The Power to Choose

When I was growing up, no one would have dared utter the words “I want to be happy in my job.” I can only imagine the scornful response from parents and teachers: “What are you talking about? A job’s a job’s a job. Shut up and do your homework.” That was then. 

I want to be happy in my job.

We  were  not expected to be happy at work. We just went out and got a job. These days, you can make a choice. Do you want to be happy at work? Or do you want to settle for a job that’s “good enough,” even though it’s not a good fit for you?

If you are unhappy at work, there’s a natural tendency to complain about your job and do nothing about it. If this is the case, you aren’t willing to do what it takes to change the situation. And that’s okay. But if you decide to do nothing, at least stop banging your head against the wall. Stop moaning about your job. And be aware that staying in a job you dislike, or working around people who constantly make you feel uncomfortable, can make your work suffer. You can waste years of your life not realizing the reputational damage that you’re doing to yourself on a daily basis. It just chips away until everyone can see that you’re totally disengaged.

THE POWER TO CHOOSE

You don’t have to live and work like that, though. You have the power to make a choice, and an infomercial can help. By looking at what’s revealed in your infomercial—what do you genuinely love to do, for instance, and how much of your capacity is being used—you’ll be forced to look in the mirror and come to terms with where you are at in your working life. Then you can choose to stay or to go. 

Your Target-Rich Environment

Let’s start with your target-rich environment. It’s where you should be looking for a job, given everything—your skills, experience, character, working style, and personality—you have to offer. All our lives, people say give me your CV, tell me where you worked before—because it’s all about “the job.”

But the concept that one’s skills are only applicable to a particular type of job, in a single industry or sector, is ridiculous. Once you’ve written your infomercial, you can find great opportunities in a lot of different places. A computer programmer who likes to sell doesn’t have to resign himself to days at the office looking at a screen. His target-rich environment could include sales, consumer testing, even teaching at a college.

You need to do your homework to figure out your target-rich environment. This takes some research online and talking with others to make sure. Keep asking yourself, “Am I looking in the right places?” Look again at the list you made of who you work best with. Where do people like that work? Is it in a quiet office or a rambunctious, wide- open space—or in a country house? What would work for you? That’s your target-rich environment.

It took my good friend Rick almost thirty years to realize that his target-rich environment was bigger than he thought. During high school, Rick played drums with a bunch of guys who ended up becoming the well-known rock band The Tragically Hip. Rick put his drums aside, pursued mining engineering, completed a master’s degree, and then worked in international mining companies. Even though he had landed in an industry that appeared to be the right fit for his qualifications, it didn’t feel right. “All those years, it was always about the job,” Rick told me. “It was never about who I am or about finding a place where I’d really fit in.”

Rick left mining and came to me. He was being recruited by Canadian banks, and he didn’t want to make the same mistake as before. Rick was finally ready to figure out where to find a true fit. It wasn’t easy; in fact, you’ll remember that he was the one who told me that the idea of finding the right fit initially scared him. “My God, I thought as I started to answer the four questions,” he recalled. “I should have continued to play drums in a rock and roll band.… It honestly freaked me out a bit.”

After his infomercial was complete, Rick knew that he needed to find a fit where he could more fully use his strengths in dealing with people and developing relationships. He made the choice to accept a job in investment banking. “I used to think I was a miner who happens to do investment banking; now I know I’m an investment banker who likes mining but is much happier at the relationship side of things. I love dealing with the clients and help- ing them out,” said Rick. “I’m telling you, I have never been happier in my life or more at peace with myself.”

Rick’s narrow view of who he was restricted his choices of where to look for job opportunities. It meant that he had ended up working as an engineer in the mining industry because that was his “title.” He admitted that he kept learning in his job to add value so he could get the next mining job. After Rick developed his infomercial, he finally understood his target-rich environment—which for him extended beyond mining. And now, working with people who understand him, Rick is happy and finally feels, after thirty years, that he fits in.

Changing Jobs in 2011? Think About Career Fit Before Making a Career Move

I mentioned a couple of weeks back that 84% of North Americans interviewed in a recent survey said they will be looking for a new position in 2011.

The fact is that in North America there is a high level of job dissatisfaction and that means it’s likely that you are, or soon will be, looking for new opportunities yourself.

But before you update that resume and start applying for jobs, let me ask you an important question.

Are you thinking about career fit?

An astounding number of people let their past job titles direct their career paths rather than factors that really matter. Maybe you’ve been reasonably successful in sales, or marketing, or accounts -- but that doesn’t mean those job titles should define you.

So what criteria should you use to direct your career path? Well, there are a number of important factors that I explore with my clients. Here are some questions you can start with:

-- Why are you unhappy or unsatisfied in your current position?
-- What is it about your work that gives you satisfaction and what makes you unhappy?
-- What are things you really enjoy and what do you dread doing each day?
-- Who do you work well with and who do you dislike working with and why?

Make a note of your answers now and start to create your Personal Balance Sheet™ as you consider what your next career move might be.

At the risk of over-simplifying things, you need to find a job that involves doing the things you enjoy (by the way these are almost invariably the things you are good at) and does not involve doing the things you dislike.

It makes sense to take the time to know how you are wired. This might seem like a no-brainer but I can’t tell you how many people I’ve encountered who have allowed other factors to direct their career paths without questioning them.

If you’ve been unhappy in a previous position it’s vital to work out exactly why you were unhappy. Was it the people you worked with? Were you in the wrong field? Were you in the right field but the wrong company?

Figure these things out and you’re in a much better position to start looking for a job and employer that will fit. And you’ll be in a much better position to find happiness at work.