Jumping to apply to another job when you hate your current job feels like the most natural thing to do. However, if you don’t have clarity, you will quickly find yourself in yet another miserable job. In this article, I’m sharing 4 questions to answer before submitting another job application.
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I was recently asked in an interview what the one thing every job seeker needs is clarity. The answer came quickly: I know I have talked quite a bit about clarity, but some people may be thinking, “What does that mean?” “What does it look like for me to have clarity?” Answer these 4 questions to help you get the clarity you need before you start your job search.
4 Questions to answer before submitting another job application:
1. What type of work environment do I thrive in?
The environment around you plays a large role in your work satisfaction. This includes your physical work environment, the people you work with, management, and company culture. All of these pieces greatly affect how satisfied or dissatisfied you are at work. Oftentimes I see people who are unhappy in their job get on LinkedIn or Indeed and start scrolling, applying for jobs without clarity, and end up in another job that is not aligned and makes them unhappy.
One thing that can help you get clarity is to really ask yourself, what type of environment do I thrive in? And when you are thinking of the environment, I want you to consider these three factors:
- Pace. What is the intensity of the work environment? Is it a go-go-go, fast-paced environment, or are things more chilled out? If you tend to be more laid-back and end up in a super fast-paced work environment, you will become dissatisfied over time.
- Rhythm. Think of rhythm as the pattern of the pace. Some workplaces have busy seasons where things are a little bit faster-paced. And then, at other times, things slow down, sort of like a wave. Take note if the rhythm fluctuates or if it’s fast, fast, fast all the time. Ask yourself, “What kind of rhythm am I okay with?”
- Endurance. How long can you sustain that rhythm you have identified? If you like a fast-paced work environment, how long can you maintain it and enjoy it?
2. What have I learned from my past jobs?
When we are coming out of a job situation that was less than stellar, it is easy for us to discount that entire experience. We just want to escape that work environment, and put it behind us and not look back. But there is a lesson to be learned in that situation. Maybe you learned the kind of management style you don’t appreciate. Or the kind of work pace you don’t like. Maybe you learned the kind of tasks you don’t like to do. Don’t discount the value of knowing what you do not want.
In eliminating the options of what you don’t want, what you do want will make itself clear.
So before you submit another job application, ask yourself, what did I learn in my past jobs? Identify what your preferences are, how you like to be communicated with, and how you like to be managed. Take note of your boundaries within your workplace as it relates to the work you will do, the way you will communicate, and the issues that you will or will not be silent about. When work situations have been less than stellar, they give you much information about your boundaries. It’s so important to ask yourself before you apply for another job, what you stand for in the world of work.
Determine what skills you enjoyed using and which ones you did not. Sometimes when we get into a job we start being handed tasks that are outside of the scope of our position. But in doing those different things, you end up using a lot of skills. And in using those skills, you start to learn what you like to do and don’t like to do. Don’t discount the value in even the jobs you hated, because looking back and reflecting on what you’re learning and what you’re taking away from those jobs will really clue you into what you want in your new job.
3. What are my values?
Speaking of boundaries, the third question you need to answer is, “What are my values?” This is so important because your values are your beliefs and principles that drive and guide your behavior. Identifying your values helps you find out what you will and will not stand for in the workplace.
Your values help you improve your decision-making abilities because you know what you stand for when you are clear on your values. And when you know what you stand for, you know what your boundaries are. When it comes time for a job search, you will know if you should apply for a certain job or want to work for a certain company. It becomes so much easier to answer the question because you will know how to audit the environment and ask yourself if it is a job that aligns with you or if it will be a job that will violate what you stand for.
For example, maybe you are someone who values honesty and integrity, and you see a job come up in your search. After researching the job more, you realize that you might have to create some alternative facts about your work or even fib some numbers. If you know your values of honesty and integrity, then you can quickly and easily rule out this particular job. You don’t want to be forced to constantly live out of alignment with your values. If you do, there is a 98% guarantee you will be dissatisfied and unhappy.
