March 25, 2025 • 23 mins
Feeling trapped in a toxic workplace and fantasizing about a dramatic exit?
Before you burn bridges, this episode dives into the psychology of revenge quitting and why it’s often more damaging than liberating. While the impulse to quit in protest is understandable, the long-term consequences—especially in today’s uncertain job market—can be severe.
In this episode, you'll learn:
✔ The psychology behind revenge quitting and why it feels so satisfying
✔ How shifting job market trends make impulsive exits riskier
✔ Three major risks: extended job searches, burned bridges, and AI-driven job cuts
✔ Smart alternatives, including “quietly preparing” for a strategic departure
✔ How negotiating workplace changes might provide a temporary solution
✔ The importance of leaving professionally to protect future opportunities
✔ How to build your Mid-Career GPS for a thoughtful and strategic career transition
Your career is too valuable to risk on an impulsive decision. Instead of making an emotional exit, learn how to transition professionally and strategically on your terms.
Thank you for listening to The Mid-Career GPS Podcast.
Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts here.
Visit https://johnneral.com/resources for free and low-ticket resources, including how to join The Mid-Career GPS Membership Community.
Visit https://johnneral.com to join The Mid-Career GPS Newsletter, a free, twice-weekly career and leadership resource for mid-career professionals.
Connect with John on LinkedIn here.
Get John's New Mid-Career Journal on Amazon here.
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Subscribe to John's YouTube Channel here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Neral (00:00):
By definition, revenge quitting is when an
employee who feels undervalued,overworked and disrespected is
willing to walk away from theirjob, sometimes without another
one lined up.
I know this may seem crazy tosome of you who are craving job
security and stability in thisever-stressful job market right
(00:21):
now, but what would you do ifthings became too much and
you're ready to get theyou-know-what out of there?
So in this episode, I'll breakdown for you the risks of
revenge quitting and I'll sharesome alternatives that may just
help you build your mid-careerGPS a little differently.
Let's get started.
(00:41):
Hello, my friends, this is theMid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm
your host, John Neral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a job they love,
or love the job they have, usingmy proven four-step formula.
(01:04):
This job market is crazy rightnow and if you are looking or
considering looking for a newjob based on whatever your
circumstances may be, I want tosend you over to my website at
https://johnneral.
com.
Click on the freebies tab.
That's there.
You will see a wealth of freeresources to specifically help
(01:24):
you, but not overwhelm you.
One of them is my absolutefavorite is my Mid-Career Job
Seekers Checklist.
I hope you will check that outAnytime you download one of my
free guides, you will getautomatically entered into my
twice-a-week email newslettercommunity.
You can just sign up for thaton your own as well, but each
week I come right into yourinbox where I share information
(01:48):
specifically related toleadership and mid-career
transition topics.
Okay, I've got a lot to talkabout today.
This whole thing about revengequitting has really hit me hard
in some ways because I've beenfollowing this for a while, but
(02:08):
at the time of this recording,which is March 19th this is
going to drop on the 25ththere's a lot of things that are
going on in the federalgovernment right now.
I know you've been followingand, as some of you know and
some of you don't, I had a25-year career in education and
(02:29):
what is happening at theDepartment of Education.
I know people who work thereand, obviously, a career where I
was a classroom teacher, I wasan educational administrator, I
had worked for a statesuperintendent.
This whole conversation we'rehaving right now around
education is needed.
I'm just not convinced this isthe way we need to have it.
(02:52):
So my heart is heavy today and,putting this episode together
to talk about revenge quitting,I need to acknowledge that there
are a lot of people out therewho have been laid off.
They've been riffed, which is areduction in force, they've
been terminated and they wouldlove to have an option to
(03:16):
revenge quit and they don't.
So I want to get into thisepisode just acknowledging that,
but also with some grace,because things feel so heavy
right now.
I had lunch earlier on todaywith an education colleague of
mine and that really was theword we used to kind of describe
(03:37):
what's been happening.
