Do You Like What You Do? 

By Doug Brown

Assistant Director

Graduate Career Service Center

Texas Christian University

Everyone I know hates their job. They complain about the hours. They complain about the pay. They complain about the stress. They complain about the boss. They complain, complain, complain. My question is this…why do they do it? Is it the money, the prestige, the perks, the location? What is it that keeps them at a job they hate? If you're like most people you stay for one or more of the following reasons:

· Comfort - You know what to expect, even though you don't like it.

· Fear - The thought of switching jobs is scary and may end up in a job worse than what you have now.

· Pay - You make too much money to leave.

· Knowledge - You have gained respect with your employer because you've been there the longest and/or know the most about a particular process or product.

These are powerful forces that can keep you miserable. The key to overcoming the obstacles that prevent you from making a successful career/job shift is knowledge! In order to find the ideal job, you must first learn about yourself. Do you really know what makes you happy? Can you identify your 5 primary strengths? If you're like most people you probably cannot identify your most basic personality characteristics.

There are several books on the market today that can help you determine your inherent personality traits, how those traits motivate behavior and, more importantly, how you can leverage your traits into a more fulfilling career. A book I have found very useful is “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. There are other books on the market and I suggest that you buy or check out several of these in order to truly get an understanding of your inner self. Once you determine your key personality attributes you can then take step two, which is identifying jobs that fit with your inherent personality traits. This step is a bit more time consuming. It will require you to contact people you don't know for purposes of learning more about their industry and job. The process can be intimidating and will require you to give up some personal time at home in the evenings and on weekends. However, that's a small price to pay to find happiness.

Although it will take a considerable amount of time for you to identify your key personality traits and jobs that complement those traits, you will eventually end up with a list of career opportunities that should meet your definition of an appealing job. Furthermore, the list of career opportunities will become a powerful tool because it will arm you with a process to objectively evaluate new opportunities. If a new opportunity does not fit your key personality characteristics, chances are high you will not be happy.

There is one thing I must mention that is VERY important in this process. You have to be willing to make sacrifices to find and take the job that best fits you. That sometimes means giving up pay, perks, etc. However, if you find a job that you truly enjoy, you will most likely perform better than your peers, become an expert, and be highly valuable, all of which translate into higher pay! I speak from experience on this subject. I recently left a 6-figure job to do what I'm doing now. I make half as much as before but have more energy, enjoy the impact I am making, and receive many other benefits that cannot be measured in a financial sense. I have a job I love and so can you if you just figure out what you do well (or better than other people) and then find a job that most closely matches your inherent skill set.