What to do Instead of Quitting Your Job

EVERYONE has worked in a job that they didn’t really want. Sometimes we have to take a job just to pay bills, and financially keep our heads above water. Sometimes it’s a job that feels like it is a dead end from day one, and sometimes it is a job that has become one.

Let’s face it, right now the job market is tight and many will need to ‘gut it out’ at a job that they hate until things improve.

So what do you do instead of quitting the job that you hate? 

1. Recommit It: Sometimes the job becomes distasteful because you frankly haven’t been doing the job as well as you should. An honest assessment of your job performance, and a recommitment to do your job to the absolute maximum of your ability can transform how you feel about it. Doing great work, just for the sake of great work is a powerful way to make a job you detest into a job you like (or can at least tolerate).

2. Re-do it: When you don’t like a room, you give it a makeover. When you don’t like your hair, you give it a new style. When you don’t like your job, give it a total do-over. If you have permission, totally rethink the way your current job is done. Examine every component of it to see if the way it has always been done is really the best way to do it. This influx of creativity may be just what you need to make your job meaningful again.

3. Reframe it: You are not your job. You are not your career. You are not the company you work for. For several years, I worked in retail banking. I had no love for banking. What I loved was volunteering at my church. I viewed my job as the way I paid for the opportunity to volunteer with the middle school group at my church. My job wasn’t what I loved, it was how I paid for doing what I loved. When I did that, my job became much more enjoyable. What is it that your job enables you to do? Focus on that and improve how you feel about the work you are doing.

4. Re think it: Okay, you’ve tried everything and it is time to move on. Make sure that you don’t just jump from one job you don’t like into another one. Be ready to work hard to land in a job you love.

• Determine what you REALLY want to do.
• Ask yourself: “How long can I stand to do this job?” This is the amount of time you have to make the move.
• Create a plan to get into the field you want.

Finally, consider a coach for walking though the process of re-evaluating your career. My coach was indispensable to me in my transition into coaching, and many of my clients are people who have transitioned between jobs or even new career paths. I’d love to talk to you about your own work situation.

The mission of Matthew Reed Coaching is “To make the world a more effective and God honoring place, through coaching.” I love to help people genuinely experience the life they have always wanted. I’d be thrilled to be able to share with you the power of coaching.”

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