A few ways to help you find the right job!
A lot of what I do in therapy is listening and providing empathy, but I also enjoy providing coaching, too. A topic that comes up fairly frequently is about job searches and job interviews, and I have some advice about these things.
First, very often when looking for a new job, we have a tendency to focus on the specific job we want and then start looking for that job. Unfortunately, that can mean that we find the right job, but it doesn’t meet our other needs. I suggest flipping the process around, and start with the things that you want and the things that are important to you, and then look for the job you want. To explain, if you brainstorm and decide that you like working collaboratively and prefer to work in person, it would make sense to exclude fully remote jobs that are super independent. Of course, we may have to make concessions during our job search for positions that meet most, but not all of our needs.
As always, the best time to look for a new job is when you already have a job. It’s my opinion, but it’s far better to start looking for a new job before you hate your current job or you’re desperate to find work.
Another important step is the job interview–remember, it’s not just the employer interviewing you, you’re interviewing the employer! Your time and labor are valuable, and you should always keep that in mind. Something I recommend is finding ways to ask questions that will elicit more truthful/accurate answers in the interview.
If your last job technically offered paid time off (PTO), but made it difficult to actually use your PTO and this is important to you, then wouldn’t it be good to ask about that? Remember, the goal is to skillfully ask questions. Asking, “Am I able to use my PTO?” will likely get an affirmative response, but the company may still make it difficult to use your PTO. A more skillful question is, “Tell me about the process an employee goes through to request PTO, and what happens after it’s approved?” This time, the interviewer isn’t able to give a binary yes/no answer, and you can find out if there’s specific rules that may make it hard to use your PTO. (Just off the top of my head, maybe they need to make sure there’s adequate coverage before approval, or they use seniority to determine who gets to take time off, or a manager can cancel PTO requests even after they’ve been approved, or you’re not allowed to take any PTO during an initial probationary period. I’ve worked at places that had all of these rules.)
Another example is about work/home life balance. I’ve known far too many people who work places where there’s an expectation (but not a rule) that employees continue to read and respond to emails and messages even after the end of the scheduled work day. Instead of, “Does this company value work/home life balance?” which will certainly get a “Yes” in response, you could try asking, “I’ve worked places where people are expected to work even after the end of their scheduled day. What is the company policy and culture around emails and messages after the end of the work day?”
Keeping these things in mind can increase the likelihood that you won’t have as many regrets or find out that the place is a bad fit for you after you’ve already started.
