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Make these financial and career moves before you quit your job

September 27, 2021September 27, 2021 by Mike Robinson

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You may want to ditch your commute permanently or leave a job that you hate.

You should make sure that your finances are in order before you leave.

This will allow you to survive unemployment and help you find your next career.

Krista, Personal Capital’s senior financial advisor and certified financial planner from Denver, stated that you need to feel secure in your financial life to be able to do what you love.

In fact, a recent survey from Personal Capital and The Harris Poll found that 66% of Americans are interested in switching jobs and 52% said they’d need at least $50,000 in their bank account in order to comfortably do so. This online survey was taken among 933 adults in the U.S. and covered July 29-August 2.

The trend, dubbed “The Great Resignation,” has been driven by people reevaluating their lives and careers amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Americans are also burned out. Nearly two-thirds of workers have experienced burnout in their career and 41% said it happened in just the past few months, according to a survey by the human resources tech company Workhuman.

It is important to be financially sound and ensure that you make the best career choices. These are the steps to take to ensure you can say “I’m done!”

Have an emergency fund

If you want to quit without another job lined up, make sure you have an emergency fund that will cover three to six months of living expenses, Aliga said. Assess your spending habits to determine how much you can afford. Consider the costs of moving if you are planning to do so.

She suggests that you save the money in high-yield savings accounts so it can be easily accessed.

However, CFP Diahann Lassus, managing principal at New Providence, New Jersey-based Peapack Private Wealth Management, advises having six to 12 months of living expenses set aside.

“If you need money, the last thing you want to do is pull it out of a retirement account and pay all those taxes and potentially penalties to do that,” said Lassus, a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

Pay down high-interest debt

If you have high-interest rate credit cards, start paying them down. Transfer that debt to another card with a lower rate of interest if you can.

Consider health-care costs

If you quit without another job lined up, you’ll need health insurance. Consider your options. You have two choices: a plan through your partner or one offered by the national public exchanges. While you can get COBRA, which extends your current employer health plan for up to 18 months, it can be expensive.

Yet, being without coverage could really be costly. Credit Karma’s members collected $2 billion more in medical bills between September 2020 through April 2021.

Identify your wants

From a career perspective, the most important thing to figure out is what type of work you want to be doing, who you want to be doing it for and the pay, said Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster.

People who are considering a career switch should now consider this:

Many companies hire and are looking for skills that can be transferred, so experience is not necessary.

After you have decided what job you wish to pursue, you can create a list with target companies. Include the company type, type of job and company revenue.

Get ready to job search

Create job alerts through career websites so you’ll be notified when a new job is posted. Don’t delay to apply for a job that interests you.

You should also update your resume each time you send a new job application. Make sure it is in line with the job description.

Tejal Wagadia, an Arizona career coach and recruiter based in Chandler, advised that if the list is long, you should pay attention to only the three to seven most important duties. Also, focus on the three to five core skills required by the company.

An executive summary should highlight the transferable skills you have if your career is changing.

You should also network. It’s important to reach out to those you already know who might be interested in joining the same industry.

Salemi explained that they are searching for the “right fit” not just for the job itself but for their company’s values and beliefs.

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CHECK OUT: Nearly half of Americans selling their homes don’t plan to buy another: Here’s what they’re doing instead via Grow with Acorns+CNBC

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

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