Things just feel really, reallyheavy and, as I talk to people
each week and I work with myprivate clients, there's a lot
going on.
So I feel you and I see you andI want you to know I'm here for
you.
But let's talk about thisbecause there is a lot of things
(03:57):
we can learn about this wholeconcept of what revenge quitting
is.
This topic is relevant to youif you're thinking about doing
it.
It is also relevant to you ifyou are leading or managing
teams and you need to be awareif this potentially is on their
(04:18):
radar.
So revenge quitting is still athing in this volatile job
market.
There is no denying that.
And what's particularlyimportant to call out is that
we're seeing this a lot withyounger employees.
So Gen Z are still engaging inthis trend.
But if you look at the jobmarket over the last couple of
(04:40):
decades, we can learn a lot fromyounger professionals.
Couple of decades we can learna lot from younger professionals
.
So if we go back about 12 to 15years ago, we can learn another
valuable lesson, and we shouldhave learned a valuable lesson
from younger professionals atthe time, which was their
confidence was so high as theywere growing their skill set,
(05:02):
that they were job hopping.
They were moving to differentcompanies and leveraging and
upskilling their talent andexpertise to where they would go
to a new company and move intoa new role.
They would get a new title.
They would get a significantbump in pay.
The job market allowed for that.
So how do we learn from youngerprofessionals here?
(05:24):
That might be revenge quitting.
The first thing is revengequitting is an action and we
have to get really clear on whatour thoughts and feelings are
about taking that action, aswell as examining what the
potential result may be.
You have to decide whether ornot revenge quitting is
(05:50):
something worth it for you to do.
In essence, you have todetermine if it's the best move
for you.
So, as a coach, I never tell myclients what they should do.
That's not my job.
My job as their coach is toshow them their brain, explore
all of the opportunities andpossibilities, examine every
(06:11):
single avenue and corner todecide whether or not a
potential move is best for them,because my job is to help them
make the best decision forthemselves.
But I will offer this caveat Ina time where a lot of people
(06:33):
are dealing with a lot of things.
There is a lot of stress,anxiety, worry, fear,
nervousness, and again, they'reall pretty heavy right?
No-transcript.
Okay, if you believe you needsome support with your mental
(06:53):
health, seek help from aqualified professional.
Get the attention your mentalhealth needs so you can be there
for yourself and your lovedones as well.
It's okay to not be okay.
Let's just normalize that for amoment.
It's okay to not be okay, butplease make sure you're taking
(07:14):
care of your mental health.
You, like me, are probablyseeing a lot of situations and
circumstances and you're hearingpeople starting to tell more
stories about why they're hatingtheir job, why they're worried
about losing their job, or whytheir boss is toxic or the
(07:36):
company culture is toxic.
If someone's going to quit theirjob out of revenge, it needs to
begin with a thought, and thatthought is typically I win, you
lose.
Or, in a little more cruderterms, it's screw them before
they screw you.
So someone who is going to quittheir job out of revenge
(08:06):
obviously has had a number ofthings happen to them that they
have decided this is the bestmove for them.
Now, for me, that would bereally difficult for me to do,
because I would always want tohave a safety net.
I would want to know there'sanother job to go to or there's
(08:26):
enough savings to carry me for amuch longer period of time than
what the average time is forfinding a job right now.
There are a lot of things thatare at play here, but if you are
doom scrolling, you'rescrolling through reels on
Facebook, instagram or TikTok,or you're watching YouTube
videos, you have probably seensome public displays of
(08:50):
resignation that, on some level,may actually delight you, and
that's okay.
You are vicariously livingthrough someone else's actions
to be like oh, could you imaginewhat it would be like to quit
my job like that?
How good would it feel if Itold my boss off?
How good would it feel if Ijust picked up and left?
(09:11):
Here's the thing For the peopleI work with and I help.
Y'all have really big heartsand more often than not, you
won't revenge quit because youare afraid of leaving your dear
colleagues behind.
Remember, you are 100%responsible for your career.
