Time to pack your bags?

I recently met a very accomplished senior leader from a global organisation who had spent more than a decade in his current organisation.

He was now considering a change but wasn't sure if this was the best time to be looking out for opportunities in the market.

So how do you decide if this is a good time for a change?
How do you evaluate the options you come across vis-a-vis your current role?

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind while you go about such an exercise :

• The average career graph for most professionals over the course of 25-30 years looks something like the chart above.
• What you will notice is that most people move into a new role every 3-4 years (this could be getting shorter now). And during the course of this time, there is an initial steep learning curve after which the 'value' (in terms of learning and challenges) that you are deriving from the role usually tends to plateau beyond a point.
• In some cases, people get the opportunity of moving into new roles within the same company, as was the case for this person that I had met. In such cases, the individuals do not feel any compelling need to look for opportunities outside their current organisation.
• But in many cases, the 'value' curve tends to dip beyond a certain point, and the current organisation does not seem to have the 'next role' to offer.
• This is usually the best time to look for a change - to see what is out there, and where does your next challenge lie.
• Plotting such a chart for your own career also helps you evaluate options that you come across and benchmark them with your current role.
• This is also a great self-evaluation exercise. (It might not be possible to quantify your career value graph and plot an actual chart. The exercise might translate into a 'balance sheet' statement for yourself. The idea is to do this honest evaluation for yourself, and figure out where you stand today!)
• So, where are you currently on your own chart?