Christmas is just a little over a week away! Hopefully, your holiday shopping is almost complete.
As your bank account feels the pinch, and as the new year is on the horizon, your mind may be starting to drift back to work.
Often during the holidays, our job search naturally slows down. We spend more time with family and friends. And, companies often slow their hiring during December.
But, if your job has been getting your down, this is just the time to begin to think about getting a new one.
The most important step to finding a new job is to prioritize what’s the most important to you. For example, if you had to prioritize the three things below, which would rank as the most important and which would be the least important?
- Money
- Job satisfaction
- Location
There’s no right answer to this question. In fact, your answer may shift over time.
For example, if you have an ailing family member, there may be nothing more important right now than living close to them. Or, if you have three children in private school, money may be your #1. In many cases, you’re looking for something more fulfilling.
Whatever your answer, the most important thing is to know it. It will help to guide your career decisions.
As you begin to understand your priorities, jobs will begin to come up that you’ll end up having to choose between. The question then becomes how to make those decisions.
In a previous podcast (Copeland Coaching Podcast Episode #5), I interviewed Shane Presley about being the CEO of your own career. Shane discusses a decision making technique he uses that involves a matrix.
Whenever you encounter a difficult decision, you use an Excel spreadsheet to layout all the variables that influence your decision. For example, if you were picking between two jobs, you might list the salary of each, the location, the perks of each job, the vacation days given, etc. Then, you assign a weight to each item. You decide just how important each individual factor is to you. Last, you score each factor on a scale (say 1 to 5) and you multiple that score by the weight given, then you add the results together.
Once you’ve gone through this process, you’ll begin to have a better picture of which choice is the best one for you.
Remember, whatever decisions you make, the most important thing is to understand your own priorities and how they align to them.
Have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones! Stay warm, and keep your eye on the New Year!
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. Thanks.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
