2024 is almost halfway over. Are you happy with your current job? You spend more time at work than anywhere else, so having a job that satisfies most of your needs is beneficial. While no job is perfect, it is important to be aware of the tradeoffs you are making within your job and employer.
What makes a good job?
Evaluating the virtues and pitfalls of roles can help you work towards a satisfying career. My research and coaching experience have helped me to identify 8 essential factors that contribute to job satisfaction:
Compensation- the wages, bonuses, and benefits you receive.
Job Security- the assurance that you can maintain your current role for the foreseeable future.
Growth Potential- opportunities for upward and lateral advancement.
Challenging Assignments- the ability to do engaging work that provides opportunities to learn new skills and expand your capabilities.
Autonomy- the freedom to decide how tasks are completed and how you manage your time.
Work-life Balance- balancing your mental and physical health while fulfilling your work obligations.
Sense of Purpose- a feeling that your work matters and is aligned with your values.
Sense of Belonging- a sense of being valued and accepted for who you are.
Determine what would be the right job.
The Circle of Career Fulfillment is powerful because it can help you visualize different aspects of your current job and determine where you want to see improvements. Once you know where you want to see growth, you can develop an action plan to create your desired change.
Take a moment to reflect on each factor of your job. Rate each based on whether it sucks, is ok, or ideal. Print this wheel out and color in the slots.
What insights are coming up for you?
Where do things seem to be off-balanced?
Is there a part of the wheel that seems more important to fix?
Narrowing your focus to improving just one area of the wheel can have a positive ripple effect in other areas.
How to find the right job.
Once you have a clear vision of the aspects of your career that you would like to work on, you can develop a career improvement plan. This plan should include specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for each area you want to improve.
Remember, progress is made through a series of small steps in a deliberate direction.
Frequently, you can improve your current work situation by working with your boss and mentors to reach specific goals. If you do not have a mentor or feel your boss has competing priorities, working with a coach who can help you develop a strategy to get the skills, experience, and confidence you need to achieve your goals can be helpful.
You may have to leave your current job to get your ideal job, but before you jump ship, make sure you clearly understand what a better job looks like. You can often create a better situation within your current company by clearly communicating what you are looking for and asking them what they need from you to change or improve your current work situation.
Summary
By defining what you do not like about your current job and what your ideal job looks like, you can more clearly take steps to make tomorrow better than today. Leaving one situation for another only makes sense if you progress toward a better situation. Define what good looks like, then take deliberate steps towards a better future.
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As an executive coach, I assist executives and middle managers in clarifying their professional goals, developing skills, and growing their capabilities so they can reach their full potential.
Whether you want to lead more effectively, acquire a new role, or earn a promotion, I am here to help you accelerate your growth and achieve more.
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