When to Stay and When to Go: A Practical Framework for MedTech Talent

What You Will Learn in This Post

• How to work out what is really making you consider a move
• How to distinguish a temporary frustration from a longer-term problem
• When staying in your current role may still be the right decision
• What to think about before starting your next job search

Most career decisions don't begin with a dramatic moment.

More often, you reach a point where you're not unhappy enough to act, but not satisfied enough to stop asking the question.

Should I stay where I am, or is it time to move?

It's a particularly difficult question when there's nothing obviously wrong with your current role. You might like the company, get on well with your manager and earn a reasonable salary, but still feel that something isn't quite right.

Equally, a difficult few months don't necessarily mean leaving is the answer.

Before you start applying for jobs, it helps to understand exactly what is making you think about moving and whether another role would genuinely improve it.

Start With Why You're Thinking About Leaving

“I fancy a change” is a perfectly understandable feeling, but it doesn't tell you much about what your next move needs to look like.

Try to identify what's actually behind it.

For example:

• Has your role stopped developing?
• Are you unhappy with your salary or earning potential?
• Has your territory or workload changed?
• Are the travel requirements no longer working for you?
• Are you frustrated with your manager or company leadership?
• Do you want greater responsibility?
• Are you looking for a different product or therapy area?
• Has the company changed direction?
• Do you want different working arrangements?
• Are you simply ready for something new?

There may be more than one reason.

The important thing is to get beyond a general feeling of dissatisfaction. If you don't know what you want to change, it's much harder to judge whether another opportunity is actually better.

Is the Problem Temporary or Unlikely to Change?

Not every difficult period requires a new job.

A challenging quarter, temporary territory problem, demanding product launch or period of internal change may pass.

Even a new manager may take some getting used to while you both work out how best to work together.

Other issues can be much harder to change.

Perhaps you've repeatedly asked for development opportunities but can't see anywhere for your career to go.

Maybe your role has gradually become something very different from the one you originally accepted.

Your personal circumstances may have changed and the amount of travel is no longer sustainable.

Or you may simply have reached the point where you've learned what you can from the role and want a different challenge.

Ask yourself whether the thing that's bothering you is likely to look different six months from now.

If the answer is yes, staying may be worth considering.

If the answer has been “probably not” for the last two years, that's useful information too.

Have You Tried to Change What Isn't Working?

Some problems can be addressed without changing employer.

If you're frustrated by a lack of development, have you spoken to your manager about what you'd like to do next?

If you want more responsibility, have you asked what you would need to demonstrate to get it?

If there's a practical aspect of the role that's causing a problem, is there any realistic scope for it to change?

Not every conversation will produce the answer you want. Some businesses simply won't have the opportunity, flexibility or structure you're looking for.

But where the issue could potentially be resolved, it's worth establishing that before assuming leaving is the only option.

There Can Be Good Reasons to Stay

Staying in a role isn't the same as lacking ambition.

There may still be something valuable for you to gain where you are.

You might be about to gain experience of a new product launch, take responsibility for a significant account, complete useful training or become involved in a project that will strengthen your experience.

Perhaps you've recently discussed changes to your responsibilities and want to give them time to happen.

Or you may simply decide that the things you value about your current role still outweigh the things frustrating you.

The key is to stay for a reason rather than simply because staying is easier.

Ask Yourself What Another 12 Months Would Feel Like

One useful test is to imagine that nothing significant changes.

Same company. Same role. Same territory. Same manager. Same responsibilities.

How would you feel if you were still there in 12 months?

If your reaction is that you'd be perfectly happy, you may not need to make a move at all.

If the thought immediately fills you with frustration, ask yourself why.

That answer may tell you more than a list of pros and cons.

Know What Would Make Moving Worthwhile

Once you've established what isn't working, turn the question around.

What would another role need to offer for moving to be worthwhile?

Think beyond job title and basic salary.

Depending on your priorities, you might be looking for:

• Greater earning potential
• A more established or more challenging territory
• Different products or a new therapy area
• Greater autonomy
• More clinical involvement
• Key or national account experience
• Management responsibility
• Better development opportunities
• Less travel or a different geographical territory
• Different working arrangements
• A company at a different stage of growth

You don't need your next role to improve every aspect of your working life.

In reality, most career moves involve trade-offs.

A higher salary might come with a larger territory. A more exciting opportunity could involve building business from a lower starting point. Moving into management may mean giving up some of the autonomy you currently enjoy.

Decide which things genuinely matter to you before you're sitting in front of an attractive opportunity trying to make them fit.

Don't Move Just to Get Away From Something

When you're frustrated with your current role, almost any alternative can initially look attractive.

That's when it's particularly important to ask whether you're moving towards something you genuinely want or simply away from something you don't.

If the problem is your manager, for example, accepting another job without understanding how the new manager works may simply exchange one frustration for another.

If you're leaving because there's no progression, find out what progression could realistically look like in the new business.

If travel is the problem, understand the actual territory and overnight requirements rather than relying on a job being described as “field-based” or “flexible”.

The reasons you're considering leaving should help shape the questions you ask about your next opportunity.

Be Realistic About What a New Job Can Fix

No role will be perfect.

A new company will have its own frustrations, targets, internal processes and difficult weeks.

Be careful not to compare the everyday reality of your current job with the best possible version of a new one.

During recruitment, you're naturally seeing an opportunity at its most attractive. Ask enough questions to understand what the job will actually involve once the interviews are over and you're doing it every day.

Don't Make a Counteroffer Part of the Decision Yet

If you're still deciding whether to leave, don't base that decision on a counteroffer that doesn't exist.

First work out why you're considering moving.

If you eventually resign and your employer makes a counteroffer, you can then decide whether it genuinely changes the reasons you wanted to leave.

If salary was the only issue and they've addressed it, that's relevant.

If your reasons were lack of progression, the territory, travel, management or the nature of the role, more money may not change very much.

You Can Explore the Market Without Deciding to Leave

Thinking about your next move doesn't mean you have to hand in your notice or start applying for every vacancy you see.

Sometimes the first step is simply understanding what alternatives exist.

A specialist MedTech recruiter can give you context around the types of roles your experience could lead to, current salary expectations and how employers are likely to view your background.

They can also help you understand some of the trade-offs involved in the opportunities you're considering.

And if there isn't anything in the market that would genuinely improve on your current position, staying where you are may be the right decision for now.

Staying Is a Career Decision Too

There's no rule that says career progression requires changing company every few years.

Nor is there a perfect point at which everybody should move.

The better question is whether your current role still gives you enough of what matters to you and whether you can see a reason for staying.

Start with what's making you consider leaving. Decide whether it's temporary or likely to continue. Work out whether you've genuinely tried to change it. Then think about what another opportunity would need to offer to make moving worthwhile.

You don't need to wait until you're thoroughly unhappy before considering your options.

But you don't need to leave simply because you've started wondering what else is out there either.

The aim isn't to convince yourself to stay or go. It's to make either decision deliberately.