Do you like your job?
Do you like what you do?
I’ve spent time with a wide range of folks – people in start-ups, people in recently established businesses, people in small companies, and people in large companies. This question comes up a lot, yet you can’t seem to figure out whether or not to stay or go. Whether to try something new. If it’s possible to fix something that’s an existing problem.
Given statistics that say that as much as 80% of people don’t like their job, and some 25% of us are un- or under-employed, I scratched out a quick flow chart for questions to ask yourself about your current job — or a job you are considering. (To download a free PDF of this file, head over here, or click the image below to save as a jpg).
Reflection Questions: (Answer Yes, I’m Not Sure, or No)
- Am I my best self in this relationship?
- Do I believe in the product, organization, or service?
- How does this job make me feel? Good, Accomplished, Satisfied?
- Am I challenged to be my best?
- Am I growing and learning?
- Am I meeting or surrounding myself with good people doing interesting things?
- Are people in this organization open to new ideas and receptive to each other?
- Is this the best use of my skills and talents? Aka – Am I indispensible?
- Are there people I can learn from and look up to? Do I have good mentors or advisers?
- Do I want to become my boss?
If yes: (More than 5? Rock on! You nailed it!)
If I’m not sure or No: Ask the following follow up questions:
- Will this change?
- How long will this take to change?
- Is this non-negotiable?
- Is there somewhere else with more YES responses?
This is an exercise I do every few months, as well, to check in. Sometimes I’ll meet a friend for dinner and we’ll talk about what we want to achieve and what our goals are. I check-in regularly with my own progress, debating what the best career path is and how to keep myself up to snuff. Some of the questions I ask myself I find myself asking other people over and over. My focus is always on trying to figure out problems, understand how things work, and discover how to make tweaks to make things better.
And so, — voila! — a one-page cheat sheet of notes straight from the notebook in a dorky little flow chart. I use these periodically to determine whether or not to take on freelance work, whether or not I’m happy at my current position, and also to determine if your job is a good fit for YOU. By many accounts, it may be a great job — for someone else. If you have a few “yes” answers below and a few things to figure out; congrats, you’re in good shape. If you have more than half yeses, and a few things to work on, killer. And if you have all yeses, like the folks I recently bantered with about their new start-up, then you’re doing what you were made to do.
What do you think of this cheat sheet? Is it helpful? Let me know if you have other questions you would ask if you’re trying to figure out the right career fit.
Great piece Sarah! Will be sharing the post and image with others debating their place in the working world…
Keep up the great work!
Sarah,
These are tough questions that people are often not honest with themselves about. I’ve seen comments on my blog like “this advice is ridiculous. In this economy you should take any work you can get.” Obviously I don’t agree at all with any of that nonsense even if it means suffering through the pain of living at my parents house (hey the food here is GREAT). These are the questions college students should be asking themselves before they go out into the world and get their first jobs.
I love this!
I’ve been stressed out at work lately and toying with quitting, going back to a job I’m more comfortable with. However, since I had 7 yeses and only 1 no (I do not want to become my boss!) I think I’m actually doing rather well. It’s just easy to lose sight of that day to day, when things get crazy-busy and I get bogged down in the details. This is a good way to remind myself that I am more fortunate at work than most people, even if it’s due to taking a job I’m not really qualified for in a field I’m not interested in. :) The environment and the chance to expand my skills has more than made up for the inconvenience.
Very helpful Sarah. I will be sharing this to help spread the word.
Good way to think about things.
I think a couple of considerations –
– one or two of the right “no’s” would signal a time to get out – if you don’t believe in the product or the company, don’t wait for five more “no’s,” it’s time to start looking.
Also – I’d add to your list:
– comp – am I making a sufficient amount of compensation (including benefits, which people oft don’t realize can be upwards of 30% total comp) to meet my needs and wants, and/or am I satisfied with my current income and financial condition (note – this might not be all about work, but might indicate a need for better financial planning, etc. etc.)
– worth (maybe one with above) – do I feel like I’m being fairly compensated for my work based on what I’m bringing to the company, based on how the market values me (based on my particular skills, experience, and capabilities)
– “life” aspects – If work is only part of my life (which, I suspect it is for most readers of this blog), does my work allow me to live the life I want; do I have sufficient time to spend and think about my kids when I’m not at work; can I participate in outside activities (non-profits, recreation, whatever) or is work 100% of my time (which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for); is work allowing me to do things I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do (financially, emotionally, explorationally, etc).
Alternatively, a simple way to think about all of this:
1) People – am I working with good/great people and am I learning from my peers/ boss/ subordinates/ senior staff/ customers?
