The average American changes jobs 12 or 13 times between the ages 18 and 52, which means we transition between roles and careers often. Whether you decide to change for a better salary, learn a new department or you and your manager don’t work well together it is important when deciding to make a change that you explore what you truly want by asking yourself some tough and in depth questions. 

As you start your job search, use these four actions as a guide. 

1. Ask yourself the tough questions 

Why are you looking to change jobs? What responsibilities did you enjoy in your previous or current roles, what responsibilities have you always wanted to have? What department do you want to work in? What qualities did your manager have that worked well, what qualities would you like in your next manager? What hospitality career path would you like to take? 

Take the time to make lists of what has been working and what hasn’t been so far in your career so you can address these moving forward in your job search. Also take stock in what values are important to you and if you want to work for a company that has programs or initiatives for those.

Finally, make note of the work environment and company culture is important for you. Do you want to work in a very team centered environment, perhaps in a front desk agent or kitchen role, or more independently like in a housekeeping or maintenance role? What makes you excited to go to work everyday? 

 2. Create a job search checklist

Take the information you figure out from number one and create a checklist to help you find roles and employers that match your criteria. It may be hard to find one that will check all of the boxes so create a need/want list or a must have/nice to have. 

3. Search your network as well as job titles 

Alongside browsing through Hcareers for the job title you’d like, try to network with other industry professionals. They may know of opportunities in their companies that they can put in a good word for you for, or give you a true insider’s look to working for their company. 

You can also create new relationships with people who are working in a role you’re looking for or at an employer you’d like to work for. Just remember that networking is about building mutually beneficial relationships, not just expecting someone to get you a job and then you’ll never have to talk to them again.  

This is also a good way to tap into job postings that may not yet be advertised. If networking seems too overwhelming for you, but you’ve found an employer you’d like to work for that doesn’t currently have a role that matches your skills, consider writing a job inquiry letter. You can inadvertently build a new relationship, find out about a job opportunity and/or learn more about the employer. 

4. Create process focused goals 

During a job search, we tend to create goals that are outside of our control, like “I want to find a new job in 3 months.” While you can take actions and steps towards achieving this, you can’t fully control the timeframe it will take, too many outside factors play a part like how long interview processes are, what will happen in the labor market, company financial wellbeing, etc… 

Instead, create goals that focus on the process, such as “I will apply to 3 jobs every day,” or “I will dedicate 2 hours to my job search daily.” You have full control on following through on process goals because they are based around your actions, and you may even develop healthy habits.