Love it or List it: Part 1
I watch an embarrassing amount of HGTV. I know all about shiplap, grading problems, cracked foundations, and demolition. In fact, I’ve watched enough to know that everything involved in buying, building, or even renovating a house is kind of intimidating. Home ownership is an expensive and serious commitment. If I’ve learned anything from shows like “Love it or List it”, it’s that the decision to stay or go requires a good deal of drama and a commitment to make it work.
Choosing to stay or leave a house can feel a lot like when you are unhappy at work. Maybe when you started, everything was great and it was only over the years that you’ve noticed the imperfections. Or the job was once more than enough to meet your needs when you were just starting your career, but now it feels confining and limiting to your professional development. It could be that it was never a perfect situation but it paid the bills and you’ve just hung around longer than you planned. Whatever the reason, you find yourself wondering, “What now?”. Do you stay in your job and try to find some ways to make it work, or do you check out the job market to see if you can find something better?
Well, let’s break this choice down shall we?
Reasons to Love It:
1. Do you like who you work with? Boss, co-workers, clients, etc?
2. Do you believe in the mission/purpose that drives the company and what you do?
3. Do you feel that a few changes in your current role, such as a change in responsibilities or better resources would alleviate a lot of your concerns?
4. Do you feel that there is room to grow if you could move into a different role or team?
5. Has the company demonstrated a willingness and desire to develop your skills and do they reward hard work?
If you find yourself saying yes to a lot of these questions, then you might find that with a few changes, you are exactly where you need to be.
Reasons to List It:
1. You dread going into work in the morning and you can’t get excited about what you do everyday.
2. You career goals have changed and where you are currently is no longer a match for your skills and education and you have nowhere to go.
3. Do you find yourself thinking that if Sue from accounting steals your creamer for her coffee one more time you are going to steal all her good pens…, er, I mean do you find yourself having problems with your co-workers?
4. Do you find that your job is keeping you from what you want to do in life (Travel, family, being an entrepreneur)?
5. You’re burned out from the long hours, the horrible commute, all the travel, or even the bad food in the cafeteria.
If you find yourself agreeing with a lot of these concerns, then it’s time for you to start looking for a new opportunity.
In the end, no matter what you decide, think carefully through your options and have the courage to do what you need to do. Because there is nothing worse than being stuck in a bad job and not being brave enough to do something about it.
Come back next week and we’ll discuss steps you can take to both “Love or List” your job.
