By: Kristine Schoonmaker

Everyone has a moment where they want nothing more than to give their boss the finger and make a grand exit a la Jerry Maguire, or this guy (not recommended by the way).  There were several points early in my career where I had that fantasy daily.  Of course my ridiculous sense of responsibility kept me from ever doing it. After all, I am the person who gave not two, not three, but six weeks notice when I left my job to go to work in consulting.

When I left Accenture two years ago this November, it actually wasn’t the result of one of those fantasies.  In fact it happened a bit by accident.  In all honesty, I was starting to have some inkling that I wasn’t going to be blissfully happy doing what I was doing for the rest of my career. But I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on my exit strategy. How and why I made the decision to take the leap anyway is a whole other story.

When it comes to quitting a job, there are plenty of people that take huge leaps of faith and it all works out.  And there are others that blindly jump, weren’t prepared (or just don’t have the chops to follow through) and go sulking back almost immediately.  Two years and plenty of hindsight later, I can confidently say that if I had it to do over again I absolutely would, but only because I had six very important things.  Whether you’re miserably unhappy and feel there’s no other way out of your personal hell or you simply believe there’s something else the world has in store for you, I highly suggest you have these things too – before you quit.

1. Passion for something or at least some idea of what it could be. Leaving one bad situation for something that you’re only lukewarm about will only lead you right back to the same spot sometime down the road.
2. An inkling of what that greener grass is really like.  I like to say, you need to try before you buy. Talk to people that do what you want to do or work where you want to work. Find out what it’s really like – the good and the bad – so your decision is an informed one.  If you can experience it first-hand, even better. If most companies allow employees to bring their kid to the office, why not you?  I’m guessing you’ll be better behaved.
3. A life vest, a.k.a. 6-12 months worth of expenses to keep you afloat while you find the next thing or in case that great offer you got vanishes into thin air.  If you’re thinking about starting your own business, you’ll need more – possibly a lot more.
4. A checkpoint and one or two goals to measure over the next 6-12 months so that you can evaluate if you made the right decision or whether it’s time for plan C.   Things may not be perfect a few months in, but you should at least be able to tell you’re headed in the right direction.
5. A support group – friends, family, a vivid memory of the nightmare you left – that will remind you of what you really want if and when times get tough.
6. Certainty that if you DON’T leave you’ll regret it in 10 years.  In life, there are few things we can be certain about if or how they will work out. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we know if we’ll regret not having tried.