# Why job hunting skills matter What you do today ripples onto the rest of your life. Since you spend almost half your waking hours in a full-time job, even some thought about it will dramatically [improve your life](success-1_why.md). The average person goes through 12-15 job changes in their lifetime, so job-seeking is nearly inevitable. The first 5 years of your career often sets the pace for the rest of it: - You can recover from some mistakes relatively quickly, but others may haunt you for decades. Changing jobs is usually worth the risk: - You will *always* get more experience from something you haven't tried than something you have. - People who take the plunge to find a better job are usually [happier](mind-feelings-happiness.md) from it. To find the right job, you need a long-term goal: - Your boss manages your job's goals, but *you* manage your career! - Your career should combine your preferences and abilities to balance what you want and need. - If you want a career with an unreliable wage (like a [creative](mind-creativity.md) line of work), have a backup career that makes a basic living wage. At the same time, finding [happiness](mind-feelings-happiness-perma.md) *in* work is a broader problem than simply finding enjoyable work, so don't expect perfect satisfaction simply from the work. ## Many self-destructive career decisions sound good at the time Don't overachieve: - Pretending to have hobbies or expertise you don't have. - Making decisions that only give more money. - Overworking yourself and sacrificing your [happiness](mind-feelings-happiness.md). - Prioritizing your work over your personal life. - Micro-managing everything. - Fearing mistakes and failure. Don't settle or pursue laziness: - Settling for mediocre. - Making careless mistakes. - Not giving your best. - Wanting a remote-only job without counting the burden on your personal life. - Working toward a promotion to [management](mgmt-1_why.md) to have an easier life. Don't "follow your passion" if it doesn't pay: - Many people quit jobs that could have served as great starting-points toward future jobs because they didn't like what they did. - While it's great to find a job you enjoy, your current job should provide at least some sense of stability with a sufficiently livable income. ## Only leave a job for good reasons Only move into something better, not away from something you don't like. If you have a bad attitude, you'll eventually bring it to your new job: - Dissatisfaction isn't always cynicism, but cynicism always creates dissatisfaction. - With the [right attitude](success-2_attitude.md), you can learn to be [happy and satisfied](mind-feelings-happiness.md) anywhere! Self-assess your feelings about your present and future job: - [Write out](language-writing.md) the pros and cons from all possible career decisions you can make. - Examine how you describe your work in conversations. - Think ahead to the feelings you'll experience from making each choice. ### Some good reasons to find another job The job ruins your personal life: - You fear or dread going to work. - Weekends make the first day of the next workweek unbearable. - Your work makes you cranky and irritable off-duty. You can't [identify](identity.md) with the organization: - You don't feel your work adds value to anything. - You don't feel others in your workplace hear your ideas. - You don't like spending time with your coworkers. - The company doesn't fulfill your life's purposes. - You're the victim of verbal abuse, sexual harassment, or other illegal behaviors. - The company's [culture](people-culture.md) has changed toward something you don't like. You don't see your future with the company: - Top management has made advancement impossible. - You can't see yourself at the company in a year (about the maximum length needed to find another job). - You don't see an opportunity to grow or learn from your work. - Your career goals have changed and don't align with the company anymore. - Your company will cease operations in the foreseeable future, or you may not be needed within 6-12 months. The position obstructs one of your main life goals: - You're prepared to [start your own business](entrepreneur-1_why.md). - You're [getting married](relationships-marriage.md) or [having a child](parenting-babies.md) and want to be a homemaker. - You're trying to [move](home-moving.md) to a region the company doesn't cover or won't authorize the transfer. You've changed as a person: - Your goals and values have adapted or improved. - A different type of work fulfills you than when you started. - You want a challenge or something new that your position can't give you. - You're no longer happy doing the work you once loved. - In the course of your duties, you've found something specific you would enjoy doing for hours at a time. If you see anything unethical, you're risking your reputation every day you're there, so leave it as quickly as possible. To stay [legally safe](legal-safety.md), carefully consider any [non-compete clauses](people-contracts.md) you may have signed for your current and recent roles. ## Job-hopping has pros and cons You should stay in a job for at least fifteen months to ensure you don't invalidate prior work experience. Moving frequently between jobs has some drawbacks: - Potential employers see you as disloyal and uncommitted. - Since most companies lay off their newest workers, you lose some job security. - You can't add the long-term impact of your work to your resume because you won't see it. - Every time you change jobs, you sabotage your network. - Leaving a job means the company won't hire you internally elsewhere. But, done right, rapid job-hopping has some hidden benefits: - More work experience across various industries makes you more [creative](mind-creativity.md) and indispensable. - If you know what you're doing, you can build a [potent professional network](people-4_friends.md). - You can quickly upgrade your title, salary, and benefits after only a few years. However, staying in the same