๐ช Strategizing Your Exit (Even if You Just Entered)
We love helping you land jobs, but we also want you to stick the landing when it's time to leave. Strategize your exit plan with Ask Your Work Wife, a podcast for ambitious women who want more out of corporate America. New episodes drop Wednesdays on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In today's email:
Read: don't jump ship without a life jacket
Listen: episodes you'll love
Join the convo: our faves from Instagram and LinkedIn
Big news: scroll to the bottom ๐
ALWAYS HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY
Strategizing Your Exit (Even if You Just Entered)
Exit strategies are a MUST, no matter how much you love your current gig. There are a million scenarios in which you'd want an exit strategy, like finding out your boss is recruiting externally for your promotion, hitting your promotional ceiling internally, or you want to shift industries.
Here are three steps to masterfully craft an exit strategy:
1๏ธโฃ Always Be Interviewing (ABI)
Internally, externally, any other -ternally. Always have a feel for what your industry is recruiting and how the salaries fluctuate. Sign up for pesky (but helpful) job alerts on LinkedIn, apply frequently, sincerely interview, and always ask why you got rejected. You'll gain invaluable insight into how your resume compares to the winning candidates.
I followed the fuck up with that rejection email and said, "Can I get some real feedback on what you're missing? Why did you pick someone else over me?" I had to send it a few times, but I got the most critical, valuable feedback. My dream job was telling me exactly what I needed to work on.
โVanessa
2๏ธโฃ Go Post-Mortem Yourself
We know all you want to do after a big project is close your laptop and chuck it into the sea, but keep it open for just 20 more minutes to record key learnings. Jot down and save the budget, timelines, problem-solving, cross-functional work, leadership, and other talking points that'll dazzle recruiters when applying.
3๏ธโฃ Build Bridges
Networking is over-satirized as a selfish ritual frat bros monopolize. PLEASE don't let that gimmick sour networking for you because it's really just about fostering relationships. If you have a community or a group of friends, you've already mastered the skills required to network.
Public relations practitioners keep bridges (solutions) in one pocket and chasms (problems) in the other pocket.
โVanessa
It can be as simple as celebrating their promotion on LinkedIn or reaching out when you need niche advice. Sooner or later, someone in your network will wake up and have a chasm for your bridge.
tl;dr
Having an exit strategy on hand decreases your chances of desperately accepting any ole' job. There comes the point when everyone's priorities shift to finding "food on the table," meaning they're more likely to take an ill-fitted position. We're guilty of this too!
I left a toxic environment and got myself into another one because I was in a scarce mindset. I just needed to pay the bills, and I [ignored] all the red flags.
โVanessa
It's a tough spot to be in, and we don't wish it upon even our most annoying coworkers. Follow these steps on the good days, so the bad days aren't so tough.
Thanks for reading! We'll show you out. The exit (strategy) is this way...
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