CAREERS MEDIA: A checklist to help you determine when it's time to move on

<p>How do you know when it's time to look for a new job? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Apart from the obvious - such as when you're called in by your boss, who </p><p>tells you to clear your desk before 5pm - the signs are not always </p><p>obvious. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Too many people hang around in dead-end jobs, convincing themselves that </p><p>things will get better and those magical prospects for promotion and pay </p><p>increases will suddenly materialise. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, for the benefit of those who are less keen to let time slip by, </p><p>newly-appointed publisher of Hong Kong daily newspaper iMail Nigel </p><p>Oakins, has offered "career guidance" in the form of a checklist, which </p><p>he titled "How To Know When It's Time To Look For A New Job". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Do an annual audit of yourself: are you more valuable in yourself and </p><p>your company than you were a year ago? Have you learned new skills? Are </p><p>you more likely to be poached? Have you had payrises or bonuses as a </p><p>result of your efforts? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Do you report to older people? Companies have to realise that young </p><p>people need to have management responsibilities, and that it was </p><p>demoralising for young staff to realise that promotions and </p><p>responsibilities are only going to be handed out on the basis of age, </p><p>seniority and experience, rather than ability and new ideas. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Is risk-taking encouraged? If you don't challenge your client's </p><p>thinking, how can you challenge your own? "That will lead to certain </p><p>brain-death", Mr Oakins quipped. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Look at your colleagues and assess their abilities: "If you're </p><p>surrounded by deadbeats and losers, it is unlikely that you are the </p><p>exception," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- If you like the company you work for, but you are in a dead-end </p><p>position, look to move internally. It makes your CV more impressive, and </p><p>it is better off than moving into "the great unknown". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Make mistakes, but learn from them. Do things your own way. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Make sure you are given the resources to do your job properly, and </p><p>that you receive training where you need it. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Insist on good working conditions. Do not put up with second-rate </p><p>conditions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Staff do more than just make up the numbers," Mr Oakins said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Make sure you have ownership in the company, in the form of stock </p><p>options, profit-sharing, bonuses and so on. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Work for a company that treats you as an individual, that takes you </p><p>seriously, that addresses your concerns. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>All this advice can be turned around and used by employers in the battle </p><p>to keep staff from defecting, Mr Oakins said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And advice for human resources directors, employers and head-hunters who </p><p>somtimes lack vision when it comes to spotting potential and attitude in </p><p>someone who might otherwise seem totally unsuitable: keep an open mind </p><p>to all possibilities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>