Are You Ready to Jump Ship?

Quiz: Are You Ready to Jump Ship?
By Tag and Catherine Goulet, CO-CEOs, FabJob.com
Think back to last Monday morning. Did you bounce out of bed excited to face the day ahead? Or did the thought of getting up and going to work make you wish you could stay snug in your bed?

If Monday mornings are a low point in your week, it may be a sign that it’s time for a new job.

It’s common to get a gut feeling about something before it becomes obvious. While you may still be debating whether or not to stay at your job, your subconscious mind may have already decided it’s time for you to move on.

Most people who are miserable at work behave in ways that are noticeably different from employees who are satisfied with their jobs.

Try the following quiz to see how many of these “quitting signs” are true for you. For each statement, note whether it is something you “Often,” “Sometimes” or “Never” experience. (If a statement doesn’t fit, feel free to adapt it to your situation or skip it.)

1. I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning.

2. I’m often late for work.

3. Once I arrive at work, it takes me a while to actually get started working.

4. I sit at my desk and daydream.

5. I have less patience with customers or co-workers than I used to.

6. I spend time at work doing personal tasks.

7. I look at job Web sites when I’m at work.

8. I get impatient with rules and red tape at work.

9. I take more breaks than I should.

10. When I have to phone people as part of my job, I spend more time chatting than I need to.

11. I feel tired during the workday.

12. I don’t bother mentioning concerns to the boss because it’s usually a waste of time.

13. If I leave the office during the day, I take my time getting back to work.

14. I do the minimum amount of work required.

15. I check the time throughout the day to see how close to quitting time it is.

16. I feel bored at work.

17. I kill time during the day by chatting with co-workers or doing other nonessential tasks.

18. I schedule medical and other personal appointments during working hours.

19. I start getting ready to leave work before quitting time.

20. I am out the door as soon as it is quitting time.

21. On the weekends, I look at the job classifieds or surf job sites on the Internet.

22. I have called in sick when I wasn’t sick.

23. I complain to my friends and family about my job.

24. I’m thinking about having to go back to work.

25. When I’m on vacation, I dread going back to work.

Give yourself zero points for each “Never” answer, one point for each “Sometimes” answer and two points for each “Often” answer. Add up your points and measure your level of job satisfaction.

• Zero to 10 points: Very satisfied
• 11-20 points: Somewhat satisfied
• 21-30 points: Somewhat dissatisfied
• 31-40 points: Very dissatisfied
• 41-50 points: Why are you still working there?

While a score over 40 is a clear sign of dissatisfaction, even the most satisfied worker is likely to score some points on this quiz. For example, night owls who prefer to sleep late might score a two on “I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning” even if they like their job.

Only you can decide whether you are satisfied with your current job — or whether you’d rather find a new job that makes you look forward to Mondays almost as much as you look forward to the weekend.

Tag and Catherine Goulet, ‘The Breaking In Experts,’ are co-CEOs of FabJob.com, a leading publisher of career guides offering step-by-step advice for breaking into a variety of dream careers. Visit www.FabJob.com.