Four keys to finding a job you love

We've all done it...googled "the perfect job", "finding a job you love", "career advice", "my job makes me miserable"...am I right? Even if we are lucky enough to get paid for doing something we love, there are days when it still feels like work!

So what is the key to finding a job that checks all the boxes? There are so many things to consider when evaluating a job, whether you're deciding to stay or to leave: pay, benefits, career opportunity, your manager, your co-workers, flexibility, work environment, purpose, etc. I recently had a conversation with my boss and we discussed why we have stayed at the same company for so long - he has been at our company for 25 years, and I hit the 15 year mark next month (man I'm getting old!).

We decided it came down to four factors:

1) Interesting and challenging work

2) Co-workers you respect and enjoy being around

3) Opportunity to grow

4) Fair and competitive pay and benefits

While I totally understand sometimes it's best to cut ties with your current employer, I think there is a lot of untapped opportunity to turn the job that you have into the job that you love...but it may require you to step outside your comfort zone! Let's dig into these four items a bit.

#loveyourjob #girlboss

Interesting and Challenging Work

Let's be honest, if you're spending 40+ hours a week, 8+ hours a day, even 4+ hours before lunch doing something that bores you to tears it's a relationship that is on the verge of a break-up. Furthermore, if what you are doing totally goes against your personality type and you feel anxious all the time rather than excited about the "stretch" opportunity, that's another sign this might not be the best fit. We all need a good push to do something new and uncomfortable, but we have to know our limits.

I'm a pretty soft-hearted person. I once took an internship that was supposed to be an actuarial internship (I was an actuarial science and econ major in college...aka nerd). On my first day they put a school desk in a hallway and gave me a bathroom pass, a phone, and a giant list of phone numbers and said go to work. My job was to call people that had expressed no interest in working at this company and recruit them. I was cussed at, yelled at, and hung-up on all day long. I spent most of the day crying in the bathroom (thank heavens for that bathroom pass). It wasn't for me. Up to that point, I'm pretty sure I had never quit anything...but I quit after just 5 LONG days.

Find something that you find interesting, or can grow to find interesting over time. As a young buck I certainly didn't find the world of HR interesting but now I love it!

Co-workers You Respect and Enjoy Being Around

This one is pretty self-explanatory! If you don't respect your co-workers, it's going to be hard to go to work everyday. You don't need to be besties with your office pals, but it sure makes work more enjoyable when you don't cringe when they walk by. I've always been very fortunate to work with people that are smarter than me. I learn from them and they push me to show up as the best version of myself.

Opportunity to Grow

This one is becoming more important to each new generation. According to a study conducted by InsideOut last year, 76% of Gen Z employees expect to be promoted in 12 months or less. For those of us that spent years working for that next promotion, this seems crazy! Crazy or not, it's the new reality.

Career growth can happen in lots of ways. Some moves are lateral or horizontal, and others up the ladder or vertical. If you work somewhere that requires someone to retire or die for you to move up, your likelihood of staying for the long haul, or feeling satisfied where you are, drastically decreases!

Fair and Competitive Pay and Benefits

Last but not least, you gotta' get paid for that hard work! I am a total rewards consultant by day, so this one is very close to my heart. I am a huge advocate for starting salary conversations at a very young age. I talk to my 7 and 10 year old about this on the regular. Do I believe one should choose a career or take a job solely based on pay, absolutely not! But do I believe that young people should be armed with all the information they can get when making a career choice, including expected compensation levels, you bet your hot coffee I do!

I was talking to my niece a few weeks ago about the major she had selected (she's a high school senior going to college in the fall). I asked if she understood the different pay levels for different jobs, and she said she basically knew what a teacher's salary was and what a doctor's salary was. Now I know there are a lot of teachers and doctors in the US, but there are way more jobs that don't fall into one of those categories! Mamas - I'm talking to you. We have to help educate our kids on this one. They need all the info when deciding what career path to take - and then it's up to them!

Lastly, do your homework and speak up for yourself. Know the value that your job and experience level demands in the market. There are great resources for this information: salary.com, indeed.com, glassdoor.com to name a few. If you don't think you are getting paid fairly and are hesitant to go talk to your manager, spend some time googling how to have those conversations or shoot...reach out to me directly! I'm SUPER passionate about this one. On the flip side, if you have had those conversations and are being under-valued, start that job search! There are so many great companies out there that focus on fair and equitable pay.

I Would Love Your Thoughts!

As mentioned above, there are so many factors that go into finding a job you love (at least most of the time!). What big themes would you add to the list? Drop a comment below!