2) Products/ Company – am I working on stuff I care about, and am I my best in this environment?
3) Growth/Learning – am I learning + bettering myself + excited about what I’m doing?
4) Value/Worth – do I feel that the company sufficiently (well) values me for my contributions?
In response to the “in this economy you should take any work you can get.”
Yeah – that baffles me too.
During the hyperinflation days in Brazil, you know what people weren’t doing, sitting around griping about the economy. Well, to be sure, everyone was griping, but that’s not all they were doing. EVERYONE was an entrepreneur. Retail, software, wholesale, restaurants, coffee shops, whatever. The economy was bleak, and traditional jobs were hard to come by, but that didn’t mean opportunities didn’t exist.
Is finding a traditional job in the U.S. extremely hard these days? Absolutely. Should we continue or increase unemployment benefits and social services to protect the neediest? Absolutely. Should we invest in stimulus to spur job growth – yes. So – with all that said – recessions (this one included) are great times to lay off under-performing staff, hire the best and the brightest, seek out opportunities, start businesses, and put ideas to the test. Costs are down so now’s the time to take a chance on something/anything. Sitting around a job you don’t like or keeping on staff you don’t like — doesn’t make sense when labor markets should be even more fluid now. Yup – scary stuff going on, and it ain’t easy – but take a shot. See what happens…
Can you make a downloadable version of this sheet so we can use it to fill in? This is a valuable resource to have. I would suggest putting your site name and information and a copyright symbol to ensure you retain ownership over it. This can be viral.
Love this, Sarah. A few more questions I might add…do I feel like there’s enough balance outside of work (i.e. do I feel overwhelmed/overworked/stressed)? Does this job enhance how I feel about the way I’m leading my life? Am I proud to work at the company/position that I’m in?
Like Aaron mentioned above, I’d love to see a downloadable or a Google doc version of this that I can come back to every six months or so.
LOVE this… as usual :)
Great article!
Very interesting to note that no questions about remuneration (money, salary, profits, etc.) were mentioned. Unfortunately, some cultures (if not many) associate career with how much money one makes over a period of time.
One question you might add: “How much are you helping people?” (as in, how many individuals are you making happy/benefiting with your craft/service/work?). (Hat tip: Derek Sivers http://sivers.org/sharing)
These are ALL questions I’ve asked when spending time with you, debating over the ins- and outs- of different career paths, employment opportunities, and strategies! Thank you for all of your advice and your genius insights!
Thanks so much, Jeff! I’m so glad that you like it. Per a bunch of recommendations, I just updated it so there’s a PDF available, although I’m now going to try to figure out how to make it an interactive flow chart :) — I love solving puzzles like these. Thanks for stopping by the blog – I love your blog and I’m so glad we connected via all of the overlapping web circles!
Anna – 7 YES answers? That’s fabulous!! And you’re so right: sometimes we’re struggling, growing and learning, and we think that the job isn’t working when actually it’s doing a lot for us. Other questions that you might ask (which I’ve gotten from all of these wonderful comments, here) — include: Are you happy with your compensation? Do you get to do other fun things outside of work? Are you achieving other personal goals on the side? Those might help identify what areas or aspects are most struggling at the moment.
Thanks so much, Corey! I’m so glad you stopped by and checked it out – so happy to have you here for a bit!
Andrew – brilliant comments and thoughts, as always. You’re one of my go-to people to talk through all of these ideas and get insights. THANK YOU.
For the first one: I agree about the “no” responses — that’s why one of my follow-up questions is “Is this non-negotiable?” which is essentially what you’re saying. For example, for me, number 2 is a non-negotiable, so if I answer “no” to believing in the company or product, then it’s immediately time for me to start looking elsewhere. It’s a prerequisite to other questions.
I like your other comments, too: Compensation (minimum) might also be a non-negotiable for me; and as always, there’s a caveat. Perhaps you’re answering “no,” but it will change in the next 6 months to 12 months (common with MANY entrepreneurs), so it’s tolerable for the time being because you know it’s not always going to stay the same. Worth probably goes into this, as you suggest. The other half of “worth” would be number 8, “Am I indispensible” — or, is it the best match of my skills and talents to the job needs?
And you’re right – I didn’t cover “life” at all. I suppose if work impedes on your ability to achieve your other goals, (be it family, friends, athletic, hobbies, etc) – that may be a good question for consideration. So perhaps add another level to your 4 categories:
1) People – am I working with good/great people and am I learning from my peers/ boss/ subordinates/ senior staff/ customers?
2) Products/ Company – am I working on stuff I care about, and am I my best in this environment?
