Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail

In today’s episode, John describes how to address 3 big issues when leaving your current employer for a nontraditional career.

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The whole process can be less disruptive and stressful by taking steps to address them proactively.

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Address 3 Big Issues

There are major financial, legal, and emotional issues that can complicate your transition.

And it is essential to take these matters into account early on in the process. If we consider and deal with things sooner rather than later, things will go better. 

Review Your Contract

Legal or contractual issues will come up during the transition. These contract-related matters should be discussed with your lawyer so that you can prepare for them. The most common concerns that arise include the following:

  1. notification requirements,
  2. tail coverage,
  3. bonus eligibility or calculations,
  4. effect on retirement plan vesting, and
  5. non-compete provisions (restrictive covenants).

Consider Your Financial Situation

This is usually the most obvious area of concern. Questions to address include:

  • Do I have alternative financial resources to cover expenses if I leave my current job?
  • Can I ramp up a side job or passive income source to cover expenses?
  • Do I have vacation time (paid time off or “PTO”) that I can accrue to maintain my salary for a few weeks or months?

Prepare for the Emotional Consequences

This is a significant one that we frequently overlook: the psychological effects your transition will have on you, your family, and others close to you.

  1. Changing jobs results in potentially enormous stress on us, similar to that associated with getting married or having a child.
  2. Your immediate family members will be affected and will have concerns about the potential consequences of your career change on them.
  3. The workplace will be affected, especially if it depends heavily on you for patient care call coverage.  Dysfunctional medical groups in particular don’t always conduct themselves professionally during this process. Some coworkers will display one or more Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief. 

John’s Advice

  1. Review these issues and plan for them as early in your transition process as possible.
  2. Communicate openly and often with your immediate family.
  3. Use an attorney to anticipate and plan for the legal and contractual issues.

Summary

It is imperative to address 3 big issues when approaching a career transition. Recognizing and preparing early for these issues will reduce the negative legal, financial, and emotional consequences that might arise.

NOTE: Look below for a transcript of today’s episode. 

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Disclaimers:

Many of the links that I refer you to are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you.

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life, or business.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. I do not provide medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counselor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career.