The Fix
Are you unhappy with your job? Thinking of chucking it all in, sabotaging your colleagues work or throwing something at your boss? Or are you contemplating quietly walking out, leaving the country and going to live a simpler life on an island? Thinking of changing jobs is normal for everyone – you have no monopoly on any of these thoughts – but doing it right, whatever that is, is important.
Career progression means changing jobs by definition – but why and how you do it can improve your life or totally screw it up. Changing jobs at the right time for the right reasons and in the right way may seem obvious – but emotions and feelings and irrational thought get in the way and can seriously mess up your career.
I have changed jobs and made a few career changes in my life and some were cleverer than others!
So before you start booking plane tickets, selling the house, moving to or from the big city, emigrating or physically throwing stuff at the boss, why not balance out the loud emotional voices of your feelings with some sober, boring logical stuff.
After finding out what the problem is the next step is to consider how to fix it. You may come to realise that the problem isn’t the job, but is a different factor causing you problems. However you may come to understand that your job is holding you back.
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself to find out how to FIX the problem before changing jobs:
- Is it really your job you are unhappy with or is it possible you are just unhappy in your personal life and this is overflowing into your work life?
- Is it something that you can fix? If you answer no – are you really sure? Have you asked other people what they would do to fix it?
- If so, have you done anything about it? List these things. What else could you do?
- Are you over-tired, over-stressed, over-amped and exhausted? Do you have the bandwidth to handle this? Do you need a weekend away or a holiday?
- Are you getting enough exercise and fresh air? If you say yes to this you are probably fibbing.
- Are you making sure that you switch off at weekends and in the evenings or do you have your laptop or iPad open all day every day? Do you have phone free days or evenings or even hours? What about family time or movie nights?
- What has changed since you started that job? In terms of you, the company, your personal life?
- Is it a need for training or a personal issue or your commute or a salary thing or the career prospects?
- Is it because of your employers, your boss, your colleagues, the location of the job and the commute or your actual job
- Is your employer or line manager aware of the situation and have you spoken to them about it? If not – why not?
This is part 2 of a 4 week series. Previously in this (really exciting) career-based mini-series:
10 questions to ask yourself before changing jobs (The Problem)
Coming up in the following two weeks:
10 questions to ask yourself before changing jobs (The Decision)
10 questions to ask yourself before changing jobs (The Deed)
Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net