Signs of a Mismatched Career (with Sarah JanTausch)

Ever stood on a chair in your office just to see out the window, and realized the view looked suspiciously like prison bars? That was me, years ago, in a job I could do but loathed. If you keep telling yourself the next promotion, the next raise, the next big win will finally make you happy (spoiler: it moves), you may be staring at the signs of a mismatched career. My guest Sarah JanTausch knows this road personally. She rose fast in a government career, built her whole life around one value (achievement) and rode it straight into burnout while looking wildly successful from the outside. Now, as founder of SRJ Coaching and Consulting and creator of the Value-Based Career Method, she helps people figure out what they actually value before they leap into the next wrong job. We compare our "wrong major, wrong job" battle scars and map out how to tell whether you're mismatched or just tired, why a small experiment beats a blind leap of faith, and what you loved before age 10 that's still trying to tell you something. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjiLN-1WLKo In this episode How to recognize the signs of a mismatched career — the stress, exhaustion, and "I just need a break" feeling that mean something deeper is off Why building your whole life around one value (like achievement) leads straight to burnout, even when you look successful from the outside A simple values card sort exercise you can use to identify your true top five values Why running a small, low-stakes experiment beats a blind leap when you're exploring a new direction How healthy boundaries protect you from burning out on work you actually love, not just work you hate The "what did you love before age 10" exercise for uncovering clues to your ideal career path Timestamps (00:41) Meet Sarah JanTausch, founder of SRJ Coaching and Consulting and creator of the Value-Based Career Method (01:13) Sarah's fast rise in a government career — and believing the next promotion would finally make her happy (02:37) Building her whole life around one value, achievement, and how that led to burnout (04:59) What a career mismatch actually feels like: stress, exhaustion, and wanting to "run away" (07:51) Dana's own mismatch story — standing on a chair to look out a "prison" window during a testing job (11:12) The values card sort exercise Sarah uses to help clients find their true top five values (14:50) Why running a small experiment beats a blind leap of faith (16:28) How boundaries kept Sarah from burning out on a business she loves (18:24) Dana's physical therapy detour — and the lesson of watching the clock (20:36) Balancing logical facts with gut-level "subjective judgment" when evaluating a job (25:35) The real signs it's time for a career change (28:20) The "what did you love before age 10" exercise for finding career clues (31:15) Where to find Sarah and her free monthly events About Sarah JanTausch Sarah JanTausch is the founder of SRJ Coaching and Consulting and creator of the Value-Based Career Method, which helps professionals unlock the hidden job market and ditch burnout by building a career move rooted in core values, ideal work style, and goals. Connect with her at valuesbasedcareers.com, where she hosts free monthly events, or find her on LinkedIn. Pull quotes "When we have all these aching feelings, it usually means we're not living out the values that we truly have inside of us." — Sarah JanTausch "I remember distinctly feeling like I was in prison. Like I was looking through the bars of a prison." — Dana Skaggs Resources mentioned Sarah JanTausch's website — valuesbasedcareers.com (free monthly events on values-based career change) A values card sort exercise, which Sarah uses with clients to identify their top five values The Pathway Planner assessment from Wiley Other assessments Sarah mentioned using over the years: DISC, Myers-Briggs, and StrengthsFinder Enjoyed this episode? If this episode hit home, follow Phoenix and Flame so you never miss an episode: all apps in one place, or jump straight to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube, and leave a review to help other listeners find the show. And if someone in your life needs to hear this today, send them the link; that's how we grow this community together. Curious where your own boundaries stand? Take my free Work Boundaries Quiz: danaskaggs.com/quiz