When you start working you’ll likely have yearly performance reviews.  Your boss will sit down with you, explain to you the things you’ve done well, what you’ve done not so well, and what goals you should have for the future.  It’s generally a valuable exercise to make sure you are on-track to what the company wants.  But you should be doing the same thing in reverse, at least yearly, evaluating how the job is working for you.  If you feel happy, great, but if not, I’m sorry Job X, we need to let you go.  You just aren’t working out.

It might be obvious if the job isn’t for you (if you’re morning commute is filled with heaving sobs on the prospect of going in the building, this might be a sign) but I like to look at 3 basic criteria for any job when determining how it fits for me.  Every person will weight these criteria differently, but regardless, I think Job X needs to have strong scores in at least 2 of the 3 for you to maintain some level of happiness.  The three questions to ask are

1. How much do I enjoy the work on a daily basis?  This can be due to the job itself, the people, the environment, or other factors that keep you from those commute tears.
2. How much am I compensated for my time?  This is salary and benefits naturally, but also hidden compensation, such as the ability to learn a lot in short period of time.
3. How much of my time is required?  Some jobs pay a lot and ask for a lot of you in return.  Some jobs stress a work/life balance.

The Japanese concept of Ikigai adds the fourth element of the value of your job benefiting society in general, but I consider this part of the first element of your job satisfaction.

Getting all three of the above is tough.  Usually those job descriptions are something like “Shortstop for the Boston Red Sox”  Lots of enjoyment and cash, minimal time, but there aren’t too many of those jobs out there.  If you can find one (or can hit Major League pitching) fantastic, but really, really try to get 2 of the 3.  For example:

• Loving the work, but being paid peanuts and having the job take all of your time leaves you with little resources or time for anything outside of work.  You better really, really love it
• Getting a huge salary but hating the job and having it take all your time is no good either.  What good is the money if a) you don’t enjoy you’re time at work and b) there’s almost no time outside of work? For many people, the solution is I’ll Buy Stuff!  That doesn’t really work.  If you like the work, the extra money can help enhance the little time you have outside the job, and at least you’re happy at the job, or if you have lots of extra time, the extra money can help offset the time in the office you aren’t crazy about.  But note, it’s really tough to offset this if you hate the work.
• If the job doesn’t take a lot of time but pays little and isn’t satisfying, this isn’t so good either.  You’ll likely still feel unfulfilled, and maybe stressed to meet your budget.  Without some disposable income, you might not be able to make good use of that extra time you have.

There are other little items of evaluation, but I recommend reflecting on your job in at least these three categories.  If you can only hit on 1, you are probably better off finding something else in your organization, or outside.