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You know the stereotypical prison life movies we’ve all seen too many of. You get up every day, get counted, and proceed with the mind-numbing tasks of the day. Every day you walk through the door it seems to suck the life right out of you. You watch the clock slowly slide by minute after minute, hoping nothing happens to make it a bad day.
One time, in particular, I was doing a job I hated at a place I wasn’t fond of either. The rut I was in was terrible. I could barely pry myself out of bed to go to work every day. Something had to change, or I was going to go nuts and crack. I saved up some money, paid a bunch of rent in advance, and decided to take a sabbatical. I’m not entirely sure if a sabbatical is the right word. I needed out, and I didn’t care how.
I gave my two weeks and quit my job. For me, this was a big step just to snap myself out of a rut. I had never been without a job since I began working in high school. I’m a very ‘play it safe’ type of guy. This was a huge leap out of my comfort zone. But, you know what? It worked.
It was the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life. I was free to let my mind explore completely different options or paths in life. After a couple of weeks, I began getting a flood of ideas of things I could do. The possibilities seemed endless. After being off for a couple of months, I got a call from a friend of mine who offered me my dream job. I don’t know if you believe in karma, but everything seemed to fall in line after I took a leap of faith.
Maybe, when you do a severe enough reboot, you affect enough other things around you to start a chain reaction of events and bring good things back your way. So, here I’m going to break down some ways you can break that job rut you’re in and begin the life transformation you deserve. Whether you hate your job, hate your career, or hate working for someone else altogether, below is something for every one of you.
Job Rut #1; Changing Who You Work For
We’ve all been there at one time or another. You think you hate your job and you want out. Sometimes it’s a fleeting thing. We snap out of it and get back to work. All is good. We just had a brief dip into wanting to be at the movies, out shopping, or at home binging on Netflix. What I’m talking about is when we lie in bed every day, not wanting to get up because we don’t want to go back there again. We dread every aspect of the job. You love the type of work you do, just not where you do it. If you’re in this situation, consider exploring new opportunities with Biz Jet Jobs and Private Pilot Jobs to find a role that reignites your passion and fits your ideal work environment.
Here is the procedure I use to change jobs but stay in a given profession.
- Start to assess where you and your skills fit into the current marketplace. Marketplaces are continually changing. Some businesses are ahead of the curve, and some companies are behind the curve. The people who work at companies that are behind the curve will most likely have skills that are behind the curve. When we begin to think about changing jobs, we need to assess if we are ahead or behind the curve. Be brutally honest with yourself. Make a list of the skills you have and compare them to what employers have listed for demands in their ads. Craigslist is a great place for this. Go and search the job listings for your particular field to get a sense of what skills companies expect. Don’t feel bad if you think you are behind. Now is the time you can change that and get ahead of the curve.
- If you honestly feel you are ahead of the curve, skip this section. If you think you need a little catch-up, now is the time to do it. Dig hard into your chosen career and figure out where you are lacking. Start reading books or taking courses to catch yourself up. I need to caution you about going back to college or community college at this point. Many of these courses are taught by people who are not in the trenches working every day. You may find, if you are not too far off, college courses are further behind than you are. I would search the internet and find people who are working in the industry and are at the cutting edge. These people might have written books, have websites or have online training courses centered around what you do. This catching up is critical to getting your ideal job for the most money you can.
- The next step will be to build a resume or a CV (curriculum vitae). If you don’t have one at all, I’d suggest getting one created by a professional. Look for someone who used to work in HR, mainly if they were in HR in your particular industry. Everyone has opinions on what is right and what is wrong. Getting a resume done by someone who has made hiring decisions is more likely to know what is right and what is wrong. Someone who made hiring decisions in the particular industry you are targeting is a bonus. If you already have a resume, you may be able to save a little money and touch it up yourself. Just follow the same framework as you currently have.
