5 Ways to Ditch The Job You Hate to Find One You’ll Love

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• November 28, 2014
• By Tim Cannon
• 1 Comment

You know the feeling. Laying in bed with the sun creeping through the window, awake too soon, dreading the alarm clock’s impending screech. You don’t feel motivated to get up because you don’t love your job. In fact, you can think of about 50 more inspiring things to do than what you’ll be doing from nine to five today.

You’re not alone. Many people are settling for a less-than-ideal job, resulting in a society lacking fulfillment in the work it spends most of its time producing.

It’s true that we need to put food on the table. So sometimes we take a job just to have a job. But when a short-term solution becomes your long-term ball-and-chain, it’s time to reevaluate.

If you find yourself dreading work every day, explore these options so you can finally look forward to going to work every day. (Click here to tweet this list.)

1. Share your knowledge

If you have an area of expertise that might be helpful for others in the company to learn more about, talk to your boss about hosting a training session. There might even be an opportunity for you to help train new employees. Training others offers a sense of significance in your job and may spark new inspiration.

Keep in mind that teaching benefits more than the students. You’ll also have a chance to develop and refine your skills as you teach what you know to someone else. Sharing your expertise will help you more clearly define your own role, giving you a deeper understanding of your own position. You may even find you feel more fulfilled in what used to seem like mundane work. You just might rediscover what you loved about your job in the first place!

Training also provides the opportunity to build relationships and network with different employees in your organization. Down the line, your trainee might make for an excellent reference or may even become a good friend.

2. Look for an opportunity to switch roles

Maybe you don’t get along with the people in your department or your job tasks don’t suit you. Then it’s time to grab lunch with people from other departments and get to know them better.

Do research within your company to find out other roles that might be a good fit for you. Ask your boss if you can shadow someone from another department for one hour a week. Or ask a coworker if they’d like to go out for coffee sometime. Use these opportunities to ask your questions about the department or position they work in to see if it’s something you’re interested in. Then, talk to your boss about the possibility of cross-training or transferring departments in the future.

Perhaps a role transfer requires a special training or certification. If so, take the necessary steps to pursue it. Even if you don’t get to use your certification right away, you might be able to put it to use in a future career.

3. Quit and find a new job

If your company can’t offer you an opportunity to expand your skills and learns something new, go somewhere else. Research companies online. If one looks promising, set up informational interviews with their employees to see what their experience is like there. Follow the happy people.

4. Change industries

A HealthITJobs.com study found the health IT industry has an 80 percent job satisfaction rate. Other industries like education report high job meaning above 90 percent. Directors of religious activities and clergymen also report assigning extremely high meaning to their jobs. These are just any number of industries your might consider.

Determine what factors of your job are most important — pay, flexibility, benefits or schedule — and choose an industry that provides those. Research and learn the reasons other people love their jobs to find out what you’re missing.

5. Go freelance or work on contract

Freelance and contract work is a growing trend. Recent research by Intuit predicts 60 million Americans will be freelancers, contractors or temp workers by the year 2020.

Sometimes, it’s not what you do, but who you do it for that makes or breaks a job. You might find more fulfillment in working for yourself and have a greater sense of ownership with direct contact with clients. Plus, freelance and contract work typically offers a flexible schedule and more creative freedom than a corporate gig.

Instead of suffering in a role that’s slowly killing your enthusiasm for life, take steps to find something you’re passionate about. Your talents and skills are valuable in this world, and it would be a shame if you didn’t use them because you settled for a job you don’t love.

If you don’t love your job, what’s stopping you from leaving? Share with us in the comments below.

Tim Cannon is the vice president of product management and marketing at HealthITJobs.com, the largest free job search resource connecting busy health IT professionals with relevant opportunities in the health IT field with minimal effort. Connect with Tim and HealthITJobs.com on LinkedIn.

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