Have you talked to your boss about this?

Story by Gemma Beasley / February 11, 2022

Do they know you are unhappy?

I ask candidates this all the time.

It’s amazing how many of us don’t do this before starting a job search, going on an interview and accepting a new role.

And I often hear from hiring managers “if only they had talked to me about this, we could have worked through it. Now it’s too late”

Now, you may have talked to your boss multiple times already and nothing has changed. I hear that a lot too. And if that’s the case then carry on with your job search. But if you haven’t, and you’d probably stay if certain issues were resolved, then you should absolutely talk to your boss before you fully engage in a job search. The outcome of the conversation may not be the one you want, but then you can feel certain that moving on is absolutely the right thing for you to do.

Not sure how to talk to your boss about this?

1. Write down your feelings. What are the most pressing issues that need to be fixed, what are deal breakers? What single factor makes the difference between you staying or going? What are you trying to achieve here? Writing them down may help you organize your thoughts and understand what the is really the biggest issue here.

2. Ask to meet with your boss don’t demand it. Storming into your boss’s office shouting that “we need to talk” is only going to do one, thing put your boss into defense mode. Instead, you can try saying you have some thoughts about x and I’d like to talk them over with you.

3. In the meeting. It’s important not to blurt out demands here. Instead, offer solutions to the solutions. You can also reiterate the fact you want to stay working with the company and ask for help in resolving these issues. Agree next steps and timelines with your boss and allow them time to implement what you have discussed. This may not happen overnight depending on your source of frustration, but it’s fair to give them a chance. And again, if after ample time nothing has changed then you know you did what you could to make it work.

Your path forward will be a lot clearer once you’ve had this conversation.

 

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