A lot of people hate their jobs. There’s no shame in that—as long as you don’t stay. Spending your precious life doing things you hate is bad for your body and mental health. It drags down the people you care about.

Hopefully, you remember a time when you felt passionate about your job. When Monday morning came, you were charged up to go to work.  So what can you do to get it back—or get it for the first time?

A first step is to diagnose the problem and see what's missing. Make a report card for your job, giving grades (on the scale of A – F) on your satisfaction in these areas.

Money
If you're not paid what you're worth, it can make you feel resentful and unmotivated. How happy are you with your compensation package? GRADE ___

Professional development 

Is there room for you to grow professionally and build your strengths and skills? Does your company encourage professional development? GRADE _____

Right responsibility
Are you appropriately challenged by your job, or do you find yourself bored? Or are you overwhelmed most of the time? GRADE____

Philosophy of your company/organization—Does the company you work for support your mission? Do they treat people as you would like to be treated? Is the company ethical? GRADE_____

Geography
Do you like the area of the city/country/world where you live and work? Is your commute acceptable? GRADE ____

Strengths
Does your job focus on the things that make you feel invigorated, energized, and focused. It's hard to feel fulfilled if our job constantly demands that we be something we’re not. GRADE ___

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Not liking the answers to this quiz? We invite you to have a no-obligation phone conversation.                           

or email us.

Also: Be sure to check out our free Career Webinars.

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Mission
Do you ever think about why you’re here on this earth? Many people feel they have a calling in life. Often, this stems from a "wound" or negative life experience. John, who grew up poor, loves helping people to develop their own businesses and invest their money wisely. Marco, who grew up being mocked for being Mexican, is a passionate teacher who encourages Latino kids to take pride in their heritage.

Helping others to learn? Protecting the environment? Creating a healthy work environment? Making computers systems run right? Fighting for social justice? Helping people to be financially secure? Is your work in synch with your calling? GRADE____

Look over the grades. What areas get low grades? Maybe things aren’t as bad as you thought? Or maybe they’re worse.  

Are the low grades fixable where you are—or do you need to make a move? For example, the money situation might be fixed by asking for a raise. The types of responsibilities might be fixed with a transfer to another department.

If they’re not fixable, are you up for making a move? We hope so. Don't spend any more time than you have to in work that isn't right for you.

Here are three examples of actual people (minus the real names) we helped:

Changing careers
Jenny was successful in an administrative role, but found her job report card filled mostly with C's and D's—and there were no A's. She decided to stop putting up with it, and got in action. Since she didn't know what she really wanted to do, she met with us, and we recommended work in sales. Jenny is now selling medical equipment--and loving it.

Changing Companies
Dave thought he wanted to change careers, but as we talked about his situation, Dave realized that there was nothing wrong with his work in IT. The problem was that the work environment at his company was toxic. He decided to find a job at another company--and he's passionate again.

Staying put--but making changes
Sometimes, people can stay right where they are, but need to make changes. Mark found that the company's paperwork requirements exhausted him and robbed him of productivity and job satisfaction. We helped him set up conversations with superiors who agreed to form a committee to streamline the paperwork. He also negotiated for administrative help to take some of the work of his plate, freeing him to focus on more important--and enjoyable--things. This radically changed his job and his satisfaction.