Help Me I Hate My Job

In the previous post I talked about overcoming your job fears. Now it is time to take the next step to find the job you love.

Now that you have overcome the fear

You need to clearly define why you want to leave your current job. It has to be a strong reason because it will take diligent work and perseverance to move forward. Nothing hard, just continuous action. Do you want better pay? Does your boss suck? Do you hate the work you are doing? What is your reason?

Write down a list of reasons why you want to leave your job. This will help you make sure you do not end up doing things you hate.

In one of my previous jobs I started to become frustrated because I was required to return to a previous role (almost a demotion) because the person in that role left and the company was trying to save money by eliminating my current role. Also, I was getting nervous because the company was cutting jobs in the department I returned to. Finally, management motivated people through fear and they generally did not treat the employees like people. Though I was not directly feeling the negativity (I had an awesome boss).

I decided I had to get out of there so I could keep supporting my family, and I knew it was easier to get a job when I had a job. I did not want to be desperate at a job interview and I did not want to absorb all of the negativity which would make me look bad at my next company.

What do you want to do…

Before you begin looking for a job you need to know what you want to do.

Prior to my most recent job change it took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do. I started looking for things similar to my role at the time but I did not find anything which made me happy. Since I did not know what I wanted to do I was stuck looking at the job boards (the worse place to find a job because everybody and their mother is looking for a job).

To help me figure this out, I began talking to people who know me well. After many discussions I realized I wanted to do something closer to a sales role. Once I figured that out, I was able to refine my resume and start targeting the companies I wanted to work for.

To figure out what you want to do, I recommend that you make a list of things you liked doing from your previous jobs. Now make a list of the things you hated doing. You can expand both these lists to incorporate your hobbies and outside activities like volunteer activities. Next, take that list and review it with trusted friends who are willing to speak the truth to you. Now come up with a list of 5 possible roles that you can do that utilize the things you like and minimize the things you hate. Now this is your list of roles you should go out and look for.