Consider This Before You Take A Higher Paying Job

While sometimes it's very clear exactly when it's time for you to leave a job, most of the time, it's a toss-up. It's a mix of asking your friends, talking to your co-workers, listening to lectures from your parents, Googling a bunch of questions, and waiting for the universe to give you a sign that's in-line with what your heart desires. The pros and cons end up being disorienting and you become so fearful that you're about to make the wrong choice, that you have trouble making a choice at all. While it's good to have strong reasoning on both ends of a choice, indecision can be crippling.

And even when you do make a decision, you rarely have the confidence to stand by it. You'll keep second-guessing yourself long after you've left or decided to stay. But if you're leaving your job for a monetary reason, you might want to think about a few other things besides the pay. Sometimes, other aspects of your work might end up being more valuable than that raise you have your eyes on. If you've been thinking about leaving your current job for a higher paying job, these are 11 things you should stop to consider before giving your notice — no matter how confident you are in your convictions, it never hurts to triple check your reasoning.

Culture

What's your current office culture like? Are you a part of the softball team? Do you hang out with your coworkers at happy hour? Does your company get involved with a lot of volunteer work or have philanthropical ties? Remember that there's no standard for excellence in office culture, just because your office might be really generous, doesn't mean your next office will be. If this is important to you, you should consider it.

Office Vibes

What's the energy like in the office? Is it really chaotic? Or is it mellow and positive? Do you feel like it's easy to thrive and get energized or does it bring you down? Make sure you have a good sense of the vibes — they might seem insignificant, but good vibes can make you a better employee and help you live a happier life.

Boss Relationship

How is your relationship with your boss? Do they make you believe in the company? Do you learn from them? Do you hope to one day be where they are? Your boss should inspire you and should make you proud to be where you are.

Self-Worth

How does this job affect your feelings of self-worth? Does it give you confidence and make you feel like you're capable of great things? It should. It should make you feel like you're working towards being your best self.

Coworkers

Do you have friends in the office? Getting along with the people you work with is huge. It gives you an added reason to want to show up in the morning and stick around late. Without that support system, the ups and downs of the professional grind would be seriously hard to handle without friends in the office.

Benefits

What are you benefits like? Do you have health insurance? Dental? Do you get a discount at the gym? These are so important to consider and change drastically from job to job. Benefits can make or break a job offer.

Work/Life Balance

Does this job give you time to live a life outside the walls of the office? Do you have a social life? Do you use your vacation days? Do you have enough time to date or spend time with your significant other? You need balance if you don't want to burn out.

Commute

What's your commute like? A difficult commute can make the whole work experience sour. Make sure you know how exactly you need to go to get to your potential new job. How much earlier do you need to leave in the morning? How much will it cost you? What's traffic like in that area?

Future Goals

How does each job fall in line with your future goals? Which leads you to them most directly and with the least resistance? Which falls in-line with your morals and ethics?

Room To Learn

Are you still learning at your current job? How much room is there to grow? Do you look up to anyone in the office? Are there people you want to learn from? Have you spent some time researching the people who work at your prospective job? Make sure you're always surrounding yourself with people you can learn from and people who might be mentors.

Mental Health

How do you feel on a day-to-day basis? Are you wracked with anxiety? Do you sleep well? Can you relax when you're out of the office? What are the employees like at the prospective job? Do they seem balanced? While this might be the last thing I mention, it's the first thing you should consider. Your mental health is everything. You should always honor the job that's most nurturing to a healthy mental state.

Images: Andrew Zaeh for Bustle; Giphy