Help Me Hillary: When Your New Job is Just as Bad as the Last

I am a lawyer at a Century City law firm doing litigation. I just moved from another firm that I hated and now it's the same damn thing. What should I do?

Sincerely,
S

Dear S:

Yes, I have heard that lament often. The problem is that as a busy lawyer, you don't have time to do much besides send your resume out and hope the next job works out better. Unfortunately, you sometimes go from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. The key to job satisfaction is to spend a good amount of time figuring out exactly what is the source of your dissatisfaction in your current job. Is it the hours? Is it the work? Is it the people? Hopefully it's not all three.

Once you have carefully analyzed and identified the cause of your discontent, you can move forward towards a situation that better meets your needs. Usually this involves giving something up -- a little less money for more free time or more money for less free time, for example. It's always a trade off. Your priorities also change at different times during your life, so what may be really important to you in your twenties may become less important in your thirties.

It does take a bit of time and self assessment to figure out, but it really will save you a lot of time and angst in the long run. Rather than going from job to job, you will be able to settle in somewhere. Good luck.

If you have your own question for Hillary send her an email to Help me Hillary.

Hillary Mantis, Esq., is a career counselor and author of career books. She is the author of Alternative Careers for Lawyers and Jobs for Lawyers: Effective Techniques for Getting Hired in Today's Legal Marketplace.

Ms. Mantis consults with individuals and corporations on issues including: career transition, career advancement and direction, interviewing skills, leadership development, women in the workplace, and professional growth. She has been affiliated with Fordham University School of Law Career Planning Center for the past six years and has been a career counselor for over ten years. She is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School. For more information about private career counseling, email altcareer@aol.com, or go to www.mynewcareer.net.