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Dream Jobs Gone Bad
When Your Job Turns Out to Not be So Dreamy
Has your dream job turned sour, or worse, become a job from hell? It can be hard to face the fact that jobs evolve, and some can go from great to gruesome almost overnight.
If this has happened to you, the first thing you need to do is figure out what the problems is. Then you can see what you can do about it. And if you have to move on, you want to figure out how you can avoid similar problems in the future.
Five Common Reasons Dream Jobs Go Bad
There are a lot of reasons your dream job can go sour. Take a moment and see if any of our five apply to your situation.
Reason #1 - You were missing one of the five aspects of work you love.
Sometimes in the excitement of finding a great job, we settle for one that is missing one of the five aspects of work you love. However, once the excitement and newness starts to wear off, you can start to sense something is not right.
Reason #2 - You were missing a key ingredient of your dream job.
We discovered that there are 30+ ingredients in your recipe for the perfect work. If you are missing one that is essential to your on-the-job happiness, your dream job could start to go sour. Too often, we discover what these ingredients are when we find one of them missing.
Reason #3 - You found "a fly in the ointment " problem that
spoiled the job. Sometimes, instead of lacking anything, your
dream job has an extra ingredient that spoils the work. There are a lot
of "flies" that can ruin a perfectly good job. For example ...
- a conflict in
values
- an unhappy co-worker
- a weak or indecisive boss
- executives who
do not value their employees
- a high level of stress
- a crisis based
planning system
- a lack of leadership
- constantly changing goals
Often, "jobs from hell" are jobs that contain too many of
these for us to cope with. Unfortunately, "flies in the
ointment" usually get discovered after you are hired.
Reason #4 - Something about the job changed. Like the
old wedding adage, it could be "something old" that is
gone or "something new", but whatever it is -- it is making
you blue. Maybe the old timers or original values are gone, perhaps
you have a new boss, or maybe your department got re-organized and
your job has changed. Whatever it is,
the "dream" part is gone and now your work is fast
becoming just another job.
Reason #5 - The dream job you were hired to do is not the one you
ended up with. Sometimes, the description of the job sounds
perfect when you are interviewing. But soon after you start, or over
time, the description does not match up the day to day reality. There
are a number of reasons why this can happen.
- The person interviewing you had a false idea of the job or overemphasized certain aspects.
- Discussions about the possibilities for advancement and growth were not clearly distinguished from the reality for the probationary period and the initial work tasks.
- The job description is embellished to entice you to accept the job.
Whatever the cause, the problem is one of unfulfilled expectations. What you expected does not materialize, and the job you signed on for is a far cry from what you do every day.
The Next Step
If any of these reasons sounded like they fit you, you will want to read more about dream jobs gone bad ...
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