Six Good Reasons to Jump Ship

"If youre expectations are not met within a reasonable amount of time, you can get away with one short stay. More than one, and its an alarm bell for me as an employer," said Young.

Their advice was to choose wisely. Sometimes leaving a new job as soon as you get there is your only option; but in every other case, erring on the side of caution would do little harm.

5. The new workplace offers something you cant refuse

Sometimes, even a content, happy IT worker cant say no because the offer is too good, the opportunity too vast or the company too promising.

Lee reminds tech professionals that even when the grass seems greener on the other side, theres never really a good reason to leave a job that fulfills you.

"When you look at a new opportunity, there are several things to consider. One, if youre talented and contributing where you work, theres never a good time to leave. That said, never, ever, burn a bridge.

"Two, dont be so tantalized by technology. When youre looking at another opportunity, ask hard questions: how many people from the department have been promoted in the last year and to which positions? What is their environment? Do they work in teams, individually? What is it ultimately that you are looking for?"

If the offer one couldnt refuse was a salary so large, it made their eyeballs pop cartoon dollar-signs, Messina offers this insight.

"There are a lot of badly paying organizations with good retention. These places have a positive management climate and great benefits and growth opportunities and people there feel like they have a career," said Messina, reminding workers to be wary of exchanging growth opportunities for better pay but the possibility of stagnancy.

One-upmanship is common in competitive IT environments, and as a desired employee looks to depart, they might find themselves surprised by the presentation of counter-offers encouraging them to stay.

Many suggest that the departing worker not let it lure them back in once theyve made their decision.

"Employees should not be deceived by this apparent flattery," said Steven Batisto, executive vice president of Phoenix-based Anderson Philips Associates.

"If a person is worth $X yesterday, why should they suppose that they are suddenly worth $X+Y and a reserved parking space today? The truth is nothing has really changed — except that the employer realizes that they are suddenly faced with the inconvenience and expense of finding a replacement for the employee." Batisto said that buying additional time with a counteroffer is cheap compared to the disruption of work and lost productivity that an unplanned departure will probably result in.

When its time to write a resignation letter, doing so unprofessionally can be very detrimental, even if you dont see the immediate need to keep on terms with your former coworkers.

"Its important that you exit a company the right way and not burn bridges," Lanzalotto said. "In reality, when you leave a company is really when you start networking the most, as the folks you worked with will eventually move on as well."

Furthermore, these days, hiring professionals are seeing more and more "boomerang" workers: those who leave a company but come back a year or several years later in a better position with more depth of experience.

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"There are a lot of benefits to the company if you come back and many do not take enough advantage of what we call alumni marketing. In the boomerang environment, you know what to expect and you have more to offer," said Lanzalotto.

6. You want a culture change

Sometimes, the reasons, even good ones, people leave their jobs are less tangible.

"People who feel marginalized or unappreciated in a job will eventually decide its time to leave. Sometimes, people dont leave jobs, they leave companies or industries," Lanzalotto said.

In other cases, there has been a climate change thats irrefutably changed the way work is handled.

"Changes in management climate happen more often than youd think, particularly in big companies, who go through CEOs at a faster pace than smaller ones. Theyre the people who set the tone for the company, and you may not like whats changed," said Messina.

But, the most desired culture change is to an environment which will better support a professionals growth plan.

"Companies that are not investing the time and money to turn mid-level employees into senior management will lose them. Great companies have management development, and their employees stay onboard," said Messina.

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