of that spark to grow and push further. We are less challenged over time. Things become routine at work - they’re on autopilot. We get bored. And eventually, people around us see our indifference and lack of enthusiasm. That’s the moment where we’ve tipped over our high (over the peak) and started to head downhill.

I remember working at Starbucks (eons ago). We had this amazing store manager who you could tell was really good at their job. One day, he let us know he’d be leaving in two weeks to manage a different store - but things were great at our store, why leave? He moved on to manage a couple more stores, and last I heard, he became the district manager, and then eventually the regional manager. People recognized his work ethic and reputation.

I also remember working with a shift lead at Starbucks. He was great, but eventually must’ve got tired of it. He still clung to the job, but you could see his energy levels dwindle. One day something happened, and he ended up rage quitting. I can vaguely remember how great of a shift lead he was, but I distinctly and vividly remember his last few weeks of work where he was always annoyed and a pain in the ass to be around.

Leaving a company when you hit the bottom of that hill is no fun for anyone. You’re constantly in a negative emotion state. You’ve lost your umph. And you’ve tainted your otherwise positive reputation. When you leave, those last few months are what your coworkers will remember of you. People remember your exit, not your entrance.

Let me be clear… working somewhere is not always uphill. You’ll have good days, and you’ll have bad days. You’ll have days when you’re grateful to be there, and you’ll have days where you’re like “that’s it, I’m done!” Most of the time, the latter is a phase, and you’re able to work it out and move on from it, still heading upwards towards your highest point. It’s only when that phase, anger, unhappiness is constant that you’ll start to quickly roll down the hill.

If you’re thinking of when the right time to leave your company is, think about where you are mentally and emotionally. Do you still have a few more months or years in you to push through and help make change and progress? Are you still happy and excited about work, your coworkers, the culture, your projects? Or are you constantly burning out and unhappy or indifferent at work? At what point do you think you’ll tip over that peak? Or have you already?

Your reputation is all you have. Don’t taint it.