I Must Be Crazy - One Year Ago, I Quit My Job

Almost exactly one year ago I quit my job – a lucrative role in a major, international energy infrastructure company. I’m pretty sure most people thought I was crazy. 

My hometown was experiencing a significant economic downturn and a high unemployment rate. They said finding a new job wouldn’t be easy. The company I worked for was going through a major reorganization and laying people off. They said I was a fool if I didn’t wait to get a severance package or a new role within the company. I had a salary in the top of range for my profession with bonuses, RRSP matching, and shares. They said I wouldn’t be paid that well again. 

They were right. But so was I. 

I’ve been asked by everyone why I would choose to leave my job and dive into dark uncertainty. The simple response is that I was unhappy. It was no one’s fault, but I had been through a series of changes in the organization that left me feeling frustrated and disengaged. The constant reorganizations, redefinition of my role, and watching my friends and colleagues being laid off had taken its toll on me. The big wakeup call came one morning when I was riding the bus into work. I saw my stop approaching and instead of getting up to depart the bus, I froze. I started crying. In public. On public transit. (Little tip – if you can’t identify the unstable person on the bus, it’s you.) 

I’m a person who laughs loudly in public, who waves embarrassingly at people I know in public, who says hello to anyone who makes awkward eye contact in public. I did not want to be the person that sat on the back of the bus red-faced and with angst-ridden tears at 7:10 a.m. in public. So I started looking at my options and thinking about the future I wanted. How to get back to being me. 

Step one was careful financial planning. I knew I both needed some time to recover and also that finding a job can take months. I had to ensure I could afford to take care of myself in the interim. I decided how much I would need saved to live unemployed for up to a year. Fortunately, I received great financial advice early in my career and always had a year’s worth of savings tucked away in case of emergency. (I dusted off some old business cards and took on select freelance communications work to keep my skills sharp and my debit card from overdraft too.) 

Once I knew how much I needed, step two was calculating the optimal time to leave. I wanted to leave my open projects as organized and complete as possible as I knew my transition would affect my colleagues more than the company. I wanted to leave my leaders and team more than two weeks’ notice so we could plan for the transition, resolve any outstanding questions and look at the best options for resourcing my role. And I had purchased vacation days – a cost I would not recover if I left before using them.

Step three on the list was nothing. It was deliberately leaving time to process and let it go. Admittedly, this took much longer than I thought. I was anticipating being ready for a new career adventure by the fall, but it wasn’t until nine months after quitting that I truly felt excited and more importantly optimistic about a new career challenge. I've spent a lot of time working on projects that are meaningful to me, like starting a new volunteer role and learning valuable skills along the way.

Step four is now – embracing a new adventure. I have genuinely enjoyed interviewing at organizations, learning about their corporate cultures and meeting their teams. I have enjoyed being able to consider what working environment will work for me. I’m excited to meet new colleagues, work to show my value, and bring my positive energy to the team. But it has also made me miss my friends and colleagues. The amazing people I worked with were not the reason I left. In fact, they were the reason I stayed – the reason I thrived. Honestly, there were very few times I regretted my decision to quit.

I am forever grateful to my supportive network of coworkers that have turned into lifelong friends and mentors. Their belief in me restored my resolve on that handful of tough days where I doubted myself.

In the end, the naysayers were right. Finding a new job has not been easy, but I’m focused on finding the right job for me. Financially speaking, getting laid off would have been better. But sticking around in the hopes of being let go was not better than choosing my own happiness. And no, I will likely not be paid that well again, but I’m looking to be paid enough to meet my needs in a role that lets me be well. 

In the end, I did what was right for me. And I have no regrets.