Ask Yourself This Question, Before You Jump Into The Job Search Process
Whenever someone comes to me for coaching to obtain a different job or change careers, I always ask this question: “Why do you want to change jobs?” It sounds like a simple question, right? But it’s actually pretty complex, and it often leads to some soul-searching to discover why the person is unhappy in their current job and whether or not changing jobs is in their best interest.
No job is perfect, so before you jump into the job seeker process, it’s important to take the time to consider why you want to change jobs – to make sure you aren’t going to experience the same problems you’re hoping to leave. To avoid jumping from one ill-fitting job to the next and causing yourself even more heartache and headache, take a short time out for some introspection.
Grab a cup of coffee, sit down and write out your list of reasons. For example, maybe you want a new job because you feel your manager isn’t supportive of your career development or you’re bored and want to do something more challenging. Whatever your reasons, write them down.
Now, read through your list of reasons for wanting to leaver your job and see if you can put each reason into one of these three categories:
- Issues within my manager’s ability to control.
- Issues within my ability to control.
- Issues outside of my manager’s and my ability to control.
Think about the underlying cause of each issue. If you feel like your manager isn’t supportive of your career development, you might at first put this into the “Issues within my manager’s ability to control” category. But what if you looked at the situation from a different angle? Have you defined your career aspirations? Have you created a career development plan, shared this with your manager and asked for his/her support? What might seem like a reason to look for a different job could turn out to be something within your ability to control and change.
Let’s say you’re bored in your job and want to do something more challenging. You might think this issue is outside of your manager’s and your ability to control. But is it? You could speak with your boss to ask for more challenging work and provide examples of the projects and tasks you’d like to take on to improve your skills and broaden your experience. And guess what? Talking through this issue with your manager might just improve your situation enough that you won’t need to look for a job elsewhere.
It’s doubtful you’ll enjoy every aspect and every minute of your job – people rarely do. Changing jobs isn’t the only answer. The key is taking time to understand why you want to change jobs and whether or not changing jobs is in your best interest.
Lisa Quast Bio:
Lisa Quast is a former Fortune 500 executive turned career coach and award-winning author. In her latest book Secrets of a Hiring Manager Turned Career Coach: A Foolproof Guide to Getting the Job You Want – Every Time
She shares a step-by-step guide on everything you need to do to find and get a job – from writing a cover letter to acing an interview and negotiating a starting salary. Available for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Lisa’s Latest Book: Secrets of a Hiring Manager Turned Career Coach: A Foolproof Guide to Getting the Job You Want – Every Time is an easy-to-follow, self-help manual of the job searching basics. It’s like having a career coach in your corner, helping you through every step to obtain a new job. ISBN: 978-1-936048-13-7