(09:32):
But there are a lot of thingsthat are out there in terms of
resigning and I will offer thatwhen you're watching one of
these videos, it may be staged,it may be an act, it may be true
.
You got to figure that out.
But in this labor market rightnow, even though job hopping has
slowed, people are staying inpositions, even though they are
(09:55):
unhappy, a little longer thanwhat they might normally do if
the job market was a little morefavorable.
On the candidate side, certainindustries still have strong
demand and, depending on thatindustry, it might make quitting
less risky for those people whohave those kinds of in-demand
(10:17):
skills.
So if you pause for a momentand ask yourself, how confident
are you about making such aswitch, if you are considering
leaving your job right now,what's your safety net, what's
your timeframe, what's yourtimeframe, what's your timeline?
These can be some powerfulconversations that you are
(10:39):
having on your own with yourloved ones, with your coach.
They can be some powerfulconversations here.
You may be looking at how yourcompany is moving and taking
care of some initiatives in thisregard that are based on a
(11:01):
political motivation, or there'ssome political frustration or
political influence.
As an employee of that company,you've got to decide if that's
how you want to play Right andyou may be like, look, it's okay
for now, but I'm going to builda bridge to something else.
I'm going to put in an exitstrategy, I'm going to go
(11:21):
somewhere else, but I want tooffer you that, if you are
considering quitting your job inthis job market right now, you
have to be mindful of some ofthe risks, and I'm going to
offer three of them to you today.
The first is that there arefewer immediate job openings.
The job market is cooling downand what we have seen, even
(11:47):
through most of 2024, was thatcompanies are taking longer to
hire talent.
They are looking at staffingnumbers a bit differently.
They are making sure they'vegot the right candidate in for
the job, so you may not be ableto find a job as quickly as you
(12:08):
would like.
Research supports and this isfrom a number of different
companies, and one I tend tooften look at is HubSpot but for
a mid-career, mid-levelprofessional, we are, on average
, looking around five months.
I'm seeing this from multiplesources.
Okay, yes, you can speed thatup, depending upon how
(12:31):
aggressive or how your industryis in terms of finding talent
right now and hiring that talent.
But if you think you're goingto be able to be like I think
I'm going to quit my job thisweek and find one next week, I
wish you all the best in that,but I'd be very, very careful in
my professional opinion.
(12:52):
Risk number two if you revengequit, you run the risk of
potentially burning bridges youdo not want to burn.
Leaving a job dramatically Iwas going to say leaving a job
dramatically leaving a jobdramatically can hurt any future
(13:14):
references or recommendationsyou may get.
Trust me, it may feel really,really good at the time.
More than likely, you willdoubt or regret that decision
down the road.
There was one job I left and Ileft.
I did have another job lined up, but I said something on the
(13:36):
way out rather loudly.
I said deuces.
I regret that to this daybecause that's not how I
normally show up.
I was so angry and frustratedand hurt and I was relieved at
the same time that I was going.
But if I could go back and doit all over again, I wouldn't
have said that.
(13:56):
So be careful in that regard.
The third thing the third riskof revenge quitting right now is
that there are AI-driven jobreductions as AI continues to
replace certain roles where AIcan automate it.
If you are in a role that is atrisk of being completed or done
(14:20):
in part by artificialintelligence, finding a similar
job may not be as easy.
So I want you to take a look atyour skills, look at your
expertise, look at howmarketable you are as a
candidate and see where you canbest strategically position
yourself.
So, rather than revenge quit,the flip side of this is I'm
(14:43):
going to give you three smarteralternatives to revenge quitting
.
So you've heard of quietquitting before.
We saw that over the last fewyears, where people were just
not really doing their job andthey were just kind of resolved
to I'm just going to get throughthe day.
Here's what I want to offer you.
Alternative number one quietlyprepare.
(15:06):
Be very stealthy about this.
Secure that new job beforequitting will absolutely help
you avoid any type of financialstrain or drain in that regard.
