Even the most saintly of people get fed up at work occasionally. The thought of just quitting and finding something new is so enticing sometimes—and feels justified on the bad days. It could be the evil boss, acquisition hell, the incompetent leadership, creepy co-workers, horrible culture—you name it.

There are no shortages of reasons to justify quitting, but how do you know if you are actually ready?

Today’s business climate is more complex than ever and this impacts your search for a new career in meaningful ways. For example, the hiring managers and internal recruiters in every industry at nearly every company are overwhelmingly busy. This means they will not be getting back to you or letting you know that you did not make the cut. Don’t take it personally—instead have compassion as they are doing the job of four people and simply cannot get back to you unless you are a top pick. This means that most of the time, you won’t hear anything back.

Another interesting tweak in the business world is that your home-spun resume will be competing against resumes that cost $600-$2,000 to design. Your resume will be parsed (pre-filtered) by an algorithm created by a software designed to look for certain elements and automatically eliminate those who do not fit the list. This means your resume has to be attractive both to the computer program and the human eye. Again, don’t take it personally—just keep this in mind as you put together your plan for a search.  Make sure your “mix” includes on-line applications as well as tapping into your professional network for people who already know and like you.

I hope you won’t let yourself get discouraged by this information. It’s better to know ahead of time and be prepared instead of after you pull a “Jerry McGuire” (Tom Cruise’s character as a sports agent who writes a manifesto and quits his job abruptly) only to discover how hard it is out there.

To make things even easier I have created a free quiz to help you figure out if you are ready for a career change.

CAREER CHANGE READINESS QUIZ

Though the prospect of a new start is refreshing don’t forget the fundamentals of having an eye-catching and current resume, writing a great cover letter, brushing up on your interview skills, and most of all presenting yourself as the complete package! Before you take that leap, take this quick quiz to make sure you are completely prepared.

Take the Assessment

You will be redirected to the quiz now.