On Job Change

I am starting this series called Job Hunt series. It is all about what I often hear, what I have experienced, what I have learnt and been taught by some seniors regarding job hunt. I am writing this for the benefit of people who are new to job hunt, who have difficulties in changing jobs, and who have not handled interviews/job hunts in a long time. Each of these posts may or may not be based completely on my personal experience, but the idea is to give the best of what I know.

We all keep hearing 'Change is the only constant' and such high-concepts, basic principles, quite often in our social, professional, and personal spheres. For some strange reason, we forget these when we actually go ahead with a decision; more so, when we change jobs.

So, after that roller-coaster ride involving:

deciding to quit your current job,
applying for half-a-dozen jobs a day,
fervently waiting for the next phone call to be from a recruiter,
answering a series of the same questions in all permutations and combinations,
going through a repeat of the same series with at least half-a-dozen people in your prospective organization,
fielding parallel interviews with at least another company,
negotiating a compensation,
receiving the appointment order,
resigning from your current employment,
waiting for that email from your boss acknowledging/accepting/debating your resignation, discussing/negotiating/fighting your way out of your current employment,
sending an acceptance to the new job offer,
negotiating on a relieving date from your current employer,
awaiting an email stating you are off work on a definite date,
sending an email to the new employer saying when you can join work,
finishing all the responsibilities that your current job involves,
sending professional notifications required,
sending farewell email to all you can think of,
accepting a farewell ( warm or cold, varies on a case-case basis),
finishing the HR formalities with your current employer,
surrendering your identity card,
walking out of the office with a slightly heavy heart ( you cant say why, but it happens anyway),
taking the well-deserved rest/vacation/break ( if you are fortunate, you get a week's time, because your employer would have ensured that you worked till the last ounce of your energy is left; you would mostly have time to manage a very quick break),
finishing the joining formalities in your new work place,
saying a lot of 'Hello' the first day ( you need to have a good work culture where such introductions happen and you feel a part of the team ),
and then sleeping peacefully that day,

you realize most often after say, three weeks of time in your new job that:

- You are not sure why your boss said what he/she said
- Your team treats you an alien
- Your work environment in the earlier place was more comfortable
- You hate the commute to the new office
- Your work involves less/more than what you are used to
- Your colleagues are not your 'types'
- Your growth ladder is not what you thought it was

There could be one or more of these thoughts that visit your mind and it is because we forget the saying: Change is the only constant.

You are not prepared for the change, though you wanted the change and you opted for the change. It is important to remember that any thought listed or unlisted above is okay, and will pass off as a transition mind-state and soon the new place will look better than the old one in at least one way, that is good for you.

The only thought that is totally useless and pointless is : I should have stayed back with my old employer. Beware!!!!! This is a syndrome that happens and has to be wiped off immediately because, if you could have stayed back, you would have. There is no COULD have done, SHOULD have done, after you DID a few changes - and JOB CHANGE is one such change that you should not want to undo.