"Should I quit?" is the wrong question. "What would need to be true for me to stay?" is the right one.
Asked directly, "should I quit?" invites mood-based answers — great after a good meeting, desperate after a bad week. Flip it: write down what would need to be true in six months for staying to be the right call. If you can't write anything believable, you have your answer. If you can, you have a plan to test.
Four signals that say go
You've stopped learning — the last six months taught you less than any month of your first year.
The ceiling is visible and occupied — the people above you aren't going anywhere, and you don't want their jobs anyway.
Compensation drift — you're paid for who you were when hired, and the market has moved. New hires in your role earn more than you.
Sunday dread as a pattern — not a bad week, but months of it. Your body votes before your resume does.
Two signals that say wait
You're running from one bad variable — a manager, a project — that is itself likely to change. Managers move constantly; don't trade a whole good job to escape one person.
You haven't asked yet — for the raise, the transfer, the scope. Quitting before asking is folding a hand you never played.
The exit itself
Interview while employed — desperation negotiates badly. Never quit on emotion in the room; even a resignation gets the 24-hour rule. Give clean notice with a handover document, thank people specifically, and keep every bridge intact. Industries are villages. The manager you leave well today is the reference, the referral, or the client in five years.
2 asked, 0 answeredthe cleanest quit signal there is: you asked clearly for what would make you stay — twice — and the answer was silence. After that, leaving isn't impulsive. It's the response.
Watch
Knowledge check
Not a pop quiz — nothing is graded, and you can retake it forever. It exists so you know what stuck.
Question 1 of 4
Better than asking "should I quit?" is asking…
Flashcards
The unit in six cards — the version that stays with you after the tab closes.
Card 1 of 6
Do
Homework: your life
Write the six-month list: what would need to be true for staying to be right. For each item, note whether you've actually asked for it. That page is your next move.