3) Growth/Learning – am I learning + bettering myself + excited about what I’m doing?
4) Value/Worth – do I feel that the company sufficiently (well) values me for my contributions?
5) Life – Can I also focus on other things that are important to me outside of work, and do I have time for these things (Family, Athletic, Personal, etc)?
Srini, you are consistently one of my favorite conversationalists! I love how engaged and interactive you are across so many platforms — you really keep the conversation going by asking good questions, following up — I love it! Thanks so much for being such an integral part of this blog. :)
Aaron – done and done! Great idea. I made a quick free PDF that you can download and print here (http://transactions.digitaldeliveryapp.com/products/1124/purchase) — and I’m going to see about making an interactive form or a spreadsheet of some sort so that people can fill it in, too. :) GREAT IDEAS! Thank you!
Megan – LOVE your comments! Thanks for the feedback. You and Andrew hit it on the head with ideas for making this list even better. I’ll work on version 2.0 shortly…
In the meantime, I made a quick free PDF that you can download and print here (http://transactions.digitaldeliveryapp.com/products/1124/purchase) — and I’m going to see about making an interactive form or a spreadsheet of some sort so that people can fill it in, too. :) Thank you!
Such good ideas. Awesome: I’m going to integrate these into a 2.0 sheet and see if I can work out making this interactive. :) I am working on a 5-part series for career things I’ve been writing lately, this is the first post!
Hey Sarah, I think this is great, like usual! My only question is with #10.. Do I want to become my boss? For me, I don’t enjoy managing others so I’ll drop that one off. However, I particularly like numbers 4, 5, and 6! Thanks for the post!
For #8, “Is this the best use of my skills and talents? Aka – Am I indispensible?” I am a little confused, how does being indispensable necessarily imply that it’s the best use of skills and talents?
GREAT! love it. Just to confirm everything I already know! :0)
LOVE this, Passing it along to a few friends who really need to evaluate!
Hey Sarah, saw this via Chris Guillebeau and Joel Runyon: just wanted to say how much I liked it. Great work.
Thanks for this! Your questions are spot on and I will add them to my list of things to consider every couple months.
All good things,
Krishan
Sarah, this is absolutely brilliant. This can be applied in so many helpful ways. Appreciate you sharing this.
Really good summary of questions for a doable analysis. Usually this stuff is so complicated it is daunting (and put off by most) or too short and therefore shallow and not helpful. Going through the process feels a bit too often, though, unless one already really feels a need to change things.
Love your approach to this!
Kat
SO grateful I saw this … but apparently I’m quite late to this dance. I’ve been rather busy pouting about my dissatisfaction with my current position. Thank you for the concise candid insights! Brilliant! (And now I shall update my resume.)
Oh wow this is wonderful! Even though I am now self-employed( and would have had all no’s if I had answered this when I was at my last “job” job) it’s an awesome check-in to make sure I’m still on track with my original dream and creating my own work and career. Thank you so much!! I’m going to share this with some friends who I know will benefit greatly from it! :D
Hey Sarah, love the article, and very relevant to me and my situation. I’m going through a career transition right now, so this was perfect that I stumbled upon this as a redirect through Chris’s AONC newsletter. I’ve gone through several career changes in my young career, and each time, I question my intentions with more scrutiny than the last. From my experience, the hardest part is being honest with yourself in answering these questions. Well done, and look forward to more of your work. Thanks!
p.s. Have you tried using FreeMind (a free, open-source mind-mapping tool)? I think you’d benefit from something to help put all your great ideas down. You can download for free here: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Thanks for the succinct thoughts on (career) Life … because time is such a valuable asset. I want to be careful not to waste it in search of more money.
Fantastic! I scored 10/10 for my first job (over 5 years in the organisation), 9/10 for the most recent (cos I didn’t want to become my boss) where I worked for 9 years. and at the place I worked for less than 2 years, the score was 1. I was growing and learning. Nothing else.
Like it Sarah. Agree it’s a good to have something you can keep coming back to over time to see whether you are making the kind of changes @ work that will make it more satisfying for yourself or whether it’s time to look elsewhere.
I think the corrolary of this is what kind of job do you need in the first place (because maybe the above confines your thinking a bit too much to variants of what you’re already doing?). I think there’s a structured way to think through those questions as well that isn’t just focused around what is it you find interesting or what’s your myers briggs personality type because I think that’s the way we’re often told to think about it.