But quietly preparing is doingthose things where you're
getting your resume in order,you're having some networking
(15:28):
conversations, you're lookingfor positions, you're figuring
out different companies that maybe a great fit.
Maybe you're hiring a coach.
Maybe you're working with amentor right, quietly preparing,
and just so.
We call this out here a lot oftimes, people are fearful of
(15:49):
updating their LinkedIn whenthey have not updated it
previously.
Before they start looking for ajob, they might be hesitant to
change their headshot or theirheadline or update their
experiences or maybe post somerecommendations from people
within their network.
If you're being a goodprofessional right now, there's
(16:12):
nothing wrong with building yournetwork.
And if you are building yournetwork, having a LinkedIn
profile that is optimized toshowcase who you are and what
you do, especially in yourcurrent position, is easy.
Do especially in your currentposition is easy If you feel
like your management or someoneyou work with may come to you
and be like hey, I noticedyou've been updating your
(16:32):
LinkedIn profile.
Yeah, just something I decidedto do.
You figure out how you want totell that story, but quietly
preparing and being verystealthy about it is absolutely
a smarter alternative.
It is absolutely a smarteralternative, in my opinion.
Alternative number two is aboutnegotiating changes If there is
(16:55):
something in your current job,be it related to workload or
overall compensation there maybe an opportunity to address and
resolve it.
(17:15):
Before you resign, ask yourselfis there something the company
can do that would essentiallykeep me here for a certain
amount of time?
It may be a formalizedretention bonus, it may be an
informal benefit or somethingLike right now, if you're back
(17:36):
in the office five days a week.
It might be something like look, you know, one day a pay period
, work from home, who knows?
You have to work that outwithin your company, but is
there something they could dothat would help you negotiate?
Or you could negotiate withthem a particular change that
might keep you there until youfind that next job?
(18:00):
And the third alternative andadmittedly this one's a
difficult one If you exit, do itprofessionally Because, as
angry as you may be, as upset,frustrated and hurt you may be,
(18:26):
if you decide to quit and thatis the best option for you do it
gracefully so you can keep thedoors open.
If you are going to burn abridge and, trust me, there are
times when we have to.
And, trust me, there are timeswhen we have to there are times
(18:47):
in our lives and careers whereburning a bridge is absolutely
the quote-unquote best and rightthing to do.
But if you're going to burn abridge and you're going to stand
there and watch that bridgecrumble behind you, I want you
(19:09):
to be prepared for anyramifications that may come from
that.
If you were retirement eligibleor you say you know what, I'm
never going back there, I don'tneed a reference, you may choose
to play this very differently,but if you're going to burn a
(19:30):
bridge, make sure you understandall the ramifications from it,
and I will always offer you thatleaving gracefully is a far
better win in the end.
So revenge quitting is notgoing to go away.
It is still a thing in 2025,but I will offer you, it is
riskier than ever.
(19:50):
So if you're thinking aboutleaving your job, this is where
building a mid-career GPS comesin.
It's about preparing whatyou're going to be doing,
positioning yourselfstrategically in the market,
promoting who you are and whatyou do, and showing up in a way
that is genuine and authenticfor you.
If you build your mid-careerGPS, you will make a strategic
(20:18):
and smarter move, because you'vethoughtfully and carefully
figured out what that nextoption might be, and carefully
figured out what that nextoption might be.
So if you're looking for a morestrategic and planned approach,
I'd be very happy to talk toyou.
There are ways that we can dothis, you know.
(20:38):
First of all, you can connectwith me on LinkedIn.
We can start a DM chain backand forth.
There are ways to do aleadership and career strategy
session with me for a small fee,and I've got an announcement
coming up very shortly.
That is going to be one of themost exciting things I've ever
(20:59):
done in my business.
I'm not ready to announce itjust yet because I'm ironing out
a couple of things with it, butwe're close and I can't wait to
share it just yet, because I'mironing out a couple of things
with it, but we're close and Ican't wait to share it with you.
