‘Thanks, I guess’

Just because you appreciate your job doesn’t mean you can’t look for a new one

You’re thankful for your job. After all, it helps you pay the bills, allows you to exhibit some of the skills you worked to attain in school and with and it provides some camaraderie with co-workers. While this attitude of gratitude is certainly important, it can also be a hindrance to finding a better career opportunity, says leadership coach Timothy Earle, who works with tech firms in Seattle, Wash., and surrounding areas. “We’ve been told that we have to be content with the job we have so whether we know it or not, many of us are complacent with our careers even if those careers aren’t living up to our expectations,” Earle says.

While work-related comfort is attractive, it won’t necessarily move our careers forward. “We have to challenge ourselves to find new opportunities,” Earl says. “We have to challenge ourselves by saying ‘hey, I’m better than the work I get to do and I’m worth more than the salary I earn.’”

Earle says a positive selfassessment may sound simple but in reality, it’s a very difficult step for people to take. “It’s not easy to admit that you deserve better than what you’re getting, especially when you’re so busy appreciating your job in the first place,” says Earle.

Brave it out

Kurt Foster, a recruiter for management-level jobs in the public sector, says he believe that today’s employees suffer from preprogrammed pessimism. “All they hear is doom and gloom. Even when the unemployment numbers are good, they’re told how they’re not that good because X, Y and Z,” he says. “And everyone always believes X, Y and Z.”

Foster says he sometimes thinks a successful job seeker as a character in a children’s book. “You’re no different than the little flower that decides to grow big and bright despite being surrounded by weeds, or the brave little puppy who wants to see what life is like outside of the kennel,” Foster says. “People psych themselves out of taking chances because they’re afraid to play the role of a leader. They should want to be models for others, just like characters in children’s books.”

Be realistic, but only a little

Earle says he realizes many potential job seekers are faced with a dose of reality when they consider looking for a new opportunity. “They see the mortgage bill and their car payment and they realize that they don’t want to upset the apple cart,” he says. “They realize that they should just play it safe until a new opportunity comes along but here’s the thing. That new opportunity isn’t coming along unless you make it come along. That’s the way the world works.”

It’s perfectly fine if someone has to quit to fully concentrate on finding a new job or decides to leave his or her current position for a job with less short-term perks but more long-term potential, Foster says.

“You can sink any effort by continually looking at your bottom line. It is the No. 1 deterrent to bettering one’s self and it’s incredibly counterproductive,” says Foster. “If you obsess over your monthly budget and try to figure out how you would make it work if you took any chance, you’re probably going to stay exactly where you are.”

That doesn’t mean that Earle or Foster advocate walking away from your job this instant, bills be damned, but they both insist that some careful planning can help you survive some potential lean times if you are working toward a long-term life improvement.

If you focus on living on a reduced salary without looking at reduced expenses, you’re probably screwed,” Foster says. “You have two cars? Maybe it’s time to sell one. You go on two vacations a year? Maybe you can just take one. Make the small and large choices that will help you do things you want to do in life.”

And of course, that doesn’t mean you still can’t be thankful for your current work. “Don’t stick your tongue out at the boss and act like there’s nothing to appreciate about your job,” says Foster. “But really, the question you need to ask yourself is ‘does my boss appreciate me?’ The answer to that question is going to guide your next move.”

Earle concurs. “Appreciating your job is one thing,” he says. “Being appreciated is something else entirely.”