When we hire you, we do so in the hope that you will be at XEN for a long, long time.
For example, I'd personally love to be still running XEN in 20 years and have many of you still here... similar to how Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple and many others still have people there who started straight out of college (and are now very senior in the company).
But... I'm realistic and know that isn't going to be the case for some.
So I thought I'd add some thoughts about when it's a good time to leave XEN. And contrast it to bad reasons for leaving XEN.
I'll get the bad reasons out of the way first though:
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Bad reasons for leaving XEN
You are fired for being dishonest (it goes against our core values).
You aren't really a fit. This usually indicates we got the hiring process wrong and either we hired you for a role you couldn't actually fill, and/or you accepted the role when you knew it wasn't a fit.
You burn out. This is something we see often in big corporates, and something we work hard to manage at XEN. I never want to see a team member get stressed (bad stress) to the point that they burn out (or have mental health impacts, or family impacts, etc). If this ever happens at XEN, then I have failed as a manager and leader.
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With that out of the way, let’s look at good reasons:
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Good reasons for leaving XEN
You've outgrown us. If you are no longer feeling challenged (ie you're no longer growing), and you don't see circumstances changing at XEN quickly enough to provide that challenge, then that's an excellent reason to leave. I'll be sad to see you go, but will be your biggest supporter.
Your work preferences change, and you want to change your working situation eg a good example would be if you want to work in an office (and we are still remote only). You wonder if the 'grass is greener' and want to find out. If you've worked at XEN for a while and are itchy to try something different, that's totally understandable. Come and chat to me, I'll understand. I'll help you make your move so it's a wonderful process for both of us. And I'll be hoping you come back to us in the future.
Your personal circumstances change (eg you retire, or you win lotto, or you get pregnant, or you want to look after a sick relative, or you go back to uni, or you want to travel, etc). Again, talk to me. (Also be aware that these might not need you to leave eg we have maternity leave).
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Think of it this way: