When is it time to leave your job?

I've been working at a county newspaper for a little less than six months and I'm in a pickle. The paper is going to be cutting back on printing days. Right now we are at six and we're going to four. I graduate this December and get married as well.

(I also heard that the old sports editor left because he didn't want to be the last rat on a sinking ship.)

How bad should it get before you consider to leave a job?

 

Golden Rule- when you’ve found something else

You’ve already seen the signs, it’s time to go

 

'Bad' is subjective and depends on your levels of tolerance, but qtlaw has it about right. Your employers likely won't hesitate to let you go if they feel the need, so spare yourself the anxiety by updating your resume and putting out feelers for more stable positions now. If this is the extent of the cuts or just a temporary reduction, then you'll be ready to move on if/when a better opportunity presents itself; if more cuts come and/or you get laid off, you'll be ready.

Start saving up money for a potential move/stretch of (f)unemployment if you haven't already, and find out how your future spouse feels about relocating to find work. Good luck.

 

Always Be Looking for the next thing. Particularly when you are starting out. Have a plan and put yourself on a "clock" by saying, I'll be at a bigger place in a year, and then a bigger place a year later.

 

Based on what you wrote here, as soon as you have something lined up.

If your company weren't reducing the number of publishing days, the day you begin to feel as though your efforts aren't worth it or you begin to feel demotivated about the job you're doing.

 

I'm a retired dinosaur from a time when journalists actually spent entire careers with one company. That's an era that will never happen again. I was axed five times in 40 years, twice by the same major media conglomerate (the second while sitting in my motorhome on vacation in a South Carolina campground). I also reinvented myself three times -- radio news director, print sportswriter, Internet editor/writer.

Unless you have a signed contract (union or personal) stating specific terms and salary of your employment, job "security" is a myth. The company is under no obligation to give you advance notice of any changes to your employment status. Therefore, you are under no obligation to inform them of your future plans. If you complete the assignments given, you should expect the check won't bounce. That's it. It's little more than a handshake agreement from paycheck to paycheck.

The company doesn't have to give you a valid reason for eliminating your position. In fact, in some right-to-work states, I don't even think they are required to provide severance, although any company that stiffs its employees that way deserves the nastiest form of karma. (I'm looking at you, Quokka.)

However, you have the same right to terminate your service immediately if you want to throw up your hands and walk out of the office on deadline. Giving the company time to find your replacement is totally up to you. Two weeks or a month notice is a professional courtesy, not a requirement. I wanted the references, plus I'm a nice guy, so I always left on a good note -- with the exception of two horrible radio gigs.

With that in mind ...

1. Update your resume regularly.
2. Update your best clips/aircheck regularly.
3. Update your references (and make sure they know who they are) regularly.
4. NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK. Everybody knows somebody. It's a connected world.
5. Check SJ jobs/Journalism Jobs on a daily or weekly basis.
6. No job opening is too lofty or out of reach. Apply. You never know what might happen.

The only person holding you back from advancing your career is you. Don't be afraid to back away from a bad situation before it gets worse. And it will always get worse.

EDITED: And I'd give this advice to anyone in any field right now. Banking, health care, tech, you name it: nobody's safe from mergers and buyouts, particularly if you can be replaced by someone younger and cheaper.

Good luck. All the best.

-- Mark

 

When they tell you you're fired.

 

Remember to stay good at your job. Beat them, don’t let them beat you.

Any bad attitude you have at your current job WILL show in an interview. That won’t necessarily knock you out of the running, but it may hurt your chances at places worth staying.

 

Yesterday.

 

Adding on to Maumann's list: Regularly download your source list and any potentially usefull or relevant items on your company computer to a thumb drive. You don't want to be working on a big story that may involve an advertiser or other prominent figure to suddenly go "poof" when you are called to HR unexpectedly.

 

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