Why does each job you accept seem to get worse?

It's time to talk about the career decline. The sad but honest truth amongst many, though few admit, many experience this which has resulted in the quiet quitting culture. To begin with, quiet quitting is an employee who is disengaged and just doing the absolute minimal to stay employed.

I have spoken to too many candidates who have made wrong choices and quickly racked up a number of jobs within a short period, creating a bias on their profiles of "jumpy" or someone with no company loyalty.

These are a few of the reasons why, each job you accept seems to get worse( And its not only you, its your friends too!)

1) You give in to sales tactics of recruiters or hiring managers without logical judgement.

• You have 2 kids and need to finish work on time? No worries, the boss has kids too so they do the same. You can even WFH most days if you wish so you can care for your kids!

Sounds familiar... but just because someone else does something does not mean you can do the same, especially as the information is not verified and promised! It is purely assumptive and can be totally irrelevant to the incumbent due to a variety of reasons

• You are jobless now and already resigned, so if you do not take this offer, you might be hanging out to dry for the next 6 months! Just take the job and grab what you can! You have no negotiating power anyway since you are jobless!

This tactic is ruthless to those that can be exploited and unfortunately those who use this often disregard the needs of candidates. They might be jobless as they had to leave their last role due to specific reasons, which in this new role is not addressed. This may the the case of extensive travel, micromanagement, poor work culture or the need for more leadership or flexibility.

2) You are not sure what you actually seek in the short and long term

• You are seeking mentorship and guidance from your hiring manager to become the better version of your professional self, but you do not study or do logical research on the individual

So many candidates join a company not because its amazing benefits or free food, but mostly because they THINK the hiring manager can take them under their wing to get them to the next level. What they do not know it the hiring manager, might not even know what is the best practices or be interested in personal growth and nurturing other talents under them. They may just be there by luck for the ride as well and this will end badly for the poor incumbent who joins under the wrong impression. Do your research or get reference calls as well from your network if you can! References work in a 360 degree manner!

• You want to join a place with the right culture to nurture your passion and skills, somewhere with a good working culture over a fire fighting culture, but you have not got enough information on culture behind the scenes

So many candidates join a company with a big team of for example engineers and assume it must mean there is a great engineering culture from the collective investment, only to be disappointed. They end up being a small fish in a big pond, working on small projects and usually fending off political struggles to keep your seats. On the other hand, some want to learn plenty and deep, by joining smaller teams with more opportunities to investigate, only to realize they are just winging the projects and hoping nothing falls apart because of the shortage of manpower. For all these problems, you have to look at the digital footprint, employer brand and employee value proposition to make the best choices for your career. Look up all forms of employee review platforms, references and what the company wants to stand for, decide what you can and cannot accept and make the decision from there. There is no perfection, so acceptance is part of the process to not regret.

3) You only focus on salary, benefits and incentives to work with disregard for everything else

I have seen so many candidates leave jobs quickly and this is one of the biggest reasons. Candidates always tell recruiters, if they can match my XYZ expectations in salary, they can call me anything and I will do anything. Like multi-million dollar footballers, basketball players and athletes who sit on the bench and get ridiculed, they too will leave for greener pastures quickly even on pay cuts or terminated contracts. I have seen many candidates who joined glamourous industries such as advertising, consulting, investment banking and hedge funds for technology roles and leave rapidly because they did no research on the demands of industries, their work nature and the management culture of various such companies that pay above market. There is often no free lunch in this world, though once in awhile it may pop up but the majority of such cases ended up with a bad experience.

All being said, I hope to help more candidates make smarter decisions, enjoy their work and see themselves as happy contributors firstly in this whole economic system and career lifetime. Most people will spend half their lifetime working, some more some less, but work as societal contribution will always persist if people enjoy it and employers value them. Make the most of it and make long lasting investments that pay off in the long run(enjoyable work) over short painful stints that reduce self-confidence and eventually leads to a downward spiral of lost faith and just, quietly quitting job after job.

AT Asia Pte Ltd Thoughthappy #hiring #talent #talentacquisition #employerbranding #employerofchoice #worklife #ikigai #employment