What to Do if You Hate Your Job and Want to Quit - The Muse

What to Do if You Hate Your Job and Want to Quit - The MuseWhat to Do if You Hate Your Job and Want to Quit I left my first post-graduate school job for a different one about a year after starting. Two years later, and I parted ways with that one, too. I know what you may be thinking- ah, the typical Millennial whos never satisfied and complains about everything. Its OK if you think that. In fact, I thought the same thing for a while. Maybe Im the dicke bretter bohren mssen played on repeat in my head, and I convinced myself I welchesnt a hard worker and would never be happy working anywhere.But I dont believe that anymore. What I do believe is that you deserve to be happy with your work most of the time. And, in addition, you need to work to be happy at your job. An opportunity you absolutely love will most likely not just fall into your lap. So part of working for it means not up and quitting as soon as times get tough, to move onto the next best thing. Instead it means examining t he current role youre in, (as well as those from the past), and figuring out precisely why its not a good fit for you. And I did just that, which is why I dont regret leaving two gigs in the span of three years. Because I used each of those experiences to help shape the next one, bringing me closer and closer to the ideal position for me. In reservierung to get the most out of each opportunity, even ones you end up hating, you must dig deeper. You must pick apart every single aspect to figure out whats making you dread going into the office each day. You can start this process by literally creating a pros and cons list and filling it in throughout a typical workweek. Look for patterns- everything that involves organization falls into a pro everything that involves your micromanaging boss does not. Theres nothing too small to go on this list. Because at the end of the exercise, you can use the pro column as your ideal job description to be matched up against real listing. And you can use the con column as red flags to keep an eye out for in einstellungsgesprchs.But before you put in your two weeks, do this Figure Out if You Can Fix the ProblemI probably dont have to tell you this, but job searchings hard. It takes time, effort, and the ability to bounce back from rejection. You cant put it off forever, but you also shouldnt put yourself through it unless its actually necessary. (Unless youre the type of person who likes to get root canals just for fun- then go for it) Instead, look at that pros and cons list and zero in on the aspect of your current position that bothers you most. Perhaps its only one big thing, and youll be able to change it. For example, my good friend works as a seminar manager for a leadership-focused nonprofit. One of her main responsibilities is to organize all the materials needed for each conference. Before she started, all handouts, readings, and articles were saved in hard copy versions (and no, she didnt start in the 90s. She started two years ago). As you can imagine, having to make hundreds of copies from something thats only saved in a binder is seriously frustrating, and the manual aspect of it was weighing her down. So, she initiated a process to migrate as many documents as possible to the computer (finally). And now? Well, she can just press print. Its a small change thats made her job a whole lot better. For you, it may be something else. Maybe you feel youve mastered your current role and youre bored to tears. You could try asking for additional projects, or you could even explore openings in other departments. The point is, sometimes you can find a solution to the reason youre so unsatisfied. (Other than saying, See ya never) WE KNOW HATING YOUR JOB KINDA SUCKSThe good thing is that we know of 10,000+ openings that you can apply toCheck them out now Analyze Your Intel and Make a Game PlanMaybe you decide you definitely need to find something new. The root of the problem cant be changed, and so its tim e for you to go. Knowing what it is specifically that you dont like is extremely helpful. Because every piece of information you can gather is a clue to your career puzzle. So, go back to that pros and cons list. Take me for example There are a few reasons I left my most recent company, but the biggie was that I had some pretty serious issues with the transformation of the company culture after we went through an acquisition. So, when I was going through the interview process, I made sure to ask everyone I spoke with- the recruiter, hiring manager, current employees- how they felt about working at the company. I also scoured the interwebs as well as the organizations benefits packages to ensure as much as possible aligned with my beliefs and values. Heres another story, my partner was in a toxic relationship with his last position. When he made a major career shift this past October, he knew there were two main things he wanted to be different the commute and the ability to have a v oice. Now, rather than spending at least 45 minutes in the car each way (love you, DC traffic), he rides his bike four miles to and from work. And, instead of dealing with management that has a If its not broken, dont fix it. Dont even look at it approach, hes second in command to his two bosses and is playing a huge role in shaping the the new store location. Had neither of us pinpointed what we wanted to change, we probably wouldve applied to positions very similar to what we were already doing. And that vicious cycle wouldve gone on. And on. And on. To be honest, I dont know if the perfect job is out there for anyone. That may just be an unreasonable expectation. But that doesnt mean you need to settle for being unhappy, disgruntled, and downright miserable. Examining the factors that are causing you to be so glum will help you figure out where to go next, whether thats adjusting something about your current situation or finding something completely different. Because you cant se e the future, you cant see precisely where your career path will take you. But you can help shape it. Photo of unhappy person courtesy of ONOKY-Eric Audras/Getty Images.