Jorge Cuadal Calle

If you are an adult of working age, you’ve probably heard about the Great Resignation, whether it’s from the news, social media, your coworkers or friends. 

It’s a worldwide movement that has many of us  leaving our jobs — or wondering whether it’s indeed time for us to go.

In this excerpt from an episode of his WorkLife podcast, organizational psychologist Adam Grant learns what we all should consider first before we quit our jobs:

WorkLife host Adam Grant: Over the past year, millions of people have been quitting their jobs.  The Great Resignation has liberated some people from miserable jobs and abusive bosses. But for others, this whole movement has already become the Great Regret.

Before you decide to quit, too, consider the reality that some of the people who resigned last year have decided it was a mistake.

Meet Anthony C. Klotz. Anthony is a management professor at Texas A&M, where he’s an expert on quitting (yes, he even coined the term “The Great Resignation”).

Anthony C. Klotz: Certainly a significant percentage of these individuals who are quitting will experience regret at different times. Because all of a sudden the things, the reasons that you’re leaving sort of melt away once you resign.

Adam: Recently, psychologists followed thousands of people who voluntarily quit their jobs to find out what happened to their well-being over the next decade.  It was the largest and longest study of its kind. And the outcomes weren’t good. Even though people left because they were dissatisfied, they actually became more dissatisfied in their new jobs for over a year afterward.

So how do you know when it’s actually time to go? If you can afford it and you have a depressing job or an abusive boss, run for the hills!

But if your work is bearable, it’s harder to decide when — and how — to leave. Whatever job or industry you’re in, evidence suggests that before you quit, it’s worth considering three factors: Voice, Loyalty, and Alternatives.

The first question is Voice: Do you have a say in improving your current situation?

Anthony: Companies are very keen to help employees job craft, and turn the job they have into the job they want. And so if you’re leaving because you don’t like one thing in your job or you don’t like 20 percent of your job, bring that 20 percent to your boss or to your HR manager and say, “Is there a way that I can improve this rather than going to another organization where you get rid of the 20 percent of your job that you don’t like and you get over to that company and you’re like, ‘Ah, they don’t have that problem [but] they’ve just got these five other problems that I didn’t consider?’”

Adam: If Voice doesn’t improve your experience, the next question is Loyalty. Do you care enough about the organization’s mission and the people to stick around?

If the answer is No, then it’s time to consider whether you have compelling Alternatives.  Along with the factors pushing you away from your current job, are there viable options that you feel pulled toward? Are you drawn to a more interesting role, a great mentor or a better learning culture? This past year, I’ve noticed some people not really considering their Alternatives before walking away.

But Anthony pointed out to me that alternatives are more readily available now than they were before.

Anthony: I should say, there’s a lot of opportunities for gig work. There’s a lot of opportunities to make some money online. And so I think what happened during the pandemic was this forced minimization [and] a lot of the expenses that we had prior to the pandemic went away. A lot of individuals are not bringing those expenses back into their life, and they’re saying, “I’ve got a little bit of money saved for some period of time, and so I want to take a break because I’m burnt out or I want to pursue some other venture for a little while.”

Don’t miss this season of Adam Grant’s WorkLife podcast! So far, episodes have covered leadership lessons that we can all learn from Zelensky and Putin, the importance of flexibility at work (and what it really means), and how the one-and-only Dolly Parton (yes, Adam talked to her!) avoids burnout. 

Watch his latest TED Talk — all about beating the blahs — here:

…

This piece was adapted for TED-Ed from this Ideas article.

Thoka Maer

It’s believed that the average recruiter or hiring manager will look at your resume for only 6 seconds before making a decision.

While that’s a daunting statistic, there are plenty of things you can do to make those 6 seconds count, says career coach and former recruiter Gail Tolstoi-Miller.

Here’s her advice:

Tailor your resume to each job you apply for

Submitting hundreds of resumes and waiting to see what sticks won’t work — applying for a job is about quality and not quantity, according to Tolstoi-Miller. “There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume,” she explains. “Do your research — look at the job description, go on LinkedIn and look up other people who have been in the job. The more targeted you are, the better off you are.”

