The Work Clinic

I am dismayed but not totally surprised by how long people stay in jobs that are not right for them – and how good careers advice is not par for the course. Rarely do we spend enough time in productive thought as to whether we are in the right career. The first step is in looking at whether it feels like a “job” or a “career”. If your answer is “job” you owe it to yourself, and your employers, to talk it over with a qualified careers advisor or coach, rather than quietly mull over the feeling that something is missing.

Tara - interesting post and thanks for the link to the resource.

To be honest the numbers surprised me... I would guess they are actually much higher. Maybe things are different on my side of the pond, but I doubt it.

While 1 in 5 thinking they are in the wrong job seems compelling enough, this is only people who reported thinking they are in the wrong job.

The reason I think the number is low is that most people don't realize they are in the wrong job. They do a decent job at works, get the obligatory 4 out of 5 stars on their annual performance review, and things are hunky dory.

Truth be told, they could likely be a superstar in another position, not just a steady performer, and don't even realize it. To me that is the real definition of being in the wrong job.

Keep the good stuff coming!

Chris Young
The Rainmaker Group

It is refreshing to see the Skills Commission taking note of the importance of placing an individual in a role that best uses their skills. The industry cannot ignore the fact that people spend an average of four years and 10 months in jobs that do not make the best use of their skills.

In the recruitment and development process employee engagement is vital. Prioritising this right from the moment a candidate applies for a role, you facilitate their progression which ultimately has a positive impact on a company’s bottom line.
When beginning the recruitment process it is important to identify the actual behaviours, and competencies required for that specific role. With these in mind, a framework can be developed against which all candidates can be assessed using a combination of CV evaluation, ability and personality assessment.
These will help to reveal a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, which can then be used to determine their fit to the role.
Recruiting the right person, with the right skills and the right motivations for the role will ultimately lead to an improvement in job performance. Combine this with personal development continually evaluated through psychometrics, and there is highly likely to be an increase in staff retention - indicating that employees are happy in their jobs with their skills utilised.

OK – so is there any such thing as the “right” job either? Indeed, would any of us actually know (particularly earlier on in our careers) what the “right” job was for us, even if it walked up and slapped us in the face, let alone a career counsellor telling us about it? Isn’t the core challenge here that aside from the relatively small percentage of people who feel a strong vocational calling from an early age and are lucky/persistent/talented enough to follow it through, most of us haven’t a clue where our careers (or lives) will take us? I certainly don’t remember ever saying to my mum as a kid “when I grow up, I want to be a recruiter”! If we accept that, then we should also accept that there is nothing that will stop people ending up in those “wrong” jobs, and that making mistakes - but learning from them, is all part of life. What we all (employers/employees/HR) must do though, and do better, is to face up, and face up quickly, to those mistakes and act – taking tough decisions if necessary. 4 years and 10 months is far too high a percentage of the average human lifespan to be spent being unhappy...