Sticking Through A Tough Job Is Important!

Life is full of transitions. Perhaps one of the toughest transitions is the change from one job to the next. Not only does one have to determine when it’s time to leave a job, one must search for a new one. Such a search can take weeks, months, even years. The process can be exhausting. Then, finally, once the new job is found one must make the transition between the two employers. Since then the process is so emotional it’s important we know when to make changes.

There is both a lot of good and bad advice on job searches. Perhaps one of the worst is, “You start looking for your next job when you start your current one.” The sentiment of this statement suggests one always remain open to new possibilities and advancement. But, the other side of the phrase promotes an endless dissatisfaction with one’s current employment. By “looking for your next job” you’re always working with your focus beyond your current position. Not only is this stressful, but it will be hard to hide your discontentment as you work. Therefore, to contrast this advice, I suggest my phrase: “Run to another job and never from your current job.”

In a job I recently held I saw a very high turnover with the employees. For example, there were around 40 full-time positions. Within a year, only six other people had a longer tenure than when I left. That’s not a healthy organization! However, the sickness was not just the companies fault; no, other employees had a choice: they could have waited to run to a better place than run from their current employer.

Many of us have been in jobs we hate. It’s not uncommon, but there comes the point in our career maturity where we must choose to stick it out. Not to the point where we accept abuse. Rather, we stick it out until we discover a better place of employment. We need to,

“Run to a place than from a place.”

Not only do I believe this advice to be catchy (Run to a place than from a place), I think the present conflict at our jobs prepare us for the job we run to next.

By staying put in our current position, we gain many valuable assets. Mainly, many of us employees need to grow before we land a better job. By accepting this truth, we become better prepared for our next position. If not, we only take our issues with us to the next situation. To be blunt: if we don’t take the time to allow our present conflicts to mold us, then we will take many of our current problems to the next job. Not only does that impact us as employees, but it hurts our new coworkers because we didn’t take the time to grow properly.

Once more, life if full of transitions. Often these transitions show up in our career choices. However, our jobs searches can reveal a lot about our character. The key question then is, will you allow your present circumstance to transition you into the person you need to be next? If not, then you may see consistent changes in your relationships, jobs, and more. Make the sacrifice today, learn what you need, so you can change into the person that reaches your potential!