Is it time to make a move? This is a question I hear often in coaching.
One client had the career she always wanted, at a place she truly loved. But she had been there a long time, and over the years her role kept expanding. Because she was capable, her responsibilities kept growing too. She had felt the weight of it for a long time. She had tried to make it workable. Then several job opportunities appeared at once.
And there it was: Is it time to make a move? She felt torn. Would any of these opportunities be as good as her job had once been?
Another client had built a work life that fit him beautifully. It gave him the flexibility, time with his family, and the freedom to travel and live where he chose. But the work had become more demanding and less steady. Then a friend mentioned an opportunity at her company.
And again, the question surfaced: Is it time to make a move? For him, it was not only whether something else might be better. It was also whether he could get back to what he once had, and whether, even if he could, it would still fit the life he has now.
Another client was not in a dream job at all. On paper, her job looked great. The pay was good. The benefits were strong. People were impressed by her title. But she was bored and unmotivated. She was restless and found herself wondering if this was all work had to offer.
She asked, is it time to make a move? But she had no idea where she wanted to move.
The circumstances are different, but the question is the same.
It does not only arrive when something is obviously wrong. Sometimes it appears when a role that once worked no longer does. When the boundaries have been pushed too far. Or when another opportunity appears and suddenly throws everything off course.
Sometimes the question comes from dissatisfaction. Sometimes it comes from possibility. Sometimes from both.
What I see in coaching is that people are rarely asking from a place of certainty. More often, they are in negotiation with themselves. If one thing changed, maybe they would stay. If the boundaries held, maybe this job would still work. If the work returned to what it was, maybe there would be no question at all.
What can sound like indecision is often the slow recognition that a role no longer matches the life, self, or future it once seemed to support.
The question lives in my head too.
I have been working for myself for three years now, and it has been going well. Still, every once in a while, a position opens up or someone mentions an opportunity that sounds exciting, and I find myself questioning my own path. Is it time to make a move? Is it better on the other side?
I don’t think the question always means something is wrong. And I don’t think it always means a person should leave.
But I do think it means something has shifted. The old arrangement can no longer be taken for granted. The fit is no longer seamless. Possibility has entered the picture, and with it, a new kind of uncertainty.
Maybe the question is not only, Is it time to make a move?
Maybe the deeper question is: What am I hoping a move will solve?
Elizabeth Alvarado is a career and wellness coach who writes about the inner work of work. You can reach her at alvaradocoaching.com.