So there could be ways for usto do some work together at a
benefit that I've never offeredbefore.
(21:19):
So if you want a more plannedapproach, keep me in mind.
We can talk Absolutely Allright.
So if you're thinking aboutquitting, if that's really the
best move for you, do what youneed to do, do what is best, but
please make sure you take anopportunity to look at all of
the parameters and things thatare going on so you can truly,
(21:40):
truly, truly make the bestdecision for you and your loved
ones.
Truly, truly make the bestdecision for you and your loved
ones.
So until next time, my friends,remember this you will build
your mid-career GPS one mile orone step at a time, and how you
show up matters.
Make it a great rest of yourday.
(22:02):
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPSor how I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
(22:23):
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Darrell Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
Thank you.
By definition, revenge quitting is when an
employee who feels undervalued,overworked and disrespected is
willing to walk away from theirjob, sometimes without another
one lined up.
I know this may seem crazy tosome of you who are craving job
security and stability in thisever-stressful job market right
(00:21):
now, but what would you do ifthings became too much and
you're ready to get theyou-know-what out of there?
So in this episode, I'll breakdown for you the risks of
revenge quitting and I'll sharesome alternatives that may just
help you build your mid-careerGPS a little differently.
Let's get started.
(00:41):
Hello, my friends, this is theMid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm
your host, John Neral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a job they love,
or love the job they have, usingmy proven four-step formula.
(01:04):
This job market is crazy rightnow and if you are looking or
considering looking for a newjob based on whatever your
circumstances may be, I want tosend you over to my website at
https://johnneral.
com.
Click on the freebies tab.
That's there.
You will see a wealth of freeresources to specifically help
(01:24):
you, but not overwhelm you.
One of them is my absolutefavorite is my Mid-Career Job
Seekers Checklist.
I hope you will check that outAnytime you download one of my
free guides, you will getautomatically entered into my
twice-a-week email newslettercommunity.
You can just sign up for thaton your own as well, but each
week I come right into yourinbox where I share information
(01:48):
specifically related toleadership and mid-career
transition topics.
Okay, I've got a lot to talkabout today.
This whole thing about revengequitting has really hit me hard
in some ways because I've beenfollowing this for a while, but
(02:08):
at the time of this recording,which is March 19th this is
going to drop on the 25ththere's a lot of things that are
going on in the federalgovernment right now.
I know you've been followingand, as some of you know and
some of you don't, I had a25-year career in education and
(02:29):
what is happening at theDepartment of Education.
I know people who work thereand, obviously, a career where I
was a classroom teacher, I wasan educational administrator, I
had worked for a statesuperintendent.
This whole conversation we'rehaving right now around
education is needed.
I'm just not convinced this isthe way we need to have it.
(02:52):
So my heart is heavy today and,putting this episode together
to talk about revenge quitting,I need to acknowledge that there
are a lot of people out therewho have been laid off.
They've been riffed, which is areduction in force, they've
been terminated and they wouldlove to have an option to
(03:16):
revenge quit and they don't.
So I want to get into thisepisode just acknowledging that,
but also with some grace,because things feel so heavy
right now.
I had lunch earlier on todaywith an education colleague of
mine and that really was theword we used to kind of describe
(03:37):
what's been happening.
Things just feel really, reallyheavy and, as I talk to people
each week and I work with myprivate clients, there's a lot
going on.
So I feel you and I see you andI want you to know I'm here for
you.
But let's talk about thisbecause there is a lot of things
(03:57):
we can learn about this wholeconcept of what revenge quitting
is.
This topic is relevant to youif you're thinking about doing
it.
It is also relevant to you ifyou are leading or managing
teams and you need to be awareif this potentially is on their
(04:18):
radar.
So revenge quitting is still athing in this volatile job
market.
There is no denying that.
And what's particularlyimportant to call out is that
we're seeing this a lot withyounger employees.
So Gen Z are still engaging inthis trend.
But if you look at the jobmarket over the last couple of
(04:40):
decades, we can learn a lot fromyounger professionals.
