I hate my job is something that you might think to yourself and wonder what you can do to correct it. In this economy, some people probably feel more comfortable sitting tight in their current job even if they hate it and stick it out, at least until the economy picks up.
Certainly, your specific circumstances (job type, level of experience, work history, location, etc) can have a major impact on your ability to switch jobs.
Of course, saying that “I hate my job” doesn’t really give much detail as to what it is that you hate.
Do you hate the job itself in which case you are looking for a career change and want to go into a completely different role, even perhaps with the same company?
Do you hate the job as it’s designed in the company you’re in and want to do the same job in a different company?
Do you hate the company you’re working for and by extension hate the job?
Is it something different or a combination of the above?
Before you can figure out a plan of attack to solve your dilemma, you need to figure out what it is that you hate and what you want to do next in your career to avoid going from one problem job to another.
I’ve interviewed plenty of people who tell me they want to move on to a new position because they hate their job and when I start talking to them about specifics, they tend to default back to the common reasons that cause people to look for new jobs ie. they’re not getting paid enough money, the job is boring, the location is too far from home, they don’t get along with their boss, they’re in a dead end job with no chance of promotion, etc.
I’ve seen some people change jobs to get away from the job they hate only to find themselves looking for a new job again a few months later because they’ve come to realize that they were so desperate to leave their old employer, they didn’t really pay enough attention to their new one to see that they weren’t really solving anything. In these cases, the honeymoon with the new employer doesn’t last very long and pretty soon they’re looking for another divorce.
If you really do hate your job and need to figure out how to get a new and better one, here are a few thoughts to help you deal with it:
1. Before you quit your job and close the door completely, make sure you can’t salvage it. Perhaps there is something in your current position that could be changed or amended that could make it better and more reasonable. Maybe a talk with your boss is in order especially if there is something they can do to make it better.
2. Figure out what you really want to do next in your career. As mentioned above, figure out exactly what it is that you don’t like about job and don’t forget to figure out what you do like, too. In other words, think about what you like to do, that you’re good at and that make you happy. Have you ever actually thought about what you do like and how you could turn it into a profession or at least, include it in your next job? If not, do it now.
3. Network. When you start looking for a new job, let your friends and family members know. Of course, you’re probably not going to broadcast it to your current employer but letting people know that you’re looking for a new job can open up new avenues that you didn’t otherwise know about. Hang out with people who can positively influence your job search and not with people who bring you down and make you feel worse. And don’t broadcast how you hate your job on your Facebook page or other social networks.
4. Make sure the timing is right and that you don’t jump ship to a worse situation. As mentioned above, I’ve seen people leave one bad job for another and then have to start searching for a job again. I’ve actually seen people leave a job they hate, and then end up going back to this job a few months later because the new job they got was worse. Think before you jump ship. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side and your next job might not materialize right away. It may take some time and effort to find it.
5. Don’t be insane. They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If your current career management plan hasn’t yet resulted in making things better, it’s likely that continuing to do it isn’t going to help either. If your definition of a job search is posting your resume on a few job boards and waiting for the great jobs to roll in, think again. Network (see point 3 above), call up people who can positively influence your job search, use LinkedIn, attend conferences or seminars to meet new people, take a course to learn something new. Do something different and don’t conduct your job search solely from behind your computer.
6. Realize that doing nothing isn’t an option. If you’ve decided that when you say “I hate my job” you really mean it, the one option that isn’t available is to do nothing because clearly this won’t make things better and in fact will only cause you to become more depressed and probably less motivated to try to make things better.
