Quitting without a new job lined up
I've heard often that "it's easier to get a job when you have a job." I want to quit to focus myself solely on a new career path, but am worried that my quitting will decrease my chances of getting a new role. Thoughts?
Itโs better to have a job when approaching other companies. Less risk for them wondering the real reason youโre not currently employed. The exception is when your current job is so bad itโs a threat to your health or similar.
In my state one of the only things a former employer can disclose is how the employment ended. If you resigned, that can be verified, and lying would constitute application fraud, so the offer would be rejected.
That's a good point.
What about moving cross country to go back to family 2000 miles away and quitting? I was looking at two markets: salt lake and Columbus, Ohio. SLC is cool since I'm in Arizona but Ohio heavily favors locals only. Smaller mid markets (Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Milwaukee, etc) act like theyve never heard of a relo package. This doesnt happen with NYC or the Bay, I feel. It is price of getting talent.
I quit my job at the beginning of last year to build up machine learning skills. Spent 6+ months studying and working on projects before starting to interview. Most interviewers and hiring managers were impressed by my determination. I got 12 offers including Google and FB in the end and 10 of them were ML roles. My comp doubled compared to my last job. I find it the most worthwhile thing I've done in my life. Edit: this is my old blind account obviously
Can you provide more details on how you prepared?
You are awesome ๐๐๐
Have also done it โ it worked out, but recommend not doing it. Wait until you have a new job lined up.
It can only work if you have another source of income or financial support on the side....
I did this last year, took 5-6 months of before starting to interview. Nobody seemed to care, they did not even ask about it. Market for SWEs is very hot right now, could be different for other roles and other times.
You will naturally be more relaxed and comfortable in interviews if you search while working, because you have "less to lose" if it's a no. Especially if you get several rejections, it can really demotivate you. Lastly, if you don't have financial pressure because you work, you can perform better negotiations for pay.
Don't do it. Gaps are a red flag. Candidates with the required skillsets that are gap-free are prioritized. I rarely need to move to the pool of candidates with gaps to fill a role.
I feel like this is starting to become old fashioned thinking.
Possibly. But screening every candidate is unrealistic and an inefficient use of time. Someone that can fulfill their duties at work while applying to jobs is actively demonstrating their drive and ability to multitask. Why wouldn't you want to prioritize that while building a team? That's not to say that people with gaps are unworthy or are definitively unfit for hire. But experience has shown it's more common to uncover negative reasons for the gap, than to encounter someone who truly took time to invest in themselves.
I've done it, wasn't the end of the world, found something eventually. Will say hiring managers weren't thrilled when I told them I left to work on my skills and look full time (I think they worry if you can afford it you'll do it to them).