Want to Find A Job You Like? Frame Your Job Criteria The Right Way

If I were to ask you to tell me what you did not like about your last job, I bet you could quickly come up with several items. Here are things I’ve heard from clients recently when I posed this question to them: 

• My boss was selfish. Everything I did was all about stroking his ego rather than what was good for the team and company.

• I had no flexibility. I felt chained to my desk. I couldn’t even take an hour off for a doctor’s appointment without getting reprimanded.

• I was so bored with looking at spreadsheets all day. I felt like my eyes glazed over every five minutes at work, and it made it hard for me to complete my tasks.

I can relate to feeling unappreciated and bored at work! I am sure many of us can. But starting a job search with all of these cons from previous roles in mind is not going to lead you to a job you actually like. 

An example can help illustrate why. Let’s take the spreadsheet example from above, and pretend I am talking to a client who wants to figure out what kind of jobs she should apply for next. Based on my experience, here is how the conversation would likely go:

Client: I am bored to tears at work. All I do is look at thousands of rows of data in spreadsheets and code all day.

Me: How did you get into being a data analyst in the first place?

Client: I took a class in college and learned how to code. While my first job at the company was not as an analyst, when this role opened up I jumped on it because it paid $20,000 more. But it sucks. 

Me: What do you like doing?

Client: I like doing things where I am not on a computer staring at numbers all day.

Me: You just came up with a creative way to tell me what you do not like. What do you like doing?

Client: I guess engaging with people and thinking creatively.

Me: That’s not specific enough. Let me give you an example. I personally love writing for large audiences, developing and managing project plans, leading All-Hands calls, and running cross-functional brainstorming sessions. What about you?

Client:...

The issue here is not that this person does not have interests. It is that they have spent so much time thinking about what they hate about their current job, that they can’t speak at a helpful level of detail about what they would like to do day-to-day in their next job.

A career criteria list can help with this. A good career criteria list will outline the specifics of what you are looking for in your next job, and why each criterion is important to you. If you don’t spend enough time on your list, it can read like a generic job description. However, if you take the time to reflect and think about your must-haves (and a few nice-to-haves) for your next role, you will be much more likely to find a job that you enjoy.

Here’s an example of one career criterion that is vague and not useful:

• I want a job where I work cross-functionally

  • Why: I get energy from people.

And here is one that is actionable: 

• I want a job where I spend most of my day working with people, while still having enough time to decompress and internalize the day. My ideal split would be 80% of my day working with people, and 20% working alone. During the time that I am working with people, I would love an environment where meetings are more about brainstorming and joint problem solving rather than status updates, which I think are best delivered via email.

  • Why: I am an extrovert, and do my best thinking when I have other people to bounce my ideas off of. This is important, as I want to excel in my role so I can get promoted to manager (see next criterion on list).

Remember, a job you like and a job you don’t hate are two very different things!

Interested in help with developing your career criteria list? Click here to book an introductory career coaching call.