Couple of decades we can learna lot from younger professionals
.
So if we go back about 12 to 15years ago, we can learn another
valuable lesson, and we shouldhave learned a valuable lesson
from younger professionals atthe time, which was their
confidence was so high as theywere growing their skill set,
(05:02):
that they were job hopping.
They were moving to differentcompanies and leveraging and
upskilling their talent andexpertise to where they would go
to a new company and move intoa new role.
They would get a new title.
They would get a significantbump in pay.
The job market allowed for that.
So how do we learn from youngerprofessionals here?
(05:24):
That might be revenge quitting.
The first thing is revengequitting is an action and we
have to get really clear on whatour thoughts and feelings are
about taking that action, aswell as examining what the
potential result may be.
You have to decide whether ornot revenge quitting is
(05:50):
something worth it for you to do.
In essence, you have todetermine if it's the best move
for you.
So, as a coach, I never tell myclients what they should do.
That's not my job.
My job as their coach is toshow them their brain, explore
all of the opportunities andpossibilities, examine every
(06:11):
single avenue and corner todecide whether or not a
potential move is best for them,because my job is to help them
make the best decision forthemselves.
But I will offer this caveat Ina time where a lot of people
(06:33):
are dealing with a lot of things.
There is a lot of stress,anxiety, worry, fear,
nervousness, and again, they'reall pretty heavy right?
No-transcript.
Okay, if you believe you needsome support with your mental
(06:53):
health, seek help from aqualified professional.
Get the attention your mentalhealth needs so you can be there
for yourself and your lovedones as well.
It's okay to not be okay.
Let's just normalize that for amoment.
It's okay to not be okay, butplease make sure you're taking
(07:14):
care of your mental health.
You, like me, are probablyseeing a lot of situations and
circumstances and you're hearingpeople starting to tell more
stories about why they're hatingtheir job, why they're worried
about losing their job, or whytheir boss is toxic or the
(07:36):
company culture is toxic.
If someone's going to quit theirjob out of revenge, it needs to
begin with a thought, and thatthought is typically I win, you
lose.
Or, in a little more cruderterms, it's screw them before
they screw you.
So someone who is going to quittheir job out of revenge
(08:06):
obviously has had a number ofthings happen to them that they
have decided this is the bestmove for them.
Now, for me, that would bereally difficult for me to do,
because I would always want tohave a safety net.
I would want to know there'sanother job to go to or there's
(08:26):
enough savings to carry me for amuch longer period of time than
what the average time is forfinding a job right now.
There are a lot of things thatare at play here, but if you are
doom scrolling, you'rescrolling through reels on
Facebook, instagram or TikTok,or you're watching YouTube
videos, you have probably seensome public displays of
(08:50):
resignation that, on some level,may actually delight you, and
that's okay.
You are vicariously livingthrough someone else's actions
to be like oh, could you imaginewhat it would be like to quit
my job like that?
How good would it feel if Itold my boss off?
How good would it feel if Ijust picked up and left?
(09:11):
Here's the thing For the peopleI work with and I help.
Y'all have really big heartsand more often than not, you
won't revenge quit because youare afraid of leaving your dear
colleagues behind.
Remember, you are 100%responsible for your career.
(09:32):
But there are a lot of thingsthat are out there in terms of
resigning and I will offer thatwhen you're watching one of
these videos, it may be staged,it may be an act, it may be true
.
You got to figure that out.
But in this labor market rightnow, even though job hopping has
slowed, people are staying inpositions, even though they are
(09:55):
unhappy, a little longer thanwhat they might normally do if
the job market was a little morefavorable.
On the candidate side, certainindustries still have strong
demand and, depending on thatindustry, it might make quitting
less risky for those people whohave those kinds of in-demand
(10:17):
skills.
So if you pause for a momentand ask yourself, how confident
are you about making such aswitch, if you are considering
leaving your job right now,what's your safety net, what's
your timeframe, what's yourtimeframe, what's your timeline?
