Should I change jobs? Use this 7-question framework.

Start with the problem you are trying to solve

Before comparing employers, define why you are considering a move. The real issue might be limited growth, poor management, compensation, location, workload, declining motivation or a role that no longer builds useful experience.

A move is easier to evaluate when you can finish this sentence: “The next role needs to give me more of ___ and less of ___.” Without that clarity, a higher salary or impressive title can distract from the reason you started looking.

Use the learn and earn test

A strong job should ideally help you learn and earn. Learning means building valuable skills, judgement, scope, relationships or credibility. Earning means receiving fair compensation for the value, responsibility and constraints of the role.

The test is intentionally simple. It does not replace questions about health, family, purpose or working conditions, but it quickly shows whether a role is rewarding you or developing you.

Answer these seven questions

1. What problem am I trying to solve? Name the issue the next role must improve.
2. Will I learn more? Compare skills, scope, judgement and exposure.
3. Will I earn fairly? Assess the complete package and progression, not base salary alone.
4. Will the manager improve my trajectory? Look for clarity, challenge, feedback and sponsorship.
5. Does the work fit the direction I want? Test whether it strengthens your next move in two or three years.
6. Are the risks understood? Investigate mandate, resources, stability and opportunity cost.
7. Would I still move without the title or salary increase? This exposes whether the opportunity solves the original problem.

Compare the opportunity across six dimensions

• Work: What will you own, solve and learn?
• Manager: Will this person create clarity, challenge and useful exposure?
• Trajectory: Does the role make your next move stronger in two or three years?
• Environment: How do pace, culture, flexibility and decision-making fit you?
• Reward: Consider base salary, bonus, equity, benefits and progression together.
• Risk: Assess business stability, role clarity, probation and opportunity cost.

Use a weighted decision table

Choose five to seven criteria that genuinely matter to you. Give each one a weight from 1 to 5, then score your current role and the new opportunity. The numbers will not make the decision for you, but they expose where your conclusion depends on an assumption.

Pay particular attention to information you do not yet have. An unknown manager, vague mandate or unclear progression path should become a question to investigate, not a neutral score.

Questions to answer before accepting

1. What does success look like after six and twelve months?
2. Why is the role open, and what happened to the previous person?
3. Which decisions would I own directly?
4. What support, team and budget are already in place?
5. How will performance and progression be assessed?
6. What would make me regret leaving my current position?

Separate temporary frustration from structural problems

A difficult quarter, one disappointing project or a temporary conflict may improve. A repeated pattern of limited growth, poor leadership or values mismatch is different. Look at the last six to twelve months rather than deciding from your best or worst recent week.

Do not ask only, “Is the new job better?” Ask, “Is it better for the direction I want my career to take?”

Frequently asked questions