6 STRATEGIES TO TRANSFORM A JOB YOU HATE INTO ONE YOU LOVE
HERE'S WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR NEW JOB ISN’T
WHAT YOU HOPED FOR.
You just
started a new job, and only a few weeks into your new role you find yourself
wishing you could turn back time and had opted to wait for something
better. (ASAE), about 35% of American workers quit their job within the
first six months. If you hate your new job, the first thought in your mind may
be to write up your resignation letter, but for many, that might not be
financially possible (especially if it took you a while to find this new job).
Relax. You still may be able to find happiness without having to send out
resumes.
The first step
to dealing with new job disappointment is to pinpoint what’s wrong. Are you
bored and underchallenged, or overwhelmed and overworked? Do you dislike your
boss or a colleague? "Examining what’s wrong really requires some
self-reflection," says career coach Cheryl Lynch Simpson, even pointing
out that for many, job dissatisfaction may not stem from the job but from
external factors. "Sometimes people are unhappy at work because they’re
unhappy somewhere else in their life," says Simpson. If the root of the
problem isn’t work, switching jobs isn’t going to improve your situation and
may have disastrous consequences for your career in the long run.
Identify the
skill set your new job will allow you to hone and assess whether those are
skills that you really want or need to build. Knowing that by sticking it out,
you’ll be gaining skills that will aid you in getting to the next level in your
career, and that can help to keep you engaged.
If your current
job description leaves you feeling unfulfilled, perhaps there are other
opportunities in the company that can help you enjoy your days. Look for
opportunities to volunteer to work on projects that excite you. Be creative
about finding opportunities that will also give you some resume-building
experiences that will be valuable later on in your next job search.
Are there
certain aspects of your job that you were unclear about when you were offered
the position? Perhaps you and your boss can work out solutions so you can
fulfill your desires within the criteria of the job description. "You can
sometimes renegotiate the job," says Simpson. Consider asking to be
released from some tasks or offer to take on certain other tasks that may
improve your happiness on the job. While Simpson says many bosses will be
willing to sculpt a role around an employee, their amenability may also depend
on the level of the position. "If it’s a lower-level position, there’s
going to be a lot less flexibility," she says.
Adjusting to a
new work environment, new schedules, and new procedures can be overwhelming.
"Change is difficult for many people," says Simpson. Ask yourself
whether your dissatisfaction with your new job is simply growing pains. It’s
easy to interpret your aversion to change as a poor fit, when in fact, you’re
simply feeling overwhelmed by all the new things you have to learn. Simpson
recommends sticking out the job for at least six months to determine whether
it’s the job you’re hating or just the change that is required.
If you’ve
determined that your new job really isn’t for you and decide to move on,
Simpson says it’s vital to examine what went wrong in your decision making to
make sure the next job you land is the right one. Did the company withhold
information from you? Should you have asked more questions? "Identify
patterns in your own thoughts or behaviours and get a sense of what to do right
next time," says Simpson. Make a list of the things you dislike about your
current position or company, then invert the list so that you now have an ideal
job/company list that you can use to find your next position. "Recruiters
have a tendency to want to see people placed in positions that are ideal to the
one they just left," says Simpson. This can leave you spinning your wheels
in jobs that you hate. Be strategic about what’s on your LinkedIn profile and
resume so you don’t get stuck in the same job you hate over and over again.
BY LISA EVANS
http://www.fastcompany.com/3054035/know-it-all/6-strategies-to-transform-a-job-you-hate-into-one-you-love?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-daily-newsletter&position=4&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=12072015
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