Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Friday, January 21st, 2011 Tags: Job Hunt, job offers, job opportunities, new job
Category: Job Hunt, Moving Up No Comments 
Most people, once they get out here, will tell you that they’re fortunate to have a job. For the most part, this is true. Once you have the job, you should work 100% to be the best you can be at whatever you’re doing (yes, that includes getting coffee).
However, as many previous articles have stated, this is an industry based on connections, and the best time to look for your next job, is when you already have one. Sometimes though, you’ll start to think about how that next job will come about, and when the opportunity arises, how you can leave the job you already have.
When you do decide it is time to move on from a current job, hopefully because a better offer has surfaced, there are things that you can do to make parting with your current job less painful for both parties involved. Hopefully, you’ll be fortunate, and the people you work with will congratulate you on your new position and be thrilled that they were a part of your budding career (when you land job #2, you can officially consider this a career). Take a look at these tips about breaking up with your current job and starting a new one:
1) If possible, try to leave during a lull.
Don’t leave during pilot season when you’re at a network. Try to change jobs during hiatus if you work on a
television show. Consider it a form of respect to the people who gave you the job you’re leaving. They took a chance on you, and you won’t leave a job
half done. Most likely, those offering the new job will respect you for not abandoning (harsh, but true) your previous employer.
2) Remain loyal even after you leave.
Don’t start your new job by talking trash about your old one. Someone always knows someone who knows someone.
3) Leave on good terms.
Don’t be secretive if you get a job offer. Talk about it with your boss. More than likely, they will appreciate the heads up and will
be happy to give you advice about whether this is the right move for you at a given time.
4) Don’t be afraid to advance your own career.
Don’t feel indebted to your current position because they gave you a job. Appreciate them, but
remember that the only one looking out for you is you.
5) Don’t beat yourself up about leaving or after leaving.
Do not draw immediate conclusions about whether or not you made the right move. Give yourself
time to adjust to the new job, the new routine, and the new people. Most of the time, there is no right or wrong move.
Working in entertainment, you always have to be looking for the next job, thinking about where you might find it. Often, the harder task is identifying when you’ve outgrown the position you’re in, whether or not to take a new opportunity, and how to go about doing it. Breaking up is hard to do, even from a job, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends.
