“If I can just do a year here…”

A year is a long time in a job that’s making you miserable. All those Sundays feeling anxious. All those Mondays thinking, “I can’t keep doing this.”

It feels like an impossible choice. You’re caught between two very real fears: the fear of staying in something that’s draining you, and the anxiety of stepping into the unknown. Both are valid.

Anxiety is caused by a desire for control over things that haven’t happened yet.

I stayed in a role like that longer than I wanted to. Every Sunday evening, fear would settle in and make itself at home. I told myself I should stick it out, because what would the world think of a five-month stint on my CV?

Turns out the world didn’t care.

Having seen thousands of CVs over the course of a 23-year recruitment career, I now know that a big percentage of comms people have a ‘glitch’ on their CV.

If you’re in this position and struggling to decide, imagine four possible futures:

🎯 Stay and cope: keep going as you are. Manage the stress. Focus on the financial benefits and security.

🎯 Stay and thrive: stay in the role and reclaim your authority. Set boundaries and speak up. Protect your energy differently.

🎯 Leave and struggle: leave and face the uncertainty. Experiment and adjust. Wobble, then find your footing again.

🎯 Leave and thrive: leave and rediscover the parts of yourself you’d been squashing. Build a new future that fits with your goals and values.

Write them all down. Let them sink in. How does each one feel?

Each scenario comes at a cost. We don’t know how any of them will work out. All we can control is our behaviour and actions right now.

If you do decide to leave for another permanent job, educate yourself on the state of the job market. It’s bonkers and you’ll need persistence, but there is a job for you out there.

Oh yeah, and I have a coaching programme for that 😉.

Have you ever outstayed a terrible job because you thought it would look better on your CV?