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You hate your new job. Now what?��

So, you started a new job and you hate it. The offer sheet looked good, but now you’re having second thoughts. You are not alone. One poll,����(and commissioned by��USA Today), found that only��one in four people who changed jobs liked their new role enough to stay.

If you’re in a state of shock (or regret), Hunter isn’t going to break it to you easy.

“Number one, you own it,” she says. “You need to own it and say, ‘I made the wrong move.’” This matters because it will help you be honest with yourself — and��an honest assessment may have been missing��when you decided to leave your original employer in the first place. This hard truth can serve you if you let it.

If you’re being honest about the present, you may be more honest about the past. Hunter recommends thinking back to ask yourself: “Did I make this move on assumptions that weren’t tested?”

For example, did you change jobs because you thought the culture at Company B was better than Company A — but you never actually interviewed employees at Company B? Did you assume the move to becoming a business consultant would give you the freedom you wanted, but you didn’t talk with a business consultant or shadow a business consultant? Did you quit because of a boss or colleague and discover that the employees at the new company aren’t much better? Or did you follow a boss or colleague to a new job and hate it?

“People who are making career decisions on an assumption are the ones with the deepest regrets,” Hunter says.��

Don’t beat yourself up. At the same time, don’t let one bad decision become two bad decisions. Dig deep to find answers to these questions:

• What would it look like to stay in my new job?
• How can I go to work and not let emotions and feelings hijack me?
• What would make me feel valued, satisfied or appreciated at work?
• If I want to quit because the grass seems greener somewhere else, am I willing to prove that assumption first?

How to move forward

By now you’ve probably guessed that unleashing your inner scientist is important for any career move. That’s right, by applying to your job search some of the steps from the scientific method you learned in seventh grade, Hunter says you can��save yourself from repeating the same cycle.

Step 1: Be curious

Explore what matters to you. Is it salary? Flexibility? Purpose? This will help you clarify how you want to move forward. For example, if you took your current position for money but what really makes you feel accomplished or fulfilled is purpose, then what truly motivates you, unfortunately, is on pause.

Hunter shares an example of how she helps students or alumni explore this in real life. “I’ve had many advising appointments where I’ve heard ‘I don’t have a clue as to what job I want.’

“And I’ll say, ‘Is that what you want? A job?’ Then they’ll usually say, ‘I want a career.’” And that’s when she knows they’re closer to��looking at the kind of role that aligns with their goals.

How to feel better about your choice

Asking the hard questions before you make a career move can go a long way toward��eliminating regret. Researching the company and the culture will help you move forward with confidence. Surrounding yourself with a mentor or a team of trusted friends who can help walk you through the process can also help.

In the end, it may be too late to change things, at least in the immediate future, but now��is��the perfect time to assess what you’ll do better next time.

Career resources at ��������ʿ�����¼

Don’t embark on your career journey alone! ��������ʿ�����¼ equips its students and graduates with the following resources to help them on their professional paths.

• Career Services for Life®: Available to UOPX students and graduates, this offering comprises complimentary career coaching, including guidance on how to build a personal brand and write a resumé.
• Free career resources:��Browse a range of downloadable guides and templates to help you optimize your LinkedIn®��profile, get ready for a job interview and write a resumé and cover letter.
• :��Get career insights every week via UOPX’s LinkedIn newsletter.