- Here is something very relevant now and wasn’t as appropriate years ago. How do Google and Facebook look at you? Google yourself and take a hard look at your Facebook feed. Would you hire yourself? Does your Facebook feed have drunken photos of you out on work nights? Do you get on long rants bashing former employers? Are you always complaining about your coworkers? Are there negative things about you on Google? Now is the time to start cleaning this stuff up. Employers are doing checks on applicants on social media sites and Google. For future reference, leave the phone in your pocket on nights you’ve had too many, and you feel the urge for a selfie or a rant.
- Now that we have all those feelings of discomfort out of the way, the next thing you may want to consider, depending on your industry, is to start a blog. Think of blogging as building a platform. This is a way to show how much you know and how ahead of everyone else you are in your industry. This is why tip number two (about assessing where you sit in the industry) will be useful. Talk about what you know. Talk about ideas you have that will take the new place you work ahead of their competition. This will also enable you to possibly create a following where potential employers will be calling you. I once heard a story about a guy who wanted a job; I believe it was a salesperson in an insurance agency. Anyway, after laying out a marketing plan, he was hired as their marketing manager. His ideas to market the business were fresh. He detailed his plan. He had it laid out every step of the way. He thought something like that was necessary just to get that particular job, but he got so much more.
- Now it’s time to start your job search. Online job boards are ok, but not always the best. Your resume is often submitted and rarely seen by human eyes. People scan the resumes into computers and sort them according to algorithms. Submit to these boards if you are doing nothing else at night, but don’t expect this to be very fruitful. There are people offering service who know how to play the keyword game on these resume sites. If you are not familiar with the keyword game, I’ll give you a brief rundown. Just like how search engines work, people search by search terms. If you want to come up high in search, you need to make sure search engines recognize what search terms match your content. Some resume people claim to have this figured out for some sites, I have no experience in this, so I really can’t comment. Maybe they might have a special talent, but I’d be aware of a snake oil salesperson.
- Your best bet is to create a list of places you want to work and submit it to them directly. Some have website areas that list job openings. On other sites, you may be able to find the email address of the hiring or HR department. Email them first with an inquiry about job openings. Let them request your resume. I believe it is a little too pushy or presumptuous to email your resume like a cold-call telemarketer. Build some rapport before pitching hard for a job.
- Another great way is by referral. Ask friends and family if they know of any jobs opening up in the area where you would be a great fit. If you are a good employee and they have a good reputation. A recommendation may get your resume to the top of the stack. Or, might even get you an interview.
If you hit all these points, you will be well on your way to rebooting the job rut and finding work at a place you’ll love.
Job Rut #2; Switching Career Direction
Sometimes it’s your career path you’re stuck in. You’ve done your job for a long time, you feel at the top of your game, and you don’t feel there is anywhere else to go and you want a change careers. Now, where do you go?
The rut becomes not whether you want to change, but what path to take. You might already have your eye on a new career field. Over there I give a bunch of tips on how to reboot your life. Over there will be more of an exploration of your passions and interests. That will hopefully lead you to a new career path.
But, for now, let’s dig into the path that will take you to a new career.
- I think the first thing you need to do is assess what skills you have and what skills you will need. I tried several years ago to change career fields. I crashed and burned. Mainly because I was grossly undertrained and underskilled for the particular job I wanted. If your career change is a small step different from what you are doing now, possibly some of the same skills you currently have might transfer over. For the other part, you will need to get training.
- Where to get training is determined by the gap between where you are and what is the cutting edge in the industry. I’m not saying you need to get to the cutting edge before you make your move, but I think you will need to know your ultimate finish line. Then assess the bare medium to get your foot in the door. Will it be a four-year degree? Will it be a two-year tech college degree with a bunch of reading on the side? Will it be just a lot of self-study? Every industry and career path will be different.
- Ok, now you have the training, you need to find training, or are in the process of getting additional training. How do you get your foot in the door? It’s time to get either a part-time job or an internship in the industry of your choice. This is the best way to get up to speed and get some knowledge into an industry. Now, if you’re working full time, going to school, and trying to spend time with your family, where does the time come for a part-time job? Sometimes you can be an online worker. More companies than ever are hiring virtual workers. But, if you are serious about a career change, you will need to find the time.