I wish I had thought a lot sooner about the fact that I can’t stand to be at a desk for more than a few hours a day:-)
Hi Sarah, I came here via Chris Guillebeau’s blog – what a great list of questions! When they are written out clearly like that and you hear your own honest responses (in my case, mostly ‘no’s and the situation isn’t likely to change) it’s a good wake up call. Thanks, I’m really looking forward to reading more of your posts :)
Sarah, thought-provoking. And it made me wonder, could you get a perfect yes on everything if you didn’t work for someone else, but ran your own gig?
Excellent tool for starting the evaluation process. I think my problem is that a lot of my answers are not about “Not Sure” but more along the lines of “Sometimes” or “Half of the time”. It’s the other half of the job that is non-productive, stress-inducing. I think that’s the hardest thing to evaluate, so for me, I still enjoy teaching and get a lot from it, and the students, but the admin and bureaucracy side of the job creates stress, anger and disappointment. I guess that would be the same for many who teach these days.
Oh dear, I answered no to every question. Well #6 could be a yes if I think about the children I teach rather than my colleagues. But it’s still very worrying… Good job I’m already hatching my escape plan! :)
Wow! Love it! So good. This is a superb tool that I plan to use with my clients as well as for myself. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah, I just discovered you via Chris Guillebeau and today is my lucky day! Thank you for your beautifully thoughtful and insightful writing. I’ve been struggling with this issue for a while, and so I appreciate the structure that you’ve given to my somewhat circular/random thought processes. One question I have: you mentioned in your conversation with Chris that you brought up your worries with your boss. Can you tell me your general approach? I think I might be able to pull off a similar conversation, but would appreciate your perspective.
Thanks, Karen!
Karen–Good questions. I have a lot of different ideas, so I might try to tackle this in another post. Send me an email if you’d like! I think the important part(s) are to breathe, be honest, and be brave. Also, don’t focus on emotions, focus on how you’ve identified a problem, what the facts are, and how to fix it. Such as: “I’ve noticed that I perform a lot better in different circumstances, and I’d like to try a few new things. Would you be open to some experimentation?” (This is called the “ask before the ask”). Another good one is to send articles and information that support your case (such as introverts needing quieter space), and write a quick note (“Really interesting article, I wonder if that’s true here, too?” or “What do you think?”). Hope that helps!
Of course! Thanks for stopping by, Kaitlyn!
Sherryl –
Thank you for putting down what I felt (except for the “teaching” part… :) )
I also answered most of these with “sometimes”. When I see questions like these, I get a little frustrated – as far as I’ve ever heard, most people have jobs that are mixed. If you work for any large organization, you run into #6 – I work with some people that fit, and others that don’t. And I never see that changing, either – I’ve been at my current employer for 19 years, and even though the faces change, the personalities seem to come back in various forms.
Also, #8 really is two questions. Am I indispensible? I’d like to think so, and some people agree. On the other hand, there are other people that would disagree strongly. Is this the best use of my skills? How do I know? “best” is a hard thing to define… One of my skills is to walk into a problem someone else is having, and restate it in such a way that they can solve it. (or, as one person put it, “you reach into thin air and pull a solution out”) I enjoy that, and I enjoy my main job too. However, I also do some work that is so far out of my skill set that I’ve joked that it’s a bad month when I have to do it.
I appreciate the effort that has gone into this flowchart, and it has made me think. I realize that this sounds negative, and I really don’t want it to come across that way. It’s just frustrating after seeing pages and pages of “wow, this is wonderful, it worked perfectly!” comments.
John–I get it. It’s not easy. I think it’s better to have these questions than a simple “Do you like your job?” question to answer. The more we can unpack (specifically) what it is we like and don’t like, the easier it is to focus on what’s within our control (and can change). It also helps us figure out what we can be okay with and understand that there are parts that we won’t like. Do I love editing thousands of photos late into the wee hours of the morning? No, sometimes it’s pretty droll. Sometimes the challenge of managing teams makes me want to tear my hair out. I don’t think any job is easy, and there are lots of things that make me doubt. Yet there are parts that I love–the challenge, the creativity, the invention. It’s never cut and clear.
The other half of this that’s really important is identifying what’s critical to YOU, as a person. That’s where the second step comes in: “Is this non-negotiable?” Some things we can put up with, because we don’t think they are as important. But if there are things you need, and it’s a priority for you, then that should really help you stop and think.
I don’t take this negatively at all–I think disagreement with respect is actually one of the best learning tools we have; it makes us smarter, and you’ve been very thoughtful and respectful (thank you!). In my eyes, something that makes us stop and think is important, and I’m glad it could do that.
I would change one thing.
Item 08 – you are not indispensable. You are never indispensable.
