What is it that you want to get out of your job change? There could be any of many dimensions:

• More money
• More time every day (e.g. for family or other commitments)
• Closer to home
• Make a good career move - use your skills more
• More flexible
• Move to part-time
• Move to do something more meaningful to you
• Something you've always promised yourself
• Just getting out of a crap place / boss / company going bust

It's quite likely that you'll have more than one of these, and probably something not listed as well.

What's important is that you have a good idea of why you are changing jobs - sounds obvious, but that way you know it when you see it. This is an exercise in distinguishing what you want from what you don't, and as you go forwards the process will help you distinguish more finely, saving you time in applying for things you don't really want.

Of course, why you want to change jobs, can be slightly different to what you want to get out of the job change: for example you want to get more money, why? So that you can pay off debt. This gives you powerful insight into what you are actually trying to achieve here.

The trap:
The trap here is that you will be tempted to say I can't want all those things as they are mutually exclusive, for example, I can't want to make more money with a job closer to home, I'll have to compromise in order to find something local.

This may be true, it may not. The point here is that there is an order to the process - find out about yourself, then find out about the job market. So first you will need to suspend your disbelief in what is possible in order to find out what you want.

Exercise: Prioritise why you are moving jobs
Take a piece of paper. Write down some reasons why you are moving jobs and what you want to get out of your job change. Use the list above and your own thoughts. You can have as many reasons as you like at this stage, and you need to specifically not worry about the practicality or how realistic you think your list might be.

Now attempt to prioritise them. Some might be easier, some might be harder. When you get stuck, compare pairs of reasons. For example, look at this list:

Why I am changing jobs:

• To secure my future: work for a less risky / more financially stable firm, ideally for more money
• To make life easier, fitting around my life, etc: more flexible working
• Personal dignity: I refuse to contribute to the people I am currently working for any longer
• To spend more time with my family: shorter commute

Now the next stage: prioritise:

My first attempt might be:

1. Secure future
2. More family time
3. Personal dignity
4. Easier life

So let's test this by comparing pairs (from the top, so we start with the most important). Do I want a secure future more than more family time? If global megacorp offered me a job tomorrow for £5k a year more, but with the same long commute would I take it?

I don't think I would.

So actually more family time is more important to me than more secure finances. However they are still important, and I realise that even if I get more time, I want at least the same amount of money. Great now I know some useful stuff - like where to look (how much time away am I up for?) and what salary to set as my minimum.

Have a bash - don't stress over it - if you can't decide between two, just call them equally important. You don't have to get this 100% right (You can't get it right or wrong), just get to the stage where you know more than before you started.

Next: Translating what you like into a job you want to do
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