According to a recent Forbes article, there are ten signs that you’re in the right job. But before we get to those, we should note that everyone’s different, and different things carry more weight. In other words, if you’re really happy don’t let a generalized list make you think you’re unhappy. Inside you probably know if you’re not in the right place, but here are some things to help reveal your assessment.

1. You like the work you do.
2. You like the people you work with.
3. You respect your manager and the other managers in the company.
4. You’re learning something new all the time.
5. You can be yourself at work.
6. You are fairly paid.
7. Your co-workers and managers respect your personal time and commitments.
8. Your ideas are welcome and appreciated.
9. Sunday nights are not painful (as you think about going back to work on Monday).
10. You look forward to digging into the projects and to-do items on your desk, or at least some of them!

OK, maybe you didn’t check all those, but what about most of them? Well even if you didn’t check most of them that doesn’t mean you immediately put your notice in. It’s possible that you can have all ten with your current company, but it’s up to you to map out your dream job.

It’s time to sit with your manager and carve out a plan. Hopefully you trust your manager, and they have good vision into the company to connect you with the job you would find most rewarding. Your manager will want to help you because this gives your manager a carrot to make you work harder (most managers prefer the carrot to the stick). So put some time on your manager’s calendar and make this the day you start making real lunges towards that dream job.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.