I want to warn you about the number one reason you are stuck in the wrong job and won’t leave. This reason has a strong hold on you to the point that you won’t even leave a bad job if you are getting passed over for promotion and not getting regular compensation adjustments.
I work with a lot of people in my coaching program as they go through drastic career transitions, and I tell you this both from my own personal experience as well as the common element I see in all my clients in this situation.
The number one reason that you won’t leave a bad job is the fear of losing your sense of security and stability. Notice I said your “sense” of security and stability and not the actual security and stability.
Why?
Because there is absolutely no security or stability in any job – unless you have signed a binding agreement that you will never be let go – and oddly enough, when it is the wrong job for you, you will sabotage your own sense of security through your own actions – I’ll explain this more later.
So there you have it. Most people who are miserable and in the wrong job that is really a bad fit for them are going to stay there month after month, year after year, because they are afraid of losing a “sense” of their security and stability.
Listen, I am passionate about this topic because I can relate and I want to warn you about it so you don’t screw up your own career direction. This is exactly how I felt for all the years that I endured my miserable corporate job. Here’s how I would reason it. I’d tell myself the following:
- At least I have a secure job.
- At least I get a paycheck every other week.
- At least I have stability.
- At least I can pay the bills and keep my lifestyle even if I am miserable inside.
Naturally, my family and friends were certain that I have lost my mind for leaving behind all this ‘security and stability’ that I worked so hard to get but for me the right choice was moving to self-employment, which I argue with them has a higher sense of security but I digress.
The Wrong Job Provides a False Sense of Security?
The cold ugly painful truth, which is plain inconvenient, is this: The wrong job gives you only a false sense of security.
When you have a job, you give up most if not all control of your career and you put that control in the hands of your employer. Most companies can – and often do – choose to let even their top talent go at anytime that suits their bottom line and for any reason that they choose to give you. (You do know this, right?)
This is not a lack of loyalty or compassion on their part. This is just how business operates, and when you take on the position of an employee, you integrate into the business system simply as a number.
Now one of the reasons you and I are here working through these strategies is that you become way WAY more than a number to your company and become one of those people who are protected and considered totally indispensable to their employer. That’s what I am showing you in small chunks as we move forward and there’s a lot more that I look forward to sharing on that front but in the meanwhile, you need to be careful not to grow restless in a bad job and then ruin your career chances.
When you take your career in your own hands and make wise decisions independent of false security and irrational fear, you control what happens to you. You decide all your moves, your next job opportunity, your projects, your goals, your outcomes and your growth. (If you are not quite yet thinking this way and expecting to be told what to do about all of that, don’t worry – this is the change you are undergoing right now. Give it time and keep doing the work.)
My point here for you is to gain a correct understanding of what security and stability is and adjust your career plans so that you are more in charge of your career. This begins with the right job that is the perfect fit for you. Are you there right now? If so, you are good to go!
But if you are in the wrong job, my dear, sooner or later, you need to move on or else you will be re-assigned or re-allocated to an even worse place without your own involvement. And forget about advancement in the wrong place. You need to find the right place for you first even if you have to take a few steps backwards.
I want to give you a super quick assignment that takes a little uncomfortable thinking but it’s crucial we get this over with now: Are you in the wrong job or not? Do you feel that you are in a pretty good place and need to figure out how to stop getting passed over for promotion and raises? Or do you need to make a move first? Think on this!