I had a pretty good job, by this flowchart. Didn’t care much about the company but loved the job. Everyone told me how valuable what I was doing was — even my new manager. Right up to the day when the VP decided to eliminate my job. It was valuable, yes, but _she_ didn’t want to pay for it in her organization.
And so, I will take the flow chart with me to the next job. WHere again, I know I will not be indispensable.
Srinivas, it sounds really good to say that you would rather not work than to take a job that will leave you less than satisfied, but I can tell you that in the past 13 years or so of facilitating job moves for others (at all levels) as a recruiter, and also in managing my own career, is that you have to take into consideration that you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s very possible that you could learn something at a not so great job that will have a fantastic impact on helping you get to the career you really want to have. You could end up taking a job that on the surface looks menial, tiresome, and repetitive, but have the most motivating, and awesome boss that pours a tremendous amount of knowledge into you and makes a huge impact on your life. I have learned some great things from the people and places that I have worked, and wouldn’t trade the bad experiences and interactions for a minute if only beause they helped me to understand what was most important, and what I should have been looking for in the first place. You don’t know what you don’t know. Take a chance, and move forward because you will never experience or learn anything new by standing still.
“this advice is ridiculous. In this economy you should take any work you can get.”
Maybe that was your parents?
This is fantastic! Thanks for creating this. I love your doodling habit. So much so, that I started doodling again myself after years :) So, thanks for that too.
Superbly true!
I got 4 Yeses, remaining “I’m not sure”…
By the way, why did you tag it “CHEAT” sheet? Does it imply the recruiters/bosses cheating on us, or us cheating on ourselves?
Thanks:)
This is a great set of questions to focus your thoughts. I agree with Vicki, however, no one is indipensible. When my husband transfered departments his old boss claimed to the compnay head office that he was indespensible. The head office told the boss that if that was the case the he (the boss) wasn’t doing his job correctly. My DH moved on, his old department didn’t drop off the face of the earth.
Hi Sarah.
A friend of mine show me this today, and it was really helpful for me. I want ur permission to translate it to portuguese and put in my blog where I write to students and IT professionals.
If yes, please send me an email. Of course I will put the source and ur name as writter.
Thx
This is a good and helpful list Sarah. I’m glad I stumbled upon it.
I’m printing it it out for handy reference.
Thanks for sharing this.
Laurie
Great post Sarah! I must admit, I read the chart a little too smugly the first time thinking “I read Chris’ book and quit my job.” But it really can apply outside of the traditional workplace too. (Well, thankfully I can’t answer number 10!).
Right now I’m running a “travel blog with a cause” that makes me very happy, but earns nothing. That got a lot of yes’s. On the other hand, my real estate internet marketing “muse” could make me a digital nomad, but the actual work is mind-numbing (lots of no’s!), and sometimes things are a little too negotiable (rationalizing another break for example). So it’s been very interesting to reflect.
Now, to link a few cubicle-dwelling friends here…
I worked a job once where my favorite part was a bath room break…can anyone say WRONG JOB!!! Now (and inspired by Art of Non-Conformity) I am a freelance videographer, photographer and freelance expression artist! :)
My score is less than 5. I have to re-evaluate myself again after a month. Thanks Sarah! This is an eye-opener for me!
Dear Sarah, thanks a lot for giving me an opportunity to evaluate my job in a noble way. You have also suggested further questions if the answers are negative. You have rightly pointed out that money isn’t everything in a job though its importance we cannot ignore. Life is great so we should look at our jobs in a holistic way.
Hi Sarah,
Just ran across this today… I’m currently in a class with a lot of graduating seniors and I’m sending them all here to see this post! What I appreciate is the simplicity: sometimes there are so many options that its hard to boil it down to yes/no. But you have! Thank you!
I think I need to start looking for something else lol.
Hi
I started asking myself similar questions about 4 months ago.
And I must admit, most of them were negative.
I was looking for answers and started to pull everything etc. apart.
One day I just woke up and knew, that’s it, I am fooling myself, I am miserable,
feel horrible, dont want to go to work anymore, and the best is , that I loved my
job and work and all involved, but it couldn’t tie up. I resigned and found a job, and I
have “found” myself again, look forward to all things and my work again. So yes, STOP
and be honest to yourself. Yourself and health is more important!!!
Hi, I just found this little cheat sheet through Lifehacker since I’m thinking about quitting. I’m going to have to do a bit more research but wow, I answered “No” to every single question, including the follow up ones. Hahahah. Unfortunately, I live in the most expensive city in Canada with a mortgage and this current job pays as much as two incomes which is what I’ll need to keep my house…how does one factor in the financial constraints of quitting?