A former Netflix exec shares 3 simple questions to ask yourself if you're thinking about leaving your job

• Netflix's co-CEO, Reed Hastings, has stepped down 25 years after cofounding the company.
• Patty McCord, Netflix's first HR head, said three questions can help you decide whether to quit.
• Ask yourself whether you're doing something you love, you're good at, and your company needs.

Twenty-five years after cofounding Netflix, Reed Hastings has stepped down as co-CEO.

Hastings will become Netflix's executive chairman, while the company's COO, Greg Peters, will join Ted Sarandos as co-CEO.

Hastings' departure is an opportunity to revisit a framework that, according to Netflix's first HR head, can help employees decide whether to leave their jobs.

Patty McCord, formerly the chief talent officer at Netflix, now runs her own consulting business. In 2018 she published "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility," in which she describes best practices for people management.

Toward the end of the book, McCord presents an algorithm that managers can use to determine whether an employee is a good fit at the company and that employees can use to figure out if it's time to move on:

Is this what the person loves to do, that they're extraordinarily good at doing, something we need someone to be great at?

I also spoke with McCord in 2018, and she described three scenarios (or outputs) of the algorithm.

She said that sometimes, "you could be doing so much more, and there's stuff you're really passionate about and the company just doesn't care."

Other times, "you've got a job you can do — you just don't love it."

In still other cases, "you work really hard every day, and you know it doesn't matter."

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it might be time to leave.

Deciding when to quit your job depends on your life circumstances

The tricky part of using this decision-making tool is that "the circumstances around making the algorithm come true change constantly," McCord said.

For example, early in your career, you may want nothing more than to work 24/7 on something you're passionate about. When you get older, you might have other responsibilities that need your attention.

"You might want to have friends that are outside of the people that you work with every day, "McCord said. In that case, if your company needs you to stay until 8 o'clock every night, it might not be the right gig for you.

On the flip side, McCord said, if the company moves into a different business or its objectives evolve, the work you're doing may no longer be crucial. (McCord said this is the most common scenario she sees.)

In a blog post Thursday, Hastings wrote that he has been increasingly delegating his management tasks to Sarandos and Peters over the past two-and-a-half years, and "the board and I believe it's the right time to complete my succession."

And while Netflix's website doesn't explicitly mention McCord's algorithm, it does let prospective hires know that "dream teams are about performance, not seniority or tenure. It is up to the manager to ensure that every player is amazing at their position, plays effectively with others and is given new opportunities to develop."

Ultimately, if you're weighing the decision to leave your job, know that McCord's algorithm won't necessarily spit out a yes-or-no answer — at least not immediately. But it's a solid way to clarify the most important components of an ideal work experience and take some of the stress out of making a big career decision.