3 Key Factors to Consider in All Career Move

Having worked in human resource for many years, I had seen how people exited their jobs much earlier than they wished. And in most cases, people who left were not because they were poor performers, but mainly because of the following 3 factors:

1) Work that uses your talents

Knowing your talents and be given an opportunity to use it, makes a great difference. Having a career that allows you to demonstrate your talent, it is a revelation that you are actually good at something. It can shift one from being a low self-esteem person to someone who is confident and thus improve the overall outlook in the career and personal life. You can never reach your maximum potential if your current job only enable you to fix your weaknesses and realize that you are moulding yourself into something you are uncomfortable with.

2) Alignment of personal values with corporate culture

Your personal values are a subset of your beliefs that are related to your private and professional life. These values determined your core principles at work and are an important part of who you are and what you want to be. They include things like meaning of work, integrity, respect for yourself and others.

Are you aligned with what your organization's practices and how important decisions are made? Can you identify yourself with their corporate values and if they actually do what they preach. Do you feel psychological safe to give feedback, try new ways or ask when in doubt? Do you need to convince yourself to bend your principles so that you can achieve your goals or earn your next promotion? 

Having the right career choice in which you know that you are willing to work hard not only because you needed an income, but to see deeper meaning in the work you do and appreciate the purpose in what your organization does.

3) Working relationship with your boss

Most people quit because of their bosses and not the organisations they worked for. Whether you like it or not, your working relationship with your boss plays a critical role in your career success and happiness at work. After all, he is the person whom you report to, and even depend upon, from time to time. It’s therefore important that you are able to have a mutual working relationship with him.

Do your boss delegate with responsibility or simply dump you a task and deadline with no clear instruction? Do they breath you down your neck by micromanaging every single task and questioning all the decisions you made? Do they give due credit when work is done right? Do they display empathy and authenticity when they communicate with you especially when things went wrong?

Having a good boss to learn from, is critical for your career development. If you are working for someone who can be your role model, you are not only earning your monthly paycheck but also learning their leadership traits as you progress in your career years down the road.

People do interact with their work environment and these 3 key factors are important to consider before deciding whether to join or leave a job. While there is nothing wrong in pursuing a better compensation or a nicer title, you should not consider these in isolation. A carefully thought career move, makes the difference between a miserable working life and a fulfilling one.

Ken is a human resource professional who values learning and enjoys working with people from all walks of life. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Management & HRM) from Curtin University of Technology and has been practising HR since 2004. An introvert by nature, who loves reading and writing.