- Now it’s time to make a move into a full-time job. Accept the fact that even if you were at the top of your game in another industry, you would need to start back out near the bottom. Were you fortunate enough to have a part-time job or internship while learning your new career? Great. You will have a leg up on the people directly out of college. You may be able to turn your part-time job or internship into a full-time job.
I need to issue a warning about traditional education places like four-year colleges. Many of these will give you a very foundational education in your new field but will lack the cutting edge. Let me tell you a quick story. I was at a conference one time, and I started talking to an account manager at an internet company. This company sold services to marketers on the Internet. He told me he had a four-year degree in marketing. Then he shocked me.
He said the things he learned in getting his marketing degree were useless. He said he learned more about marketing in his first six months from his clients than he learned in four years at college. He felt his diploma was pretty much useless in the field in which he currently worked. Are college degrees still relevant? You bet. But, don’t think that getting that diploma will place you years ahead of other people competing for that job, who don’t have a diploma. There will be some career changes and you will need to go back to school to get that degree. But don’t buy into the hype of education. Do your research.
Job Rut #3; Be Your Own Boss
Now the last area. The one which I’m most passionate. Be your boss. If the entrepreneurial bug bites you, there is no better time to jump in and be your boss. I believe entrepreneurialism is one thing they should be teaching in high school. Our school system seems to steer young people away from it or keep it hidden. I believe entrepreneurialism is one of the most important traits a child can have.
But, this is where I would like to throw out a word of caution. Try to concentrate on building a business, not working for yourself. After the love affair of being your boss wears down, you will feel like you’re right back on the treadmill, being an employee in your business. I would try to organize your business to be able to leave your business at some point, and it still keeps rolling. This will require a certain structure and a certain mindset on your part.
So, the first tip I recommend is to read a book.
- One of the best books I recommend every person read, who is considering getting into their own business, is ‘The E-myth Revisited’ by Michael Gerber. This is a foundational book. It’s an easy read and will change the way you think about business. Too many people jump into a business, work it for five years, and then get frustrated because they feel like they are their employees. Think about being a business system owner instead of a worker from the beginning. With everything set up right, you should be able to walk away from your business, and it should be doing as well or better than if you were there.
- The next thing is to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Some things you will naturally be good at and other things you will want to farm out. Most people gravitate toward a business which they either do as an employee now. Or, maybe it’s something they do as a hobby and would like to turn it into a business. Most people will want to be the service provider and farm out things like accounting and marketing. In any case, always think about setting up systems to run on their own.
- The first actual function of doing your business is to do it on the side. Some call this a side hustle. This will give you a taste of the ins and outs of the business. Some people do side hustles while having their jobs because they love their jobs, but want to earn a little extra money. A little side hustle is probably the best training for you to run your own business. You’ll still have the job to fall back on. But, will get the ‘in the trenches’ experience of running their own business.
- Learn about marketing. I’ve always said there are only two parts to any business. It doesn’t matter how complex you may want the business to seem. Bringing in the work and doing the work. Period. When you’re fresh into business, your primary focus should be setting up the system to bring in the work. That’s marketing. Learn as much as you can about it and get good at it. Without the marketing, you will have no business.
- Build your brand. You want to be the go-to person, on the tip of everyone’s tongue. If you don’t want to be the center of the spotlight, build a business identity (Walmart) and build the brand identity around that. The brand will be way more powerful than just pounding to get every sale. Brand equity in the marketplace will keep people calling you long after you stop running ads. Think of it as good word of mouth.
- No matter whether you like what you do, you just don’t want to do it where you’re doing it anymore. Or, you want a completely different career direction. Or, you don’t want to work for anyone else any longer. Just remember there is always a way out of that job rut. There is always a way to reboot yourself and do something you’ll love for a living.
Thanks for reading, be safe,
Kevin