Let me ask you something most career courses never ask:
Should you actually be looking for a new job right now?
Seriously. Before we talk about your resume. Before we talk about LinkedIn.
Before we talk about interviewing. We need to answer the question that comes
BEFORE all of that.
Because here's what I see happen all the time: Someone has a bad week — maybe a
frustrating meeting, a missed promotion, an email that made them feel invisible
— and suddenly they're on job boards at midnight, rage-applying to anything with
a decent title.
Or the opposite: someone's been miserable for months — maybe years — but they
keep telling themselves, "It's not THAT bad," or "I've been here too long to
start over.
Both of these are emotional decisions. And emotional decisions about your career
tend to be expensive.
So before we do anything else — anything — we're going to do what professionals
do: we're going to use a framework.
I created something called the Stay/Go Decision Matrix. It's simple, it's
honest, and it takes about fifteen minutes — but it might save you months of
wasted effort. Here's how it works.
You're going to score your current role across eight dimensions. Not how you
WISH it was. Not how it was when you started. How it is RIGHT NOW, today. Each
one gets a score from one to ten. The eight dimensions are:
One — Fulfillment. Does the actual work feel meaningful to you? Not impressive
to other people. Meaningful to YOU.
Two — Growth Trajectory. Are you learning? Is there a clear path to your next
level? Or are you just doing the same year on repeat?
Three — Compensation. Are you being paid fairly — at or above market rate — for
what you bring?
Four — Culture and Values. Do you respect the people around you? Does the
company actually live its values, or just print them on the wall?
Five — Your Manager. This one's huge. Does your direct manager support you,
advocate for you, and get out of your way? Or are they a daily source of stress?
Six — Work-Life Integration. Can you live the life you want with this job? Think
commute, hours, flexibility, energy when you get home.
Seven — Stability. Is the company healthy? Is your role safe? If there's a
layoff coming, you need to factor that in.
Eight — Industry Relevance. Are you building skills the market values? Or are
you becoming an expert in something only your current company cares about?
Add them up. You'll get a score between eight and eighty.
Now here's the interpretation.
If you scored sixty-five to eighty — honestly — you're probably in a good spot.
Don't blow it up. Instead, focus on improving the one or two dimensions that
scored low. Maybe it's a compensation conversation. Maybe it's a conversation
with your manager about growth.
Forty-five to sixty-four — there are real problems, but they might be fixable.
Start exploring quietly. Network. Research. But don't panic.
Twenty-five to forty-four — multiple areas are failing. It's time to plan a
structured exit. Keep performing, but start building your escape route.
Eight to twenty-four — this role is hurting you. Your career, your health, your
confidence. Get out, but get out strategically. Even urgency requires a plan.
And here's one critical rule: if ANY single dimension scores a three or below,
that's a red flag regardless of your total. A toxic manager — a two out of ten —
can poison an otherwise great role. A company that's about to go under makes
everything else irrelevant.
Before you fill in the matrix, I want you to do something first. I want you to
build a Career Happiness Timeline. Here's what you do.
Get a piece of paper — or open a blank document — and list every significant
role you've held. Every job, every major gig, even volunteer work if it was
meaningful.
For each one, give it a happiness score. One to ten. Based on how you actually
felt during the MAJORITY of your time there. Not the best day. Not the worst
day. The average.
Now plot them on a timeline. Earliest on the left, most recent on the right.
Draw a line connecting the dots. What you're looking for is patterns.
Where are the peaks? What was happening during your happiest work periods? Was
it the people? The independence? The challenge level? The mission?
Where are the valleys? What went wrong? Was it the actual work or was it the
environment?
Do you see cycles? Some people thrive for about three years and then get
restless. That's not a bug — it's data.
And look at the overall trend line. Is it going up, down, or flat? Because a
downward trend means something systemic needs to change. A new job that looks
just like the last one won't fix it.
This timeline doesn't tell you what job to apply for. It tells you what
CONDITIONS you need to be happy at work. And that's way more important.
Now, I want to talk about the single biggest reason people stay in jobs they
should leave. It's called the sunk cost fallacy, and it sounds like this:
I've been here eight years — I can't just throw that away.
I worked so hard to get promoted — walking away now would waste all of that.
My pension vests in two more years — I just need to hang on.
Here's the thing about sunk costs: they're gone. The time you already spent?
It's spent. The promotions you already earned? They're on your resume forever.
Nothing you do now — staying OR leaving — gives you that time back.
The only question that matters is: What do I want to invest my time in GOING
FORWARD? So here's the audit.
Write down every reason you're staying in your current role. Every single one.
Then ask yourself, for each reason: Is this about the PAST or the FUTURE?
I've invested so much time here" — that's the past. Cross it out.
I still have great growth opportunities" — that's the future. That stays.
When you cross out every sunk cost reason, what's left? If the only remaining
reasons are fear-based — things like "I might not find anything better" or
"Starting over sounds terrifying" — that's important information. Fear is not a
strategy. Here's what I want you to take away from this lesson:
The decision to search is the first and most important career move you'll make.
Most people skip it entirely. They either jump too fast or stay too long. Both
cost you.
Use the matrix. Plot the timeline. Do the audit. Let the data tell you what your
gut already knows.
And by the way — if the data says STAY, that's a win. Clarity is power. Knowing
you're in the right place is just as valuable as knowing you need to leave.
If the data says GO — then you're not running from something. You're walking
toward something. And that's a completely different energy.
Whatever the answer is, you now own the decision. And that's where everything
starts. I'll see you in the next lesson. **