Is Your Job a Poor Fit?

Are you feeling burned out? Is your job too stressful or too boring? If so, it is time to determine just how your job is being a poor fit.

There are many ways a job can become a poor fit.

• Sometimes the job is just too much and you become too tired. If you can't get some relief from the pressure, you may suffer health problems.
  
  
• Other times the job was chosen because it was just there and available but has never interested you. You're not liable to be a well-paid success in such a situation.
  
  
• Some people get into professions that are poor fits for their interests and talents. Perhaps they are pleasing their parents or just have never figured out what they are good at.
  
  
• If the company's values or principles are in conflict with your own, the match will not be good.

Overwork and stress: Idealists and Guardians are the most susceptible to health problems due to overwork and stress. It is important that they find ways to refresh themselves.

Took the easy way out: It's hard to be enthusiastic about a job that you didn't choose. Rationals are the least likely to make this choice, but any type can be caught if there is too much pressure or too little opportunity in the market. If you live in a small town, your opportunities may be limited, but if you live in a larger city, you will have more options. Look at the action steps given in Uninteresting Job. See if these trigger thinking for you.

Uninteresting job: Any type can find themselves caught in an uninteresting job. Here are ways of finding better fits. First, make a list of your talents. Second, make a list of the type of articles or magazines that you read. Some of these talents and interests you want to keep as hobbies. Others are skills you want to sell. Third, make a list of things you'd like to learn that might be salable. These lists will help trigger opportunity thinking. Last, list other jobs and/or companies that might be interesting to you. How could you get the jobs or be able to work at the companies that interest you?

Values or Principles conflict: Those who score F on the Sorter are more likely to experience values conflicts while those who score T are more likely to experience principles conflict. If the type of work is satisfying but the values or principles are in conflict, people may sometimes experience a sense of paralysis. It's bad - but it is bad enough? The answer is usually "Yes!" Unfortunately people may stay in these situations for so long that it affects their health.