At one point or another most of us have a job we want to escape. Not surprisingly, many of my clients come to me wanting out of their jobs ASAP. But as important as it is to do work you love, it’s not always possible to leave that old job right away. You might have financial obligations, want to build up some savings before you take the leap, or you just might not know what you want to do instead. So what do you do in the meantime, when you dread going to work and feel like your soul is being slowly sucked from your body every day that you’re there? As someone who was unhappy in more jobs than I’d like to count, here are some strategies for not just surviving but finding some happiness in your day. As a side note, if your job situation is truly toxic…
Tag: self care
I spent much of my life playing it safe. I jumped from company to company, taking jobs that I had little to no passion for because of what they represented: a “respectable” option, and an escape from the last job. So many people around me seemed dissatisfied with their jobs too. Eventually I accepted it as just a fact of life. I told myself that some people got lucky & found work they loved and that maybe I just wasn’t one of them. I told myself I should be grateful to have a job at all and to stop complaining. I told myself that I couldn’t afford to make the kind of dramatic career change I longed for, both because of the fear of screwing up my resume and becoming unmarketable and because I was literally scared of taking a pay cut, running out of money, and ending right back…
People often ask me what the most important thing is that they could do to find work they love. Is it doing informational interviews? Going to networking events? Thinking back to your childhood dreams? Figuring out what makes you unique? All of those things are valuable (although if you hate networking events I hereby give you permission to not go to them. There are other ways!), but the first thing I tell clients to do is make self-care a priority. What?? I know what you might be thinking. “Self-care? What does that even mean? Sounds kind of woo woo.” Or “I’m all for self-care, but with a full time job, kids, cooking, cleaning, errands, family obligations, my awful commute -- not to mention this career search -- who has time? If I had a new job I would have more time for self-care! I need the new job first!” I hear…