Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that you may as well look. No job
Speaker 1: is perfect, so if there is something you don't like
Speaker 1: in your current job, you don't need to assume that
Speaker 1: you will never find something better. It's quite possible that
Speaker 1: you could, and being aware of the landscape in your
Speaker 1: industry is seldom a bad thing, even if you decide
Speaker 1: to stay put. In another episode this week, I'll be
Speaker 1: talking about changing careers and how it's best to have
Speaker 1: a vision of something you would like to do and
Speaker 1: not just what you don't want to do. But while
Speaker 1: changing careers can be complicated, changing jobs may not be.
Speaker 1: And even if you are not actively looking to change jobs,
Speaker 1: it's okay to look at what jobs are out there. Indeed,
Speaker 1: it's healthy to do so from time to time, even
Speaker 1: if you are happy. Seeing what's out there is good
Speaker 1: for networking even if you don't switch, and it's important
Speaker 1: to make sure that you are not underpaid. In some ways,
Speaker 1: a job is somewhat like a marriage. You hope it lasts,
Speaker 1: and you have to work to make sure everybody is
Speaker 1: happy with it. But in other ways, it isn't like
Speaker 1: a marriage at all. I would not recommend looking at
Speaker 1: dating sites if you've got some issues in your marriage,
Speaker 1: but I absolutely would recommend looking at what is out
Speaker 1: there with jobs, even if you are pretty happy with
Speaker 1: the job you have. And I'm not even talking about
Speaker 1: actively applying to things. First and foremost, this is about networking.
Speaker 1: Everyone should be having regular conversations with people at different organizations,
Speaker 1: in their industries and in adjacent industries. It's good to
Speaker 1: know lots of people and know what areas are growing.
Speaker 1: That way, when something cool opens up, people know about it,
Speaker 1: and they will tell you, and you can then make
Speaker 1: a choice about what to do about it. You want
Speaker 1: this information because it simply gives you options. Lots of
Speaker 1: times people justify their current jobs as being optimal in
Speaker 1: some way. I mean, yes, it's not that challenging, and
Speaker 1: I'm underpaid, but at least this job is flexible, or yes,
Speaker 1: I'm on the road two to three nights per week,
Speaker 1: but at least I'm paid well, or the work is fascinating,
Speaker 1: and so I guess I should just expect that the
Speaker 1: benefits are terrible. No one can have it all, right.
Speaker 1: I am unlikely to find something better anywhere else. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe the truth is that very few people have optimized
Speaker 1: for anything with their jobs. You wind up in a
Speaker 1: job that was available and that you knew about when
Speaker 1: you were looking. But this in no way represents the
Speaker 1: entire universe of jobs. It's only a very narrow sliver,
Speaker 1: so that means it might be possible to move up
Speaker 1: in multiple dimensions. At the same time, it is quite
Speaker 1: possible that you might find a better paying job that
Speaker 1: is more interesting and more flexible. It's possible that you
Speaker 1: might find a better paying job that doesn't require so
Speaker 1: much travel. If work travel isn't really your thing, you
Speaker 1: might be able to get better benefits and more interesting work.
Speaker 1: You honestly just don't know unless you look, so take
Speaker 1: this as a public service announcement to reach out and
Speaker 1: get those virtual coffees scheduled with all of your professional acquaintances.
Speaker 1: Go to those conferences and talk to people in different organizations.
Speaker 1: See what you can find out about the work, about
Speaker 1: working conditions, about pay and benefits. You might decide that
Speaker 1: you are perfectly content where you are, and that is great.
Speaker 1: You might decide that you are perfectly content and see
Speaker 1: that other places are paying more, which is great information
Speaker 1: to have the next time you do a review with
Speaker 1: your manager. Look, you might say, I love it here
Speaker 1: and I know that X, Y and Z companies are
Speaker 1: paying about this amount. What can we do to get
Speaker 1: me closer to that over the next year. Or you
Speaker 1: might decide that if something cool opens up, you will
Speaker 1: try for it. All those people you've been having virtual
Speaker 1: coffees with can help you there. There is really no
Speaker 1: downside to being aware of what is going on in
Speaker 1: the job market. You may as well. Look, you don't
Speaker 1: have to do anything, but knowing what's out there can
Speaker 1: help you be better paid at a job you like,
Speaker 1: or can help you switch to something you'd like even more.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b the number four then breakfast Pod. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at before Breakfast Podcast. At
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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