And while you can’t change your employment experience — where you worked or what title you held — you can change which of your skills, responsibilities and achievements you choose to highlight.

There’s no right length for resumes

There is no hard and fast rule about length, but please exercise your judgement and restraint (remember that 6-second figure). Most resumes are 2 pages, but for a recent college graduate a single page is fine, and for someone with a 30-year career who’s had jobs at multiple organizations, 3 pages might be more appropriate.

Make its info as easy to absorb as possible

At the top, put a 3 – 4 sentence summary that outlines your work experience and what stage you’re at in your career. This should align with the description of the job you’re applying for.

Next, you want an attention-grabbing bulleted list of skills. While you’re always writing for a human audience, some parts of the recruitment process are automated. “Some recruiters will look at every single resume that goes through the system; other recruiters will just go by what the applicant tracking system will tell them,” says Tolstoi-Miller. “If the application is not ranked at a certain percentage, they’re going to not even give that person the time of day.”

For your human audience, write down all of your relevant skills — emphasis on all. Tolstoi-Miller explains, “Sometimes I see candidates assume ‘Oh, they’re going to know I can do this’, but she could have very little experience with the job you’re applying for and may have no idea how it actually works. Never assume that they know.”

Then, for your automated audience, put in multiple keywords in your skill list to ensure tracking systems pick you up. To identify the keywords, think about how you’d search for this specific role in a database. For example, if you work in HR and use payroll software, list the exact kind that you’ve worked with. Also, consider including  phrases that appear in the job description as these might contain keywords that the recruiter will use.

If you’ve been laid off due to COVID-19 or done short-term contract gigs, it’s OK to note this in your resume

Recruiters are wary of so-called “job hoppers” — people who change jobs frequently, according to Tolstoi-Miller. However, this can be unavoidable in the current economy. Her advice: “To alleviate any kind of bias against job hopping, in your resume put in parentheses next to the job ‘company closed’ or ‘contract position’ or ‘downsizing due to COVID-19.’” Even if you worked at an organization or business that went through a public closing or bankruptcy, still do this. You can’t assume that the recruiter or hiring manager will know; like any other person, they have their own blind spots and anything you can do to alleviate those can help you.

Don’t overlook your accomplishments

Remember to list your awards and accomplishments on your resume. “A lot of candidates have a very difficult time speaking to their accomplishments,” says Tolstoi-Miller. “But there’s always something you have done that has helped the organization, and that’s why companies should hire you. If you’re an administrative assistant, for instance, your accomplishments might be efficiency or time management.” She adds, “There are so many other people with the same skills, so what sets you apart? What makes you great?”

Wait, you’re not done! Keep your LinkedIn profile current, too

As opposed to a resume, Tolstoi-Miller says, “The thing with LinkedIn is that you have to do a one-size-fits-all — that’s the challenge. So your profile should reflect the job you really, really want. It should also serve as an extension of your resume. You might show more of your personality or dive a little deeper into some other things that you didn’t have space for in your resume.”

A few housekeeping notes: Many employers will compare your resume to your LinkedIn profile, so the dates and details should match. You should also ensure you have a recent photo, as employers may be wary if you don’t.

Besides overhauling your LinkedIn profile, “you can find other ways to stand out,” says Tolstoi-Miller. Set up a personal website, where you might include a video featuring you. After reviewing thousands of job applications in her career, Tolstoi-Miller finds touches like that refreshing. Or, create a business card to give people when you meet them. These can show your personality and also make you memorable.

Which leads to a final point that Tolstoi-Miller wants to stress:

Networking helps

“Your resume means nothing if it won’t get in front of the right people,” she says. “Recruiters may call you if you have a great resume, but what is going to get you the job is taking it a step further — taking control, networking and reaching out to people that are in a position to hire.”

Watch her TEDxLincolnSquare talk here:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Halton is Assistant Ideas Editor at TED, and a science journalist based in the Pacific Northwest.

This post was originally published on TED Ideas. It’s part of the “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community; browse through all the posts here.