By HR Huset, Norway
It is so easy to run on autopilot. Working life is like being in a relationship. From time to time, we have to ask how our partner is doing and how we are doing as a couple. If we fail to do so, it can end in breakup.
A common reason for wanting to change jobs is feeling that we are stagnating.
At HR-huset, when we are in dialogue with career candidates who are in a job they are not completely happy with, we always ask whether there are more opportunities where they are. They often reply that they long for more challenges. As part of our candidate dialogue, we always ask several key questions.
Candidates should ask themselves these seven questions
Understanding their own situation makes candidates more secure about what they want and who they are. And they should ask themselves these seven questions before looking for another job:
- Why are you thinking about changing job?
- Do you feel that your employer and job provide meaning?
- How important is your job to you at this moment?
- Are you coping timewise?
- Do you get on with your boss, your colleagues, and the culture in your workplace?
- Do you get to use your talents, and are you doing things that you are good at and enjoy?
- Think back to the tasks you have performed. What have you enjoyed most and least, and what have you been least and most successful with? It is a good idea to run through specific tasks in your mind and assess how happy you are with them. Rate on a scale of 1-10.
Take action in your current job first
It is not possible for everyone to find their dream job among published vacant positions. A large proportion of jobs are never publicly advertised. Therefore, many employees could benefit from improving things where they already are.
We often challenge candidates to dare to talk to their reporting manager with an aim to look for internal possibilities. There are a lot of people who are not happy in their present role and could be given new tasks or transfer to a different department. Taking such steps also makes employees feel that they have a hand in shaping their future. This gives them a sense of control within their existing framework, which is very important in terms of confidence and feeling respected.
To avoid a feeling of stagnation, we advise employees to check how happy they are in their job on a regular basis.
How to avoid regretting your decision
We advise job hunters to research both the job and a potential employer thoroughly to make sure it really is the right place for them.
We encourage them to examine the company’s values and visions and think about whether they can succeed there.
Unfortunately, people sometimes change job and regret it. One of the classic traps is a lack of honesty. For the company, it is important to be truthful about the role the new employee will be filling.
The grass is not always greener on the other side. If the working day turns out to be quite different from what was expected, the process has been faulty.
What the candidate must think about
It is important to be honest about what we can and cannot do. And whether we are willing to learn new things.
Also remember to think about challenges personality-wise. Some problems will not necessarily disappear even if we change job.
No matter who our employer is, we take our personality with us. If you are someone who always says yes and always work too hard, this will often become a problem in a new job too. We have to address our weaknesses and make changes, even though it may require some time.
We advise all candidates to think thoroughly around their motives and all the above before seeking new opportunities externally.
In order to understand what an employer needs, it is important to turn our gaze inwards and consider our own competence, experience and personality, what is our contribution that is important and of value to the company? What experience do we have that is important and of value to the company? This is vital in terms of our self-confidence.