Work Your Money, Not Your Life

Chapter 9Prepare to Change Your Job

In Chapters 7 and 8, we explored how to tweak or supplement a job, both of which can be effective, low-risk strategies for attaining more career or life satisfaction. But sometimes, those two options simply don't cut it. In fact, I've worked with several people who literally thought their job was making them ill. Even in less extreme cases, it may make sense to switch jobs entirely rather than hoping a small change in your current work situation will do the trick. In this chapter, we'll discuss whether a complete job change might be your best choice, and if so, how you can go about landing your next role.

Should You Stay, or Should You Go?

A job change could make sense if work factors you value are missing in your current role, if there is a big gap between your current job and the ideal job you identified in Chapter 6, or if you've identified another position that may be a better fit through a job tweak or side hustle.

Think back to the exercises you did in Chapter 3 to evaluate your current job. If the work factors you prioritized as most important aren't being adequately satisfied and you've been unsuccessful in trying to tweak those aspects of your job, that may be a sign that it's time to look for a new role. If you don't like your current industry or your day-to-day work, and lack the time or mental energy to add more responsibilities through a side hustle, then finding another role may be the way to go. And certainly, if your job ...