Mastering Your Career Journey: Insights from Bob Moesta's 'Job Moves'

Bob Moesta, co-creator of the Jobs-to-be-Done framework, has written a new book called "Job Moves" that aims to help people find more fulfilling work and make better career decisions. In this interview, Bob shares key insights from the book and his research interviewing over 1,000 people about their career transitions.

The Big Idea Behind Job Moves

The core premise of the book is that employees hire companies more than companies hire employees. Bob explains:

"The moment you stop making progress in your career is the moment you start looking for another job. Over the last 15 years we've interviewed over a thousand people, I've coached almost a thousand people...I think there's a billion people a year who switch jobs and ultimately most of them end up with a job that's worse than the one they were at but they don't know how to find it, they don't know themselves well enough."

The goal is to help people understand themselves better so they can make more intentional career moves that align with what truly motivates and energizes them.

Job Features vs. Job Experiences

A key distinction Bob makes is between job features (like salary and title) and job experiences:

"It's very simple and very similar to product - there's difference between product features and product experiences. What you start to realize is it's the experiences that keep you at your job."

He explains that while everyone wants more money, it's important to understand the deeper reasons why:

"Money is a surrogate for respect or I've got bills to pay or I'm falling behind. Money has actually many many different implications to it. Everybody wants more money but the question is why do you want more money?"

Focusing on the experiences and outcomes you want from a job, rather than just the surface-level features, leads to more fulfilling work.

The Four Quests

Bob outlines four main "quests" or motivations that drive people to change jobs:

1. Get Out - You're miserable and just need to escape your current situation.

2. Take the Next Step - You've plateaued and want to progress in your career.

3. Regain Control - You like your work but have lost control over your time/life.

4. Realign - You've drifted from your core strengths/interests and want to get back.

Understanding which quest you're on helps shape your job search strategy.

Energy Drivers and Drains

A key exercise Bob recommends is reflecting on your past roles to identify your energy drivers (things that energize and excite you) and energy drains (things that deplete you). He suggests:

"Go back through your career and even back to college...talk about those moments where you got energy, like you walked into a situation and you literally were like 'Oh my God I got so excited about this' and why did I get excited?"

The goal is to maximize the percentage of your work that energizes you:

"Most people spend 95% of their time doing the work that sucks their energy so they get the 5% of the joy of the work they do. If you can pull that ratio to 40-40% energy driver-drain or 50-50, like you don't even know you're working anymore."

Prototyping Potential Jobs

Rather than just applying to job postings, Bob recommends "prototyping" potential roles by interviewing people in those positions:

"We're going to go find somebody who's a National Geographic coordinator, we're going to go to LinkedIn and find somebody who either had the job or has the job and you're going to interview them to say what's it like to have this job?"

This allows you to get a realistic sense of the role and whether it aligns with your energy drivers before committing.

Crafting Your Career Story

Bob shares a template for crafting a compelling career story to use in interviews, based on the Pixar storytelling framework:

"Once upon a time... Every day... Then one day... Because of that... Because of that... Until finally... And ever since that day..."

This helps you articulate your journey and motivations in an engaging way.

Advice for Hiring Managers

For those looking to hire and retain great talent, Bob recommends:

• Rewrite job descriptions to focus on experiences, not just requirements
• Remove arbitrary requirements like "5 years experience"
• Be more specific about what the role actually entails day-to-day
• Try to shape roles around candidates' strengths rather than forcing fits
• Use the book's framework to understand candidates' motivations

The "Jobication"

Bob introduces the concept of a "jobication" - a less demanding job you take to recover and reset after an intense period:

"I call it a jobication which is a job I can go do with one hand tied behind my back so I can rest and recover to go do something else. It's about actually being able to go to the gym and work out and have some vacation."

This can be a strategic move to avoid burnout and gain perspective.

Using the Framework as a Founder

For aspiring founders, Bob suggests using the book's framework to:

• Gain self-awareness about your strengths and weaknesses
• Understand what type of founder you want to be
• Identify the team you need to build around you
• Avoid wasting time on non-essential tasks

Dealing with Overwhelm

Bob shares how he personally used the book's framework when feeling overwhelmed:

"I basically went through it and just said like this is where I'm at, this is what's going on, this is what's pushing me, this is what's pulling me...where should I go next?"

It helped him identify activities to delegate or eliminate to get back in alignment.

Key Takeaways

• Focus on job experiences, not just features like salary/title
• Identify your energy drivers and drains
• Understand which "quest" is driving your job search
• Prototype potential roles by interviewing people in those jobs
• Craft a compelling career story using the Pixar framework
• Consider a "jobication" to reset if needed
• Use the framework for self-reflection and realignment

By gaining deeper self-awareness and being more intentional about career moves, people can find more fulfilling work and make progress towards their goals. The book provides a structured approach to navigating career transitions in a thoughtful way.

Bob encourages readers to reach out on LinkedIn if they have career "struggling moments" they need help with. The book and additional free resources are available at jobmoves.com.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wypVv9wZtI