# Changing Jobs Effectively

There are many factors to consider while changing jobs. Jobs are where we spent the majority of our waking hours. They mostly rule our financial lives. Being our jobs so important, it doesn’t seem too crazy to look for the perfect job. Unfortunately, there is no perfect job. After gathering data on many job transitions of family and friends, we have developed a theory on how to change jobs effectively.

What makes you happy at work?

Dig down into your inner self and try to answer this question as honestly as possible. Think of the three most important factors.¹ Don’t share them with anybody. Just make sure to understand what those are.

Why is this important?: Having your personal motivators clearly defined will help you make the right compromises when looking for a job. I have worked with at least a dozen individuals who have consciously taken uncommon directions with their careers: four hours daily commutes, unemployment to work on personal projects, major pay cuts to be closer to home, promotion rejection to dodge responsibility, remain significantly underpaid in spite of a thriving job market. When questioned about these career choices, they all strongly believe it is the best decision for them.

Work Preferences

The following questions can provide some guidance to ultimately answer “What makes you happy at work?”.

• Do you like being the dumbest person in the room? Or do you like being smarter than your coworkers?
• Do you like working in a team that shares duties and responsibilities? Or would you rather fly solo working on your own?
• Do you like jobs that demand constant learning of new skills? Or would you rather prefer some stability doing the same thing for many years?
• Do you need to be heard and considered during decision-making processes? Or you are just fine with whatever others choose?
• Do you like clearly defined well-structured job duties and responsibilities? Or you are happy wearing many different hats?
• Do you like telling others what to do? Or do you need somebody to tell you what to do?
• Do you care about your company’s future and stability? Or you feel those matters are beyond your pay grade?
• Are you concerned that your current job is not helping your personal development? Or as long as they pay you everything is fine?
• Are you ok doing some overtime here and there? Or you just want to work from nine to five?
• What is your ideal commute time?
• Do you want to change the world with your job? Or you are just fine doing whatever?

The elephant in the room

The majority of professionals work for money.[citation_needed] Money is usually the first thing to come up when looking for a job. However, it should not be the only factor considered during a job search. Always make sure you are making the best decision for yourself and the particular situation you’re into.

Summary

No job is perfect. The better we know what makes us happy at work, the better our job transitions will be.