You deserve to live. You deserve to be happy.

"I don't go to work to be happy. I go to work for money."

I know a really great Recruiter. She was a previous colleague of mine, with much more patience. After I heard the word furlough. I shut down. I knew my time with that employer had come to an end, and I would not be returning. Call it stubborn. Pissed off. Burnt-out from over pleasing, and long hours. Whatever you want to call it, something shattered and I did not hear anything past the word "furlough".

My colleague on the other hand returned. Year-after-year she stayed. But we both recognized that she never seemed to get the recognition we both knew she deserved.

Soon enough, to no surprise, she became bored, and super unhappy. She felt like she hadn't actually used her brain in decades. But for better or worse she was comfortable.

I stayed in touch with her. I knew she would be an incredible asset to another employer. But she wouldn't leave. Sigh. She let me know that she withdrew her candidacy from an awesome opportunity because she did not want to leave her comfort zone. "I might be unhappy, but I don't go to work for happiness. I go to work for money."

I understood that logic. But I thought to myself, "That is kind of sad." Does this mean she believes we can't have both? I personally, am not willing to sacrifice my happiness for money. That is a lie, I have before... but I've made a promise to never make that kind of sacrifice again.

We lost touch for a bit, until she called me one day, obviously distressed.

In the heat of a moment, she and the employer ended up parting ways after one very intense phone call. She acknowledged her adrenalin got the best of her, and all of a sudden she word vomited about all of her years of frustration, lack of growth, boredom, and feeling under valued in one phone call. All those hard years of work, instantly over in this single conversation. She was now unemployed.

I wanted to tell her I knew this would happen. But I kept my mouth shut. She exploded like a volcano. We both agreed, that while she feels like a huge load has been lifted, this was probably not the best way to go. But you live you learn, and she will be just fine. She is a freaking Rockstar.

This is what I would advise to anyone that is in a similar situation. If you are no longer happy in your job please recognize when it is time to leave. Do not wait until you lose your hair, and are at your tipping point. Otherwise you are going to erupt.. just like my friend.

If you literally cannot stand the thought of being with your current employer for one more second instead of blowing up, map out a 30 day road map that looks similar to the following:

Week 1

• Figure out your exit strategy, and figure out when the best day would be for your last day.
• Take a hard look at your financials, and financially start plotting about how much total money you need to pay for your bills in the following months, and calculate what you are leaving behind as far as commissions/bonuses/PTO etc.
• Research and familiarize yourself with your companies policies. Find out what your state laws are in terms of what you are owed. This will allow you to figure out if you need to have something lined up right away or if you can afford to take a much needed break. Burn out from one job, could very easily turn into burn out from the next. Especially, if you are financially strapped. I would always recommend a break in between careers depending on the burn out level. Obviously this depends on your financial responsibilities. Take time with your family, get those vacations in before you start your new job.

Week 2

• Start collecting performance reviews! Ask HR for them. Even if you are the best employee at the entire company, they can refuse to give you a reference! Believe me, I learned this the hard way. Get the performance reviews up front, and if not too obvious see if you can get your Supervisor to write a Review/Endorsement on Linkedin. This will cover your butt. Colleagues are great as well! Begin reaching out to friends, and acquaintances. Get active on social media/Linkedin, but beware not to raise too many flags. Do be careful- because if your Linkedin account is tied to your company email, this may give your job search away.
• If money is needed, identify who in your network might hire you for short-term work. Figure out your hourly rate and be sure to account for 40% tax rate.
• Cut costs where you can, and look into insurance options. Perhaps try ACA plans instead of Cobra, tracking loan payments, utilities, food, childcare. Keep a list of your spending, ideas to cut costs include: monthly subscriptions, grabbing food and alcohol out versus meeting friends in. Using your saved library instead of Hulu and HBO. Buy groceries. Separate the must haves versus the want to have. Take public transit when possible. Lengthen time between haircuts. But please remember, that self care will light you up, and we need to fill our cup or WE WILL BURN OUT. Keep your fire lit. And it your responsibility to make sure the flame doesn't die.

Week 3-

• Use all relevant documents needed to update your resume, making sure it is up to date as possible with concrete detailed information.
• Clean up your Linkedin profile (make sure it has your location on it) Recruiters often put location searches in when we filter. Make sure you have a professional photo. That makes it appear you are real human, not a fake profile. Have a powerful summary at the top. If you are comfortable with it put "Open to Opportunities" on your Linkedin. I often search for candidates based on if they are actively on the market. Please note however- that Employers might also be able to see this if they happen to be searching for candidates.
• Network within contacts you've made and within your preferred industries. My good friend Claire Davis (Career Consultant and Resume Coach) Advises 10 a day minimum. Calls, video messages, voice notes, emails, etc. This systematic networking should start bringing forth new opportunities within about 2-3 weeks of when the 10x/day networking touches begin. These become connections. Those become leads. Leads become relationships. Relationships lead to warm introductions. Warm introductions turn into "Oh my god, I think you'd love it here. You've got to talk to Ron. He's looking for someone just like you."
• Interview as much as possible. Truth is, it is much easier to find a job while you still have one. Take calls, everything is a lead, and every one knows someone.
• Draft your resignation letter to put in a two week notice. Remember, once you hit the send button there is no turning back.

I am here to tell you, that while the above doesn't seem easy, it is worth it. You absolutely deserve more from a career. You deserve money. But you also deserve happiness. You deserve it all.

What other thoughts can you add to this 30 day road map?! Cheers to an exit plan. If you are completely unhappy in your current role, know that this is temporary. Nothing lasts forever. And most importantly, your career is part of your life, but it is not your WHOLE life.

Cheers to you! And your happiness! Thank you for being a subscriber.