If you’re asking yourself that question, chances are it’s already on your mind for a reason.

After nearly two decades recruiting across the GCC, I’ve watched a lot of people change jobs for the right reasons. I’ve also watched plenty leave companies convinced they were in a bad situation, only to discover six months later that they’d simply traded one set of problems for another.

The grass is not always greener. Sometimes it’s just a different shade of difficult.

And right now, in the GCC, this question matters more than it ever has. According to a recent LinkedIn study, 72% of UAE professionals are planning to look for a new role this year, while 65% say finding a role has become harder over the past 12 months. The appetite to move is high, but the competition? It’s even higher.

That gap between wanting to move and being able to move well is exactly where most career mistakes happen.

So, before you hand in a resignation, I want to walk you through the three questions I’ve asked thousands of candidates over the years. And be honest!

1. Why am I looking to change jobs?

This is the most important question, but also the one that’s least explored.

People tell me:

• “I want more money.”
• “There’s no progression.”
• “I’m not valued.”
• “I don’t like the culture.”
• “I just need a change.”

All fair reasons. But before you decide to leave, ask yourself something harder:

Can the issue actually be fixed where I am today?

Have you had the salary conversation? Have you clearly discussed progression? Have you tried to improve the relationship with your manager? Have you asked for more responsibility, more visibility, more support?

Not every company will respond positively. But many people leave without ever properly testing whether things could improve internally. Harvard Business Review reports that only 33% of employees searching for a new role look internally at their own employer first. Two thirds of people are walking out a door they never tried to open from the inside.

Here’s the reality after almost twenty years in GCC recruitment:

Every company in this region has its quirks. Different logo, same human challenges.

So before leaving, make sure you’re moving towards something better, not just running away from frustration. Running tends to follow you. We’ve talked about this dynamic before in our piece on career cushioning, where professionals quietly explore alternatives while staying put. It can be smart, but it can also be a sign you haven’t had the real conversation you need to have first.

2. What is the job I actually want?

This is where many candidates become unrealistic.

The GCC is still very much a “round hole, round peg” market. Employers want people who have already done something very similar to the role they’re hiring for. That means the more variables you try to change at once, the harder the move becomes.

Consider what you might be trying to change all at the same time:

• Industry
• Function
• Seniority
• Salary
• A move into a multinational

Want more than three of those in a single move? Good luck!

That doesn’t mean ambitious moves are impossible. They’re not. But the market rewards relevance and evidence. Hiring managers in this region are increasingly selective, and as I’ve written in our salary trends piece for the UAE and wider GCC, employers are paying more attention to specialisation and proven track record than ever before.

Here’s a piece of advice I find myself giving more and more often:

Sometimes the best route to your next role is building the experience inside your current company first, then taking it externally.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not fast. But it’s often the difference between a move that lifts your career and a move that stalls it.

3. Is the market ready for me?

This is the question people ignore the most. And it’s the one that decides whether a move actually happens at all.

You may feel ready. But is the market ready to hire someone like you? That’s an entirely different question.

Right now, in many parts of the GCC, there are more candidates than there are quality opportunities. Gulf News highlights that 63% of UAE professionals cite an overcrowded candidate pool as their biggest challenge, and three in four hiring professionals say finding the right talent has become harder because of the abundance of choice. That’s not a contradiction. That’s a mismatch.

This is simply people economics:

When companies have choice, moving becomes tougher.

When talent is scarce, you gain leverage.

Before you move, ask yourself honestly:

• Are companies actively hiring this profile?
• Is my salary expectation realistic for today’s market?
• How competitive is the space I’m trying to enter?
• How long could I realistically be searching?
• Am I moving from strategy, or from emotion?

Sometimes the market timing is right. Sometimes it’s not. The professionals who navigate this well are the ones who know the difference and aren’t afraid to wait when waiting is the right answer.

There’s a useful perspective on this in Harvard Business Review’s piece on whether to quit your job, which makes the point that the cost of quitting isn’t only financial. It’s the relationships, the comfort, the sense of who you are inside an organisation you know. Those costs are real, and they deserve to be weighed against what you’re actually moving towards, not just what you’re moving away from.

So, when is the right time?

A good time to change jobs is usually when three things line up:

1. You clearly understand why you want to leave.
2. The role you want is realistically aligned to your experience.
3. The market has demand for someone with your background.

When those three things meet, then you know it’s a good time to change jobs.

When even one is missing, you have a decision worth pausing on.

After years of watching careers unfold across this region, I can tell you the people who progress aren’t always the most ambitious or the most credentialed. They’re the ones who move with intention, and who understand themselves, the role they want, and the market they’re stepping into.

The wrong move at the right time, and the right move at the wrong time, look almost identical from the outside.

Only one of them moves your career forward.