When you first accept employment, you’re so excited to have a job, you rarely stop to consider if it’s the right one. It’s okay. We all go through a version of that, sometimes many times in our adult lives.
At some point, however, the realities of the company catch up with you. At some point, you look deep into the mirror to ask, am I working for the right place?
Better you do there than in the face of your boss in a passive-aggressive threat. Don’t wonder if you’re working for the right company. Know you’re working for the right one or know it’s the wrong one, then make a plan to get out.
To be in the right place, the product has to excite you. You also need to work someplace where your values match their’s, but if you can’t a work-life balance or don’t see pathways for an opportunity, you gotta leave.
Exciting Product
(source: tenor.co)
Whether it’s an actual widget, t-shirts, or a service, whatever it is your company sells, you have to be a fan. It doesn’t have to be your favorite thing, but it has to make your list.
If you don’t like what you sell, even if you don’t work in the sales department, you will never find excitement in what you do. You can lie for a little while, but eventually, they will sniff you out, customers or leadership.
Go get hired for a company that sells something you like. You’ll be much happier. You will perform better.
In some companies, they sell a wide scope of products. You may be able to stay with your company but transfer to a department that better matches what excites you.
Values Match
(source: halogensoftware.com)
If you don’t know your values, it’s okay. Not everybody walks around with a list of values ready to list them at the drop of a hat. You should figure out what matters to you.
Rather than try to cram a bunch of corporate adjectives into your definition of self, get prosaic. Scribe your thoughts like a letter or journal entry. Write about what matters to you, the things you value in people.
What makes you like others? What makes you not like them? Sometimes you can get to what you value by defining the opposite, what you don’t like.
Make the list as big as you can, then pare it down to your top three. Is your company a match? Again, don’t try to pair corporate core values as your only test. Consider your leadership; how does their behavior demonstrate values?
If you find discrepancies, either in what they say versus what they do or values which don’t cross any of yours, you may be working for the wrong company. You don’t have to be a perfect match, but there should be a crossover, enough to comfort you.
Work-life balance
(source: linkedin.com)
This is a hot topic. For many people in the States, it’s about time off. For a developed country, we lag behind other developed nations with sufficient time off.
You gotta know what matters to you. Some don’t need so much time off. We’re fine to work endlessly. (I would argue that won’t last, but you gotta walk in your own shoes.)
Similar to the values match, ask, does the company you work for value balance the way you do? Be aware of the head fake. Some talk about balance, only to demonstrate that they don’t truly value it, not the way you do.
If your boss talks about time off, but never takes any, be wary. Someone is mixing the message.
You can ask about the disparity, but don’t expect to hear the truth. Actions speak loudest. Look for a place that matches your idea of balance. You may have to move to Europe.
Opportunity
(source: ipr.northwestern.edu)
Understand that if your company isn’t growing, then that doesn’t mean you should jump ship, not yet, but you should ask about it. Companies go through periods of growth and stagnancy. That’s normal. What shouldn’t stop is development and change.
If you are working for a company that intends to grow over the long haul, they will have a plan in place to develop their bench. Even if you don’t yet qualify for that program, you should know about it.
A company that grows without development suffers awful growing pain as they try to catch up. Avoid.
Also, be on the lookout for change. Growing companies frequently change processes. Compensation plans will change, sometimes not for the better, but change is inevitable in a growing company. That doesn’t mean you have to like all the change, nor does it mean all change is good, but no change should raise flags.
If you can’t match your values to the actions of your leadership, if you can’t see your pathway up the ladder, it’s time to brush up your résumé and LinkedIn profile.
Read this: 5 Steps You Must Take Before You Interview
You need to do a little research on where you might fit in better. Then you need a plan to get a job there. Don’t waste any more time than you have to someplace you don’t want to be.
These are the hours of your life. Spend them someplace that compliments you.
