Changing jobs for the wrong reason

My friend has been passionate about photography. One day he decides to purchase a camera to take this hobby one step further. We were all happy for him.

One week later, we were surprised to hear his story. “I left the camera at home. It’s really stupid. I can’t seem to get the results I see on Instagram. So I decided to leave it at home.”

We were all surprised.

I decided to ask him, “Have you thought of using a different lens?”

He was surprised! He never thought of it!

Likewise, when it comes to career, many people are making the same mistake. Very often, we decide that the job isn’t for us based on the tinted glasses that we are wearing. We take drastic changes based on one single perspective.

For example, Abigail, a friend's daughter, who decides to leave Life Sciences because her friends were no longer there. Her friends decided to sell insurances instead and she was contemplating to join them. Or Peter, a person who came to me, asking how he should explain to his parents because he didn't like the Computer Engineering anymore!

Like my friend who abandon the hobby when he didn’t get the results he wanted, many young graduates and mid career switchers changed jobs because of the wrong reasons.... if only they knew how to give the job a deeper chance.

As a Coach, I have met and counselled many job seekers and help them discover the main reason for their passion and help them identify the deeper meaning behind their career selection. Many times, their excuses are very different from the real reasons and it is important to help them uncover the main triggers.

Before you change a job/ industry, ask yourself if things will change if you have progressed further up the career ladder? What if you side-stepped: Like taking a parallel role? What about moving up or down the supply-chain? Is a colleague or supervisor making things difficult for you and the absence of this person will make everything ok? Perhaps the organization culture of this company doesn’t suit you but the next one will?

For Abigail, she gave herself additional six months and learned that her colleagues were as fun and geeky as she is. If she had gone into insurance, she would have done it for her friends but not for herself. Life Sciences was her passion!

For Peter, it was the #organizationculture of the first job offer that made him uncomfortable. Knowing this, he took his time to find an outfit that suited him better.

Although this may sound simple, as humans, we often miss out the root cause of our problems. We are always rewarded in hindsight and a good Coach can make a difference.

As for my friend in photography, he changed from a kit lens to a prime lens that enables him to shoot Instagram-y pictures with blurred backgrounds, and has not been able to put his camera down.

About the Author

Jace Tan is a Corporate Softskills Trainer with seventeen years of experience in people development. His clients include SPF, NEA,Changi Airport Group, KFC, Pizza Hut, Cycle and Carriage, just to name a few. Jace has profiled more than 10,000 people using psychometric assessments and has put together the largest workforce study in Singapore.

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