3 Things To Do Before Quitting Your Job

Many people dream about leaving their jobs but are scared of losing financial stability. If you’re one of those people then you have definitely wondered what to do before quitting your job to ensure success. We’ve taken the reoccurring themes and advice from the lawyers we’ve interviewed and compiled a list of three things that will get you closer to your dream career. These lawyers moved on from law to start their own businesses or to pursue other career opportunities.

1. Decide

The first step is to decide what you want to do. As obvious as this seems, many people will focus on leaving rather than starting something new. Many of our lawyers gave advice that emphasized finding your passion because they know how difficult that first step can be.

Paul Hletko personally knows many attorneys that are unhappy in law but he emphasizes that a desire to leave is not enough. There needs to be a real goal or area that you wish to pursue.

“The only person really stopping you from living your dream is you, but it’s a lot easier if you’re going to something instead of running away from something else.”

2. Research

The second step is to research the industry you want to be a part of and learn everything you can before actively pursuing it. This could be personally reading and researching or it could mean reaching out to your network and talking to others in the field.

Gurvinder Bhatia specifically spent his free time learning everything he could about the wine industry before opening his wine store. There’s no doubt that this contributed to his later success as a wine columnist and editor.

“If I’m in the wine business, I’m going to learn everything there is to learn about it and I’m going to go way beyond what the average person does.”

Others, such as Adam Chambers found a lot of wisdom from speaking to professionals and getting their advice whether they were in his field or not. People that have gone through the process of a career change can at the very least share their personal stories about entering another field and give you advice on what to do before quitting your job.

“You should always be open to opportunities to meet other people and learn from folks who are 5, 10, 25 years ahead of you. Their insights are always very helpful.”

3. Plan

The last step before finally quitting is to put a plan into place. How much planning you want to do is up to the individual. We’ve seen some lawyers quit their job before they started planning, and we’ve seen others that had their business plans ready to go. The default rule is to plan as much as you can, especially if you’re planning on getting started on job hunting or starting a business right away.

For example, Raegan Kennedy planned her children’s clothing store business with her cousin while on maternity leave. She preparing a business model, stocked initial inventory and developed the website first. She then quit her job when they were ready to launch.