You thought you did everything right: You followed the experts’ advice on crafting your resume for the job, networking, job searching and interviewing. After being on the job for about six months, it doesn’t feel like the dream job you thought it was going to be. But, you figure, it takes awhile to get up to speed, so you keep pushing forward. At about the eight-month mark, you realize, this job is NOT for you.
Maybe you’re not using your skills.
Maybe the job is boring to you.
Maybe the culture or people aren’t a good fit.
Or maybe it’s just not what you thought it would be.
Sometimes, jobs just don’t work out. You can only tell so much from a job description and an interview. Remind yourself that you can move forward and use this job as a learning experience. Here are 3 tips on what to do if your job doesn’t work out.
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- Write Down Your Likes – What are the things you liked about the job? It may not have been a good fit, but maybe there were certain aspects of the job you liked. Make a list. When you’re looking for a new job, look for those things you liked in your new job.
- Write Down Your Dislikes – If you didn’t feel like the job was a good fit, make a list of why. If the culture was not a good fit, write down what the culture was like, why you didn’t like it and what you would rather it be. If you didn’t like what your job responsibilities were, write down why not and list out what you would like to do instead. Taking note of these things will help guide you on what to and what NOT to look for in your next job.
- Get More Information – Perhaps if you had more information before taking the job, you would have had a better feel for what the job was really like and you wouldn’t have taken it. Before taking your next job, try to collect some more data. Informational interviews are always a good way to collect information from the company and what it’s like to work there. Try talking to some of the other employees who work there and ask them some honest questions about the culture and position. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn from their answers and even their personalities when talking with them.
Bottom line: Don’t get discouraged if a job doesn’t work out. It happens to everyone at some point in their life. It’s important to learn a lesson from your experience and use what you learned to make the next experience on your journey a better one.
