A change of routine – like a holiday – often injects us with an increased dose of commitment to make a change to something that’s no longer fulfilling our needs. Deciding to move on from our current role is something that very often happens at these times.
If you find yourself thinking, “I want a new job, but what if I don’t like it?” perhaps you will like the two tips in this article.
Yes, you want a new job. You need a new job. Maybe your boss doesn’t appreciate you enough. Or you’re underpaid. Or your ideas are not being heard. Or company communication is rubbish. Or they keep changing things. Or you’re moving to a new area. Or you can’t use your skills as expected. Or your loved ones tell you you’re spending too much time at work. Or you have reached the top of the tree. Or you are being badly treated. Or you’re not being as productive as you could be. Or you’re getting neck ache or headaches. Or the company is doing badly. Or you’ve been made redundant. Or you hate pre-Monday morning Sunday evenings. Or you’re bored. Whatever the reason, you’re leaving and that’s that.
But what if, after weeks/months of searching, you start that new wonderful job and your initial excitement turns too quickly into disappointment? What a wasted investment of your time and energy that would be. My clients have experienced that sometimes it only takes three or four months after starting a new job for that feeling of “this role/team/organisation is not right for me” to set in.
Is there a way to minimise that risk of your next role not working out? Yes, I believe there is. There are two things to do, one before even looking for a new role, and the other during the interview.
Tip one:
Before you even set up any job alerts, you need to make sure you are self-aware. You need to ask yourself some questions. You need to know your default ways of being. You need to know why you get up in the mornings; why sometimes you wear a frown, and other times you have a spring in your step. You need to know what would make you choose – and not choose – to work at weekends. You need to know what you must have in order to be satisfied in your professional life.
Here are the types of questions you can start with:
- How much of a difference do you like making?
- How much direction or independence do you want?
- How much problem solving do you like?
- How much would going on training courses appeal to you?
- How much money will keep you committed when things get tough?
- How many (if any) people would you like to manage?
- How proud do you want to be of your job title/company name/industry?
- How much connection do you want with your colleagues?
- How much change are you comfortable with?
Tip two:
Use your answers and turn them into questions you will ask the interviewer.
For example, you may realise that leading a team doesn’t excite you, so if you are given a promotion, you would not be excited by becoming someone who has people to manage. If you realise that what excites you is learning, you will want your employer to pay for training courses as a promotion instead.
Armed with these insights, you can use your new questions in an interview situation in front of your future employer.
You could ask something like:
“If I meet the expectations of this role, can you explain how I would be rewarded in your team/department/company? / What are the usual stages of career progression?”
Wait for the answer from the hiring manager and then ask:
“How is the current L&D budget allocated and what are the criteria for accessing it?”
In this way, you can have information that suggests that your potential new company’s culture will easily support someone like you or whether it would be a battle to get your needs met.
You may choose to do a little soul searching before making a frustrating and lengthy mistake of choosing the wrong role. There is a fabulous online diagnostic tool – which I am trained to provide to my clients – that gives you your personalised answers to what you need.
I can help you understand your own pre-requisites for job satisfaction. You are more unique than being one of just 16 personality types and you can become more skilled. The tool measures what you are naturally able to find the energy to do – and what you are naturally not interested in doing. At this given moment.
We are not robots and we are affected by any changes to the landscape of our world. For example, if something major happens in our life outside work (e.g. paying for unexpected care bills), what we once took for granted may suddenly become precious, and our motivators will move to reflect this (e.g. we will be more interested in making more money).
Can you see how knowing what you need to be fully energised and intrinsically motivated in the workplace gives you a great set of questions that will minimise the risk of your next career move becoming a draining disappointment?
If you are ready to tell me that you are ready to re-energise your future, why not Schedule Appointment for a complimentary conversation and tell me about your situation?
Read some client stories here: Client Reviews