From Alright to Awesome: How to Transform Your Job

Have you ever felt stuck at work? Have you ever felt that you deserve better treatment and better pay? What if you could turn an okay position into an awesome position? Keep reading and I’ll show you how.

Start by assessing what you have. What is your salary? What are your benefits? Make sure you include health insurance, paid time off, 40lk match, etc. Do you have friends at work? Do you have mentors, allies or sponsors at work? We’ll discuss these terms later.

Next, decide what you want. Do you want more money, fewer hours, more interesting work or just a change of scenery? Do you want to be self-employed?

Here comes the fun part. Now that you’ve assessed what you have and what you want, let’s figure out how to use what you have to get what you want.

Regarding your salary, are there opportunities to earn more by working overtime or working on special projects? If your employer offers a 40lK match, contribute at least enough to get the match. If you don’t, you’re leaving money on the table. Let’s say your employer will match your contributions up to 3%. You contribute $2,000 a year, which is 3% of your salary. Your employer matches the $2,000. Not accounting for the investment returns, your employer would give you an extra $10,000 through the match in just five years.

Take the time to review your employee manual and make sure you are aware of all the benefits that you could use. Hiding in that manual could be reimbursement for contacts or eyeglasses, tuition reimbursement or assistance, free counseling through an employee assistance program, and other low hanging fruit.

Let’s talk about the people at work. If you have good friends at work, nurture those relationships. Make time to go to lunch with them, even a virtual lunch. Check in with them on the weekends. When your work friends learn of employment opportunities, they could let you know.

Mentors, allies and sponsors. These folks are not necessarily your friends, but they want you to succeed. A mentor is a trusted advisor. She could advise you to save the fuzzy vest for the weekend even if the office is business casual. An ally is similar to a mentor. She will say good things about you when you’re not around. She wants you to succeed, and she will help you when she can. Finally, there are sponsors. A sponsor wants you to succeed, and he can help you to get plumb assignments and interviews for promotions. A sponsor can even introduce you to someone outside of the company who can help you get to the next level. If you have mentors, allies and or sponsors, let them know what you want and where you want to go. Listen to their advice, and do not disappoint them. These are people that you want to keep in your corner forever. And of course, you want to assist them in any way that you can.

Perhaps you’ve read this far, and you’ve taken advantage of all the benefits at work; you don’t think your salary will increase significantly, and you don’t really have friends, mentors, allies and sponsors at work. What do you do? You reframe your relationship with your employer. See your employer as an investor in your future. While you have this job that you don’t love, use your time wisely to search for other opportunities whether those opportunities are with another employer or entrepreneurship. Put mental limits on your current job. By all means, do what you are paid to do, and do it well, but use your energy and creativity to get something better. Use the benefits at your disposal. For instance, if your employer allows telework or flexible scheduling, use the extra time to apply for positions, attend school or build a side hustle. If your employer offers tuition reimbursement or time off to attend school, use those benefits to propel you into your next position.

Create an exit strategy. If you know that your future is elsewhere, strategically plan your time. Work on your side business or job search before work, on your lunch hour, on weekends and on holidays. Although you’ll need to pull double duty for a few months or years, you will be better prepared financially to transition into self-employment if that is your goal. If your goal is to work for a different employer, polish your resume, hire a coach to help you hone your interviewing skills. Take classes to make yourself a more attractive candidate. When you start getting interviews, do a mock interview with a friend or in front of a mirror.

Spending most of your waking hours at a job that offers little in terms of satisfaction is taxing. However, if you view your time there through the lens of what you need to get done before the next position, the time will start to speed by. If you decide today that you want to change to a different position or become self-employed within the next 12 months, decide that each week you’re going to work on a small goal that will get you closer to your ultimate goal. Where do you need to start? If you have a trustworthy coworker, ask her what personal and professional issues you need to address before you leave your current position. When you thoughtfully plan your exit strategy, the time you spend at a job you hate will not be wasted.