Clarifying your values improves your decision-making. It also improves your work satisfaction.
When you are doing work that aligns with your values, you feel more satisfied because you are doing meaningful work! You feel like you are living on purpose. Meaningful work is one of the major keys to career satisfaction.
Lastly, clarifying your values will help you set better goals. When you know what you stand for, it becomes much easier to establish goals and priorities because your values will guide them. If family is your core value, then prioritizing family time might become your goal. When a new project or new job comes up, you will ask yourself, “Is this going to take me away from my family?” It is easy for us to go through the motions in our career, do what people tell us to do, and apply for jobs because we think it is the next logical step in our career without pausing to really ask ourselves what we want.
Clarifying your values is a foundational way to examine yourself and determine what is important to you.
It is perfectly okay to ask yourself what you want in your career. And it is perfectly okay to prioritize what you want in your career. I am a big advocate for prioritizing! When you know what you want in your career, you show up better at work. When you are in a workplace that is aligned with who you are, the job feels good, you feel energized by it, and it allows you to show up in excellence. And it allows you to serve those around you better because you are happy. You aren’t working while walking around with a big weight of dissatisfaction on your shoulders.
4. What are my career goals?
What do you want to achieve in your career? I’m not talking about five-year goals. You should ideally be looking outwards for the next two years. Where do you want to be in two years? Where do you want your career to be? I tell people that their current job has an expiration date of two years. At the two-year mark, it’s time for you to be doing something else. And let me clarify: something else doesn’t always mean you leave the company and get a new job. It might just mean it’s time for a new project or to become a mentor. Maybe it’s time to apply for a promotion. Or it just might be time for you to leave that company because research shows that people who leave companies over their career will make more money than those who stay with one company for the long term.
Every two years, you should stop and evaluate.
Ask yourself if you achieved the goals you set for yourself two years ago. If not, what kept you from them? What got you closer? And what are your goals for the next two years? Then, as you are thinking about applying for another job, ask yourself if this job will bring you closer to your goals or take you further from them.
Goals are so important. When you have clear goals for your career, it gives you direction and purpose. If you don’t have career goals, it’s like getting into your car and driving somewhere, but you don’t know where that is. You waste gas, time, and energy and put wear and tear on your car without aim or purpose. But when you have career goals, everything you do between now and when you achieve those goals should take you closer to your outcome. This allows you to evaluate the tasks you do and the roles you are in. Am I saying that every single thing we do at work should always bring us closer to our goals? No. Sometimes, we take one for the team, right? That’s life.
But if you have goals, most of your time ideally will be spent on tasks and activities that bring you closer to accomplishing them. Goals also keep you motivated and engaged in your career. It forces you to evolve into the next version of yourself.
You have to put structure and discipline in place to try and achieve those goals.
Whether or not you achieve them, the version of you that evolved while trying is a win. It’s not about numbers but how you evolve, grow, and develop into the next-level version of yourself. You develop new habits, patterns, mindsets, and boundaries.
When I have a goal that I am working towards in my career, every day, I wake up thinking, “What do I need to do today to get to that goal?” “What activities do I need to engage in?” “What tasks do I need to take on?” “What do I need to say no to?” When you set up goals for yourself, you become actively engaged in your career.
One of the biggest causes of career dissatisfaction is a lack of engagement.
Before you submit that job application, ask yourself what your career goals are. If you don’t know, it’s probably a sign that you shouldn’t apply for that job just yet. Instead, you should back up and reflect.
Those are the 4 questions to answer before submitting another job application.
What do you want to achieve? What impact do you want to make on the world through your career? When you get clarity on those things, you can start job searching and applying for jobs, always questioning whether or not a job will get you closer to your goals.
Resources
These same core principles are built into my Find your Fulfilling Career program. Inside my course, I help you find the clarity you need to find the work that fulfills you most. If you want to learn more, visit Find Your Fulfilling Career to see how this signature coaching program for women can help you exit your soul-sucking job and transition into a more fulfilling career without getting another degree!