Sometimes it’s hard to tell how a change will turn out. The amount of uncertainty attached to some changes is so high that the mighty future is the only one holding the answers for you; all you can do is just keep your fingers crossed, never forgetting the reason for letting that change happen. I was in a similar conundrum while leaving my first company that I had been married to for fifteen years. It’s not just promotions and raises that I had earned in the last decade and a half there, but also the connections and a sense of belongingness. In this volatile corporate world, feeling that you are a part of something is a rare emotion. After such a long stay, it’s bound to hit you. However, I think it’s difficult to answer this honestly, whether the melancholy was evolving from my shaken sense of comfort or because of my divorce from my first corporate love. It might have been a bit of both and even more. The future holds the answer. For now, I can admit this much: your first switch is never going to be easy, but you mustn’t hold back just for this reason.
A three-month notice period does test your determination and your commitment to your decision. I remember waking up with a different level of conviction every day – some days more determined and eagerly waiting for the last day to come soon, while other days being more philosophical about loyalty and tolerance for challenges. After you spend a decade and a half in one organization, you are so much set in your ways that from dress code to appraisals to HR policies to the coffee machine to contributions to PF to your social circle – your job is imprinted everywhere in your routine and even more so in your mind. However, you know in your heart that if you ever plan to move on for better opportunities, any further delay would mean that you might get trapped in your comfort zone forever. Of course, your managers too have to be motivating enough to help you make this jump. See, in my experience, there aren’t any bad managers because a manager always motivates you; it’s just that it’s either to work well at your current workplace or somewhere else. You need to be brave enough to pick up the hints. Anyway, thousands of people switch jobs every day, going through their own tempest of emotions and indecisiveness. I had my share of doubts, but I am glad that I could choose change over comfort. It does feel good at the end.
Well, I have joined my new organization and feel excited about what comes next. From my last organization, I have taken a lot of memories, friendships, and beautiful experiences. I hope to make more friends and build more memories. I understand that feeling some apprehension is part of the game and I have made my peace with it. Moving from an Indian IT service provider to a European telecom operator is a thrilling experience as I could already tell a great difference in the way of working and the thought process, but that’s where the fun of change lies. I just hope that I can adapt well to this shift and this journey becomes bigger and better. I have often heard – you never forget your first. However, if you always stick to your first, you won’t even get to feel this poetic emotion. So, cheers to all the first-time switchers, you just chafed comfort from courage, and in the future, if you decide to stick to some organization, it would only be because you would want to.