position or the *wrong* position for a long time will make you look unambitious: - Even if you're happy with your simple job, you should slowly migrate to positions with greater responsibility as you gain experience. - There are usually very similar jobs in other companies with a more embellished title (e.g., Customer Service Representative vs. Customer Care Specialist). - On any entry-level job, most hiring managers expect you to move into another role within 3-5 years. - To stay marketable and competitive, your career should *not* be a straight line. If you keep job-hopping long enough, you *must* develop patience and stay in a stable job for a few years to "reset" your situation. ## Capture and measure all the work you've done With all the changes you'll make, [organize what you have](organization.md) *before* you start looking. Archive and save *everything* that shows the work you've done at that job: - After you've given notice of leaving, it's possible you won't have access to your own work anymore. - Download your contacts and customers lists from all company-owned devices. - Save copies of documents you've made that highlight your accomplishments. - Only save copies of things that aren't the company's [intellectual property](legal-ip.md). When you're okay with others knowing, ask for reference letters from key coworkers who know you, and give them 3--5 items you want them to include if they don't have much time. If you have one, closely research the exact restrictions of your non-competition or non-disclosure agreement (which may include legal counsel). If you're losing your job soon, update your [LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/) and [resume](jobs-3_image.md) while you're still employed. Alert your references in advance about receiving a call from another employer and request for them to praise your past work. ## If you're starting your career You won't get a glamorous job: - Unless you're well-connected, expect to find work that's hard labor, in fast food, or tedious. - Even when you find an excellent job, nobody in your workplace will respect you for months until you've proven yourself. Make a list of any relevant volunteer experience, extracurricular activities or hobbies that could interest an employer: - Clubs or organizations - Team and individual sports - Church involvement - Plays and performances - Volunteering in retirement centers, animal shelters, and homeless shelters - Any hobbies that involved building something Don't go to [college](jobs-college.md) to find a job unless you have a full-ride scholarship. Your best chance of building a professional network comes through helping others succeed, not necessarily from becoming better at anything, so work toward benefiting others more than getting an education. ## If you were fired or laid off When you'll be [unemployed](hardship-unemployment.md) soon, feverishly search to avoid a gap in employment. If you don't promptly quit or get fired at least once in your career, you're not trying enough: - This fast-paced world requires risks, and some will backfire in a job loss. - If you have major mental issues or personal problems, getting fired is the wake-up call you may have needed. - If you learn from your mistakes, your job loss can become your success story. Many reasons for getting fired should provoke you to do some serious soul-searching: - Extreme negativity - Promising something you didn't deliver - Trying to "sell" something unrelated to the company inside the company - Insufficient [emotional intelligence](people-3_respect.md) - Misusing company resources or supplies - Speaking wrongly or presumptuously on behalf of the company - Multiple back-to-back firings or quitting However, some things are worth getting fired over: - [Principles or values](values.md) you stand for - An abusive work environment - Unhealthy favoritism or family-style dysfunctional roles playing out in a company If you've gotten fired, don't make any major life decisions for at *least* 3 months: - Most dumb career decisions come through [depression](mind-feelings-sadness.md) and [anger](mind-feelings-anger.md). - Let go of the anger and [find inner happiness](mind-feelings-happiness-stress.md). - Focus all your frustrations on finding a new job as soon as possible. As much as it may hurt and feel alienating, nobody will care about your unemployment as much as you: - This world is harsh, and genuine empathy about unemployment is rare. - Despite the circumstances, learn [satisfaction and gratitude](mind-feelings-happiness-focus.md), and try to be a better comfort to others in their situation than how you may have experienced. Download your bank statement and figure out how much money you have left: 1. [Make a budget](money-3_budget.md) and find what you can cut to survive until the next job. 2. Make a general best-case and worst-case prediction about how long your money will last. - Consider alternative situations that could make your money last longer (e.g., [moving](home-moving.md) in with family, [government aid](bureaucracy.md)). 3. Treat the worst-case scenario as your deadline to start work, which, depending on the industry, takes 3-30 days to start after a successful interview. 4. If you go past that deadline, shift to a state of [prolonged unemployment](hardship-unemployment.md). Even if you were let go, your work results at that company might still be useful: - If you were terminated, do *not* use your boss as a reference: use a coworker you were [friends with](people-4_friends.md) at the time instead. - It's not your fault for things you couldn't have prevented. - However, if automation made your job obsolete, try to avoid looking for a similar future role. While termination is the end of something, it's the beginning of something else, and it's impossible to lose if you don't give up! ## Brainstorm what you want Finding a new job is a giant endeavor, so make sure you're ready for the experience. When you're ready to consider another job, it's time to [start making plans](jobs-2_goals.md).