Dear OOO,

My job is terrible and is crushing my soul. For insurance coverage causes, although, I can not give up till I’ve a brand new job lined up. This week I bought a suggestion. It’s not my dream job, however it’s one thing. The drawback, although, is that clearly I by no means interviewed with anybody in individual, however they count on to be again within the workplace by June. So now I’m freaking out concerning the chance that I’ll hate it there too. None of the individuals I interviewed with appear terrible, however I actually didn’t stroll away considering I used to be dying to work with them. Should I take the danger or follow the satan I do know till I can meet the individuals I’d be working with face-to-face?

—Mark, St. Louis

Short reply: If the very best factor you’ll be able to say about your job is that it’s the satan you already know, it’s time to give up. Some individuals can not do this, as a result of quitting means operating out of cash or well being care if they go away—I’ll spare you the rant about how possibly we shouldn’t tie individuals’s means to see a health care provider to their employment standing—however Mark, you might be fortunate sufficient to not be in that state of affairs, so run away.

That stated, I do perceive the dilemma. Getting your hopes up a couple of new, less-miserable job solely to study that the brand new job is equally depressing or worse could be 10 occasions extra soul-crushing. And as we creep again towards an IRL existence, none of us have a transparent view of what our lives will appear to be—even if we aren’t altering jobs. So the actual nervousness of figuring out even lower than most of us about what you’re signing up for in a post-vaccination universe should be overwhelming. There are, nevertheless, methods to attenuate the probabilities of whole catastrophe.

Step one: Talk to staff apart from those you met by way of interviews. Personal connections are best, however even if you don’t have a good friend there, you may have choices. Listservs and Facebook teams inside your occupation are sneaky-good assets, although it’s value framing your preliminary publish very rigorously in case the group administrator is married to your potential boss or one thing. If you discover any present or former staff, get on the telephone with them for 20 minutes and ask all of the questions you don’t assume you’ll be able to ask the hiring supervisor. If you’ll be able to’t discover anybody, a blind LinkedIn message to somebody with the corporate on their profile isn’t a nasty method. (Take it from somebody who as soon as scared a stranger out of taking a job working for an unimaginably abusive boss that means.)

Honestly, although, it is best to most likely ask the hiring supervisor extra questions too. It’s true that they don’t have numerous incentive to be trustworthy concerning the downsides once they’re attempting to rent you, however even evasive solutions might be revealing. Ask what the workplace tradition was like pre-pandemic, after which ask particular follow-ups. Tell them your issues along with your present job and ask how their firm addresses comparable points. Ask concerning the greatest challenges within the division you’d be working in. Listen as a lot to what they don’t say as what they do. If they fake all the things is ideal, think about {that a} pink flag. And request to talk to somebody within the division—the hiring supervisor shouldn’t have fears about connecting you with somebody.

These methods will assist put your thoughts relaxed. But we each know they will’t solely remove the danger of ending up someplace you hate simply as a lot. I as soon as accepted a suggestion for what I genuinely thought was going to be a dream job, turning down different alternatives, and … I hated it. But you already know what? Everything labored out advantageous! I labored there for some time, unhappily however with a wage and medical insurance, and finally discovered one other gig. A regrettable job choice or two is each inevitable and, in all chance, innocent in a decades-long profession.



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