What if I quit first, find a new job second? Forum

[Anonymous User]

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(thanks all for the thoughts and suggestions. much appreciated)

[nealric]

No recruiter is going to tell you that quitting now is good for your future prospects. You will be constantly fighting against the suspicion that something happened to cause your sudden departure (malfeasance, negligence, malpractice, etc.). That doesn't mean it's impossible to find a different gig, but you'll be having to come from behind. You'll need a better story than "I just got too stressed out and quit", because that tells prospective employers that when the going gets tough you will leave them hanging.

Perhaps a change of mindset could help. If you are ready to just quit, then why do you care so much whether you are successful over this next stretch? Worst case scenario is you do a mediocre job, don't get shares (or are asked to start transitioning out), and look for a job as a NSP. Best case scenario is you get shares anyways, and get to negotiate for your next job from a position of strength.

You may feel you are overloaded, but the time to start looking is now. You may even find something before you really get into crunch time.

[axiomaticapiary]

You said “I don’t think I can make it,” “the stress is taking a serious toll,” you are “brutally overworked.” You are basically coming and telling us you are having mental health problems related to your job. Maybe you should listen to yourself here and walk away.

Sure, it’s not good for your future prospects, but I bet you have enough money stacked that you won’t miss any meals before you find something else. What decision would your 80-year-old self tell you to make?

[papermateflair]

I'm an NSP up for shareholder in a couple months. I have a very solid, but not slam-dunk, shot at shares. And the firm is big law adjacent so we're talking about a decent step up in compensation. Anyway, my group is slammed. I've been brutally overworked this year. And it's only going to get worse these next few months. We're talking several ~280 hour months to close out the year at nearly 3000 hours. I had planned to go for the promotion and then down-shift in a couple years -- either to in-house or out of law entirely. But right now don't think I can make it through this next stretch. The stress is taking a serious toll.

Am I crazy to give it up so close? Is it career suicide to quit first and look for a job second? Will the timing and my reason for quitting -- to work less -- be a red flag going forward?

I plan to ask recruiters these same questions. But interested in any thoughts here.

What would happen if you took a 10 day vacation in September. Just take the time off. Would someone at your firm be able to step in? Could you delegate while out? I assume people in your group do go out on vacation from time to time, or have minor medical emergencies. Maybe now's the time to have a couple of minor medical procedures you've been putting off. Visit an aging relative. Find an excuse to be out of the office for a week with no access to email and do whatever you need to do to take a step back to reassess where things are headed. No firm wants to straight up fire a partner - they'll maybe not promote you, and then give you time to find something new (and maybe help you find it). Recover from this brutal year on your current firm's dime if you can, rather than quitting. If quitting is what you need for your mental health, then absolutely do it, but there's a huge expanse of options between overworking yourself for the next several months and quitting today.

When you come back from your time away feeling slightly refreshed, aggressively work only 8 hours a day while you look for a new job. If your current firm is this busy they can't afford to lose an entire person right now - could they even hire someone to replace you in time to step in on all these matters? Unlikely! So just do the minimum and see where things land on the promotion while job hunting in the background.

[Anonymous User]

Career suicide is an overstatement, but speaking from experience, if you are applying to legal jobs when you are unemployed, a lot of employers simply will not consider you, so you'll have a more difficult time finding employment, and you might not get the job you really want. If your goal is to go in-house then you should try to stick it out and begin your search now.