3 Things To Consider Before You Switch Jobs

I was chatting with a friend recently who was deciding between two jobs. She’s a smart woman. She enjoys what she does. And she isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and get working.

We talked through the two jobs and the impact it would have on her life (and her dreams).

3 questions emerged that I thought would be helpful for you to consider as you make your own decision:

What are Your Goals?

I don’t even mean “what are your goals professionally?” - I mean “what are your goals in life?”

Is your goal to be a loving parent/partner/child/sibling? Which job best furthers that?

What if your goal in life is to be rich? Or a titan of industry? Famous? Powerful? Some mix of all of the above?

What do you want your impact to be on the people around you? What will your legacy be?

Figure out your goals, and pick the job that gets you closest.

This may seem obvious to you, but I assure you it isn’t obvious to everyone. I see people making career decisions all the time without thinking of the impact on their broader life.

This is about the difference between drifting through life and intentionally making your way.

Which Job Best Honours Your Values

When you’re honouring your values, you’re being authentic. How will each job allow you to be yourself in your life?

It’s a simple exercise: come up with a list of all the things you value, narrow those values down to 4-6 core values, and then see which job would allow you to best honour those core values.

Personally, my core values are family, freedom, play/mischief, achievement, and giving/community. My current job (working for a government agency that manages regional transit around Toronto) allows me to honour my values reasonably well. I get to work on important things (achievement) that benefit the community (giving/community) and, for a lawyer, it has a reasonable work/life balance (family, freedom, play).

Which Job Will You Love The Most? (And Hate The Least?)

Two-factor motivation theory holds that there are factors that motivate you and cause you to WANT to do your job (motivation factors) and there are factors that, if not done right, cause you to hate your job (hygeine factors).

Hygeine factors are things like the quality of your commute, whether you have your own office, whether you like your boss or your colleagues, etc. These things won’t make you love your job, but they’ll make you hate your job if they’re terrible. They’re also job-specific. (Interestingly, your salary is a hygeine factor.)

Your motivation factors are unique to you. Maybe you love to solve problems, or work with people, or feel like you’re making a difference. They are not job-specific.

So, if you're still looking for what motivates you, keep looking. Try wildly different things. 

And if you know what motivates you but you're unhappy where you are? Try to find a different job with better hygeine.

Fear

Quick check in: how much did fear influence your answers?

Fear of not succeeding, fear of being an imposter, fear that the life you want doesn’t exist? If it did, try to acknowledge your fear and ignore it as you re-answer the questions.

What Does This Mean For You?

Hopefully answering the questions gave you clarity.

If you have thoughts on which question is most important for you, I’d love to hear about it.

Hit me up on Instagram, on Facebook, or below in the comments.