“a worse job than yours” by istolethetv
Some rights reserved

If you’ve decided you hate your job but you’re still there you’re probably not all that impulsive, but you’d like to have a plan for how to change things.

Before we go to deep into how to change your life radically first we have to figure out where the problem is.

Do you hate your job? Do you hate the type of work you or do you just not like working? We need to give these things some thought before you go to great trouble changing jobs just to find you hate where you’re going, too.

If it’s your company that you hate and you’d like to get a similar job maybe a little bit better at another company there are some things you should do.

• Ask for recommendations on LinkedIn from coworkers supervisors and vendors. Don’t do this at such a volume that it raises red flags and you lose your job.
• While we’re on the subject of LinkedIn, fix up your LinkedIn profile and your resume as well.
• Get any certifications or industry training you can, particularly if your current company will pay for it. Training and networking events are good for professional development, not just learning skills but for meeting other people – that’s how you get jobs.

If you like your industry like your company but you’d like to change what it is you do, find some people you can talk to. I mean if you’re in sales, but would like to be in marketing at the same company. Ideally this would probably be supervisors of people that do the job you’d like to be doing. Good companies want to keep good people and they will probably find ways of accommodating.

What if you want all out? You don’t like your company, your industry, and maybe even the way you work. Hours aren’t right? Don’t like sitting all day? Wish you talked to people more? You’re basically going to be starting from square one, in all likelihood. Here are the steps you can take.

• Talk to some people. Maybe that job you’ve been dreaming about isn’t all that great. Find some friends of friends or somebody that you can talk to over a cup of coffee. Listen a lot. If they don’t scare you straight you can also tap them for information about what you’ll need to do the job and get the job.
• You should assume that you won’t be working at all and once you are you’ll be starting at the bottom. That means less money. Cut your current spending to the bone and save like your life depends on it. Get back in touch with old friends and family and contemplate sleeping on couches.
• Try to get any training you can get that would help while you’re at the job you hate. You’ll likely have to pay for some. You might score some free. And maybe your current employer might pay for some that’s relevant.
• Get some experience. Small jobs, volunteer, whatever you can get so you have something to show.
• See if there are ways to leverage your other experience. You sell medical equipment and now you want to be a graphic designer. Get some graphic design experience using your knowledge of the needs of the medical equipment industry and do some work for them.
• Focus. This is your chance to be happy. Remember that and don’t dwell on the money, which will in all likelihood be less. There’s no point in having lots of cash and being miserable.