ALT-2 How to Deal with a Job you don’t like
In your ongoing efforts to improve the direction of your career, you may have an unfortunate situation of landing in a job that you now realize you don’t really like. Or perhaps, you may have grown to dislike your current job after being there for a while. There is nothing much you can do about it except to be upfront with yourself and look for the best steps to find a way out. First, you have to think of clear-cut reasons why you don’t like that job. There’s no job ever that exists that is perfect. Each job has its downside when you’re done seeing its upside. However, in case you are growing to dislike your job more and more the longer you stay with it, you may consider these steps:1) Don’t announce it to everyone at the workplace. Tell only your most trusted friends about it. Try to get their input if you think they can share something helpful to improve your situation. It is very difficult to be dealing with a job that you don’t like when you don’t have anyone to talk to about what you feel. It is important to have someone to listen to you vent out your dislike of your job.2) Continue performing your duties responsibly. You still have a “contract” to uphold with your employer. Don’t give them a reason to fire you because you have grown to become a consistently bad performer in your job. Any job is better than no job.3) Don’t aggravate the situation. As they say, life is too short to be spent being sorry for yourself or your situation. Keep being cool and keep away from being angry just because you don’t like your job. Take a deep breath and don’t stress yourself unnecessarily. Don’t quit right away. Check the other options you may have before quitting.4) Start (or continue) saving for a buffer fund equivalent to 3 to 6 months worth of your current pay. This will be helpful in case you decide to resign and you are not able to get a job straight away. As a matter of fact, do not quit the job that you dislike but use it as a means to save for the day you do. That gives you the incentive you may lack.5) Continue your efforts to build contacts in your current employment. Try to differentiate the people from the business of the employer where you are currently employed. Which are useful to you? Build honest-to-goodness friendships with these people. It is important to have people from your former employers who will remember you as a “good person,” and not only as “co-employee who was unhappy with his/her job.”6) Study or prepare a plan to acquire skills or additional credentials that you can add into your resume. This will allow you to have better chances to be considered by recruiters for a job that you like better. Enroll in a good school, or consider studying during your off-days, or in the evening.7) Look for a possible replacement for yourself when you have decided that you are on your way out. Do this subtly without too much fuss. Ask around within your network and their contacts, so the job can be saved for someone who actually likes it. This will help endear yourself to people in the Management side of the organization where you’re now employed. When you’re handling your resignation, you can also ask Management if you can recommend someone for the position.Try not to burn bridges. It’s just a “job” and it doesn’t define who you are as a person.