These can be some powerfulconversations that you are
(10:39):
having on your own with yourloved ones, with your coach.
They can be some powerfulconversations here.
You may be looking at how yourcompany is moving and taking
care of some initiatives in thisregard that are based on a
(11:01):
political motivation, or there'ssome political frustration or
political influence.
As an employee of that company,you've got to decide if that's
how you want to play Right andyou may be like, look, it's okay
for now, but I'm going to builda bridge to something else.
I'm going to put in an exitstrategy, I'm going to go
(11:21):
somewhere else, but I want tooffer you that, if you are
considering quitting your job inthis job market right now, you
have to be mindful of some ofthe risks, and I'm going to
offer three of them to you today.
The first is that there arefewer immediate job openings.
The job market is cooling downand what we have seen, even
(11:47):
through most of 2024, was thatcompanies are taking longer to
hire talent.
They are looking at staffingnumbers a bit differently.
They are making sure they'vegot the right candidate in for
the job, so you may not be ableto find a job as quickly as you
(12:08):
would like.
Research supports and this isfrom a number of different
companies, and one I tend tooften look at is HubSpot but for
a mid-career, mid-levelprofessional, we are, on average
, looking around five months.
I'm seeing this from multiplesources.
Okay, yes, you can speed thatup, depending upon how
(12:31):
aggressive or how your industryis in terms of finding talent
right now and hiring that talent.
But if you think you're goingto be able to be like I think
I'm going to quit my job thisweek and find one next week, I
wish you all the best in that,but I'd be very, very careful in
my professional opinion.
(12:52):
Risk number two if you revengequit, you run the risk of
potentially burning bridges youdo not want to burn.
Leaving a job dramatically Iwas going to say leaving a job
dramatically leaving a jobdramatically can hurt any future
(13:14):
references or recommendationsyou may get.
Trust me, it may feel really,really good at the time.
More than likely, you willdoubt or regret that decision
down the road.
There was one job I left and Ileft.
I did have another job lined up, but I said something on the
(13:36):
way out rather loudly.
I said deuces.
I regret that to this daybecause that's not how I
normally show up.
I was so angry and frustratedand hurt and I was relieved at
the same time that I was going.
But if I could go back and doit all over again, I wouldn't
have said that.
(13:56):
So be careful in that regard.
The third thing the third riskof revenge quitting right now is
that there are AI-driven jobreductions as AI continues to
replace certain roles where AIcan automate it.
If you are in a role that is atrisk of being completed or done
(14:20):
in part by artificialintelligence, finding a similar
job may not be as easy.
So I want you to take a look atyour skills, look at your
expertise, look at howmarketable you are as a
candidate and see where you canbest strategically position
yourself.
So, rather than revenge quit,the flip side of this is I'm
(14:43):
going to give you three smarteralternatives to revenge quitting
.
So you've heard of quietquitting before.
We saw that over the last fewyears, where people were just
not really doing their job andthey were just kind of resolved
to I'm just going to get throughthe day.
Here's what I want to offer you.
Alternative number one quietlyprepare.
(15:06):
Be very stealthy about this.
Secure that new job beforequitting will absolutely help
you avoid any type of financialstrain or drain in that regard.
But quietly preparing is doingthose things where you're
getting your resume in order,you're having some networking
(15:28):
conversations, you're lookingfor positions, you're figuring
out different companies that maybe a great fit.
Maybe you're hiring a coach.
Maybe you're working with amentor right, quietly preparing,
and just so.
We call this out here a lot oftimes, people are fearful of
(15:49):
updating their LinkedIn whenthey have not updated it
previously.
Before they start looking for ajob, they might be hesitant to
change their headshot or theirheadline or update their
experiences or maybe post somerecommendations from people
within their network.
If you're being a goodprofessional right now, there's
(16:12):
nothing wrong with building yournetwork.
And if you are building yournetwork, having a LinkedIn
profile that is optimized toshowcase who you are and what
you do, especially in yourcurrent position, is easy.
