Don’t stay stuck in a job you hate.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. Cathy is a business and career consultant, speaker and author. Her ebook, 10 Things To Do When you REALLY Hate Your Job, available on Amazon was the topic of the webinar. Cathy works with mid-career business owners, professionals and corporate executives.
For anyone not on the call, I would like to share the highlights with you. I think you will find it informative, as well as interesting. Since it would have a very long webinar if Cathy talked about all 10 things to do, she focused on 3 of them.
- In the past, it was assumed that you would stay in your first job until you retired. That is no longer the case. People move around for a variety of reasons. People want to learn new things and grow. They want to try different things. The stigma of changing jobs is gone.
- High turnover jobs happen because people choose them when they are young before they really understand what the job entails. The rules and environment changes. For examples, doctors went into medicine because they want to make sick people well. They want the one-on-one care. However, insurance companies and hospitals have made the job of doctors more about paperwork than patient care. People who choose to enter creative jobs because they love the process find themselves under pressure to create. The process has become work instead of fun. The economy has made some jobs stressful as people are laid off, and the remaining people have to take on additional duties.
- When you find yourself suffering from mental or physical illnesses as a result of your job, it’s time to leave. You could be sabotaging your career by making mistakes risking your job. If you start thinking about obtaining prescribed medications or self-medicating, you should take a serious look at your ability to stay.
- There are several types of toxic environments. One is where you are set up to fail making it impossible to succeed. You are verbally abused or bullied. The pace is faster than it has to be, and there is no leeway.
- Before you quit, talk to a financial planner. Can you afford to quit? What adjustments can be made in your budget and expenses? How long can you live off of your savings? Do you need to take an interim position? These are just some of the many questions you should talk about with your planner.
- After you talk to a financial planner, talk to a therapist, career consultant or coach. This neutral person can help you find ways to make staying possible or help you find something else.
- If you decide to leave and find something else, think about what you really want to do. Look what would be the ideal job for you. The career consultant or coach can direct you to resources that will make your decision easier. Then help you go about getting the job you want.
This is only a brief summary of all the information provided. But it will give you some things to think about for your own career. Cathy’s website is: http://midlifecareerstrategy.com
How can I help you in your job search?
Arleen,
Thank you for sharing one of the symptoms in the aftermath of an economic debacle. Today’s corporate culture is bottomline oriented. Employees are stressed out, wearing multiple hats, working inordinate hours and delivering projects under tightly imposed schedules. Tragically, given today’s highly competitive job market, they are apprehensive to “rock the boat” or simply lack the self confidence to test the waters. Your points are welll stated and all highly relevant.
Lenny
Thank you Lenny for your comment. I have heard so many stories of situations you described. Something has to be done so that companies realize they are abusing their most important resource. The first step is awareness.
Good day for you,
Thanks a lot for this article , you make people thinking, acting and changing.
I think that in most situations people accept a job by need. sure need money , then after they discouver many problems , may be they are part or not , the become instable and loose confiance , search for the best , they can loose their jobs easily because of mistakes.
Then if some has no confiance in himself , it will be very difficult to get better job.
If this person changes his job or the company more than 3 times , what is coming after ?
Yes, many people take jobs because they need the money. But sometimes, people have been in a job for awhile and things have changed. Their supervisor/manager, the company, the industry, products, and many other factors. I spoke to a woman this morning saying her immediate boss quit and the company has not intention of replacing her. They just expect my client to double up on her work. Needless to say, she is looking to get out. Things happen and things change that make the job unbearable.
Hi
Its true , sometimes we can not do anything if the situation is out of control.
I think that we have to know what is the géostrategy , and we do not be afraid from changing Job , I know it is not easy for all people but the world changes very quickly.
This is also an invitation for all , DO NOT STOP STUDIES , we have to be apdated every day if not every moment.