How do I know for sure when the job is the one? The one where I'm happy to be at?

Sean,

This is a very insightful question! A person can be doing work that he really enjoys, yet, because of other circumstances, hate their job! It's important to understand what a company REALLY does, and not just what it says it does. There are employee satisfaction surveys available (on Glassdoor, for example) but these can be misleading, because, dissatisfied employees are more likely to fill them out than satisfied ones.

Some questions that people use to try to find out the truth about the company include, "why is this position vacant (new position? previous person was promoted/quit/ fired?) Questions about promoting from within, etc.

I don't know what your Dad does, but I know that, in working for the government, as I do, it can get pretty strange. For example, our organizational mission is to help people get and keep decent paying jobs. However, our performance measurement is "of all the people on unemployment, how many found employment within 10 weeks of filing for unemployment?" The mgt. team has recently discovered that if we spend almost ALL our time calling people who are unemployed and asking them if they are working, we can meet our goal of 60% within ten weeks. (there's no other way to capture that information). We now spend almost NO time helping people with resumes and interview skills. As long as 60% get jobs, we have succeeded. What about the other 40%? Good question!!! And what did I actually DO to help the 60% get a job? Another good question!!

This is an example of why it is necessary to really dig.

Another thing that happens is people get burned out on a job, or bored with it. Usually after about 2 years, you have a pretty good mastery of the job. If there are no positions to move up into, people start looking for other jobs. If you want a company you can grow with, make sure there is room for growth. I recommend reevaluating your career at 2 yrs, and again at 5 yrs. Many people change companies these days, so, it is no longer looked upon as being a job hopper. In fact, people who do NOT change companies are often looked upon as stagnant, or afraid of change, even if they changed jobs within the company. So, it may be that you need to change companies!

Sometimes a job is actually good, but the people with whom you have to work make it difficult. If so, work on developing your people skills. You cannot get away from these type of people - they are everywhere! The more you can learn to work around difficult people, the easier your life will be!

I would not worry too much about any of this. Take that first job, learn what it is that YOU like or don't like, and learn from that!

Kim