I've chosen to leave 5 jobs during my career - here's how I knew it was time

I remember sitting in meetings at my very first job and thinking, “How am I ever going to contribute to these conversations?” I felt like the idiot in the room, with no big ideas, feedback or suggestions. Worse, I wasn’t getting any support. Tasks were put on my plate, and I was expected to read between the lines or understand something that was never explained.

I was as green as they come. It was my first professional job as a writer, so I had a lot of learning to do — but no one to teach me. When that company let my entire team go except for me, I ended up with a job in social media, something I’d never managed before. But because of that opportunity, I started down the digital marketing path, and I’m now a social media coach.

At the time, however, it was both fun and frustrating. It was fun to dictate my own rules for testing, posting, and planning. It was frustrating, however, when I needed the support of my boss, who would simply not show up for a meeting or send a one-sentence response to a long, in-depth email.

Unsurprisingly, a 2017 survey from BambooHR found that 44% of employees left a job because of a bad boss at some point during their careers.

I’m no stranger to this challenge, and it was one of the most significant reasons for leaving my first job, where I had not one but three bad bosses. One boss was too busy, another didn’t know how to manage people, and another had no interest in what our team was doing or in making sure we were successful.

When I get asked the question, “What was your favorite job in the past and why?” in a job interview, my answer reflects the value of good bosses. My answer, for many years, was McDonalds, which is where I worked in high school. This always earns an interesting facial expression from the interviewer, followed by, “Why?”

My response is simple: I had great bosses. It made the job more fun and interesting and I felt supported and valued.

When I got a job as an associate copy editor job, I was beyond thrilled. It was a huge move for me, and I was going to be working for what I thought was my dream company.

But I quickly learned, within the first day, that I was just a number and that my job was to churn out as much content as possible. I went from a position where I was managing contributors, editing content, managing social media strategy, and mentoring interns, to a job that felt one-dimensional and less meaningful. To say I was unhappy is an understatement.

I had also moved from a 70-person company to one with 3,500 employees worldwide, which meant I went from being a medium-sized fish in a small pond to the smallest fish in a very large pond.

In the end, while I was beyond happy to leave after one and a half years, I learned a lot about efficiency and editing at that time in my life. I still refer back to editing advice I received from senior editors when I worked there.

While I left every job for one reason or another, I learned something in every position I held. Now, as I run my own business, I refer back to all my job experiences as a playbook of what to do and what not to do. I know I’ll continue adding to it for the rest of my career.