Do especially in your currentposition is easy If you feel
like your management or someoneyou work with may come to you
and be like hey, I noticedyou've been updating your
(16:32):
LinkedIn profile.
Yeah, just something I decidedto do.
You figure out how you want totell that story, but quietly
preparing and being verystealthy about it is absolutely
a smarter alternative.
It is absolutely a smarteralternative, in my opinion.
Alternative number two is aboutnegotiating changes If there is
(16:55):
something in your current job,be it related to workload or
overall compensation there maybe an opportunity to address and
resolve it.
(17:15):
Before you resign, ask yourselfis there something the company
can do that would essentiallykeep me here for a certain
amount of time?
It may be a formalizedretention bonus, it may be an
informal benefit or somethingLike right now, if you're back
(17:36):
in the office five days a week.
It might be something like look, you know, one day a pay period
, work from home, who knows?
You have to work that outwithin your company, but is
there something they could dothat would help you negotiate?
Or you could negotiate withthem a particular change that
might keep you there until youfind that next job?
(18:00):
And the third alternative andadmittedly this one's a
difficult one If you exit, do itprofessionally Because, as
angry as you may be, as upset,frustrated and hurt you may be,
(18:26):
if you decide to quit and thatis the best option for you do it
gracefully so you can keep thedoors open.
If you are going to burn abridge and, trust me, there are
times when we have to.
And, trust me, there are timeswhen we have to there are times
(18:47):
in our lives and careers whereburning a bridge is absolutely
the quote-unquote best and rightthing to do.
But if you're going to burn abridge and you're going to stand
there and watch that bridgecrumble behind you, I want you
(19:09):
to be prepared for anyramifications that may come from
that.
If you were retirement eligibleor you say you know what, I'm
never going back there, I don'tneed a reference, you may choose
to play this very differently,but if you're going to burn a
(19:30):
bridge, make sure you understandall the ramifications from it,
and I will always offer you thatleaving gracefully is a far
better win in the end.
So revenge quitting is notgoing to go away.
It is still a thing in 2025,but I will offer you, it is
riskier than ever.
(19:50):
So if you're thinking aboutleaving your job, this is where
building a mid-career GPS comesin.
It's about preparing whatyou're going to be doing,
positioning yourselfstrategically in the market,
promoting who you are and whatyou do, and showing up in a way
that is genuine and authenticfor you.
If you build your mid-careerGPS, you will make a strategic
(20:18):
and smarter move, because you'vethoughtfully and carefully
figured out what that nextoption might be, and carefully
figured out what that nextoption might be.
So if you're looking for a morestrategic and planned approach,
I'd be very happy to talk toyou.
There are ways that we can dothis, you know.
(20:38):
First of all, you can connectwith me on LinkedIn.
We can start a DM chain backand forth.
There are ways to do aleadership and career strategy
session with me for a small fee,and I've got an announcement
coming up very shortly.
That is going to be one of themost exciting things I've ever
(20:59):
done in my business.
I'm not ready to announce itjust yet because I'm ironing out
a couple of things with it, butwe're close and I can't wait to
share it just yet, because I'mironing out a couple of things
with it, but we're close and Ican't wait to share it with you.
So there could be ways for usto do some work together at a
benefit that I've never offeredbefore.
(21:19):
So if you want a more plannedapproach, keep me in mind.
We can talk Absolutely Allright.
So if you're thinking aboutquitting, if that's really the
best move for you, do what youneed to do, do what is best, but
please make sure you take anopportunity to look at all of
the parameters and things thatare going on so you can truly,
(21:40):
truly, truly make the bestdecision for you and your loved
ones.
Truly, truly make the bestdecision for you and your loved
ones.
So until next time, my friends,remember this you will build
your mid-career GPS one mile orone step at a time, and how you
show up matters.
Make it a great rest of yourday.
(22:02):
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPSor how I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
(22:23):
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Darrell Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
Thank you.
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