Morning Brew - 🕴️ This is not my beautiful job

Time-saving tools and products we’re really into rn.

🧊 Picture this: It’s summer, you’re thirsty, and you’re suffering the absolute indignity of room temp water because you can’t fit an ice cube into your water bottle. To save the day, Bkr’s slim ice cube trays make perfect water bottle-shaped ice. Hydro Flaskers rejoice!

Get some self-care support from Finch, an app that assigns you a furry friend that helps you gently develop a self-care routine. It’s like a Tamagotchi…but for your soul.

Apartment hunting is terrible. Prep yourself to take on pushy brokers selling absurdly expensive apartments (FYI, if it doesn’t have a window, it’s not a legal bedroom!) and read this Bustle article. It has all the tough questions you need to ask before putting down a deposit you may live to regret.

What’s top of mind at the water cooler.

This new job paid better, had a cooler title, and the HR guy was so nice…but now it sucks and you want your old job back. This feeling is called “shift shock.” You decided to change jobs, and now you’re feeling intense pangs of regret. So, if you’re a job seeker, how do you decide what to do next? Sidekick spoke with leadership coach Paige Norris and VP of people and talent acquisition at The Muse, Shayla Thurlow, to get some advice.

Employees experience shift shock when they feel they’ve been misled, Norris and Thurlow told us. Instead of relying on the vibe of a new place, job hunters should research and ask lots of questions.

“In the old days, we went in for an interview. We’d see the office and the people, and you’d kind of get a gut feeling about what kind of place it was,” Thurlow said. “Now, when we’re interviewing over Zoom or Google Hangouts, we’re not really able to see people and get those feelings.” She suggested job seekers look at employee activity on LinkedIn or find a current employee and drop them an InMail.

You should also ask the hard questions, Thurlow advised. Why is this position available? Is someone leaving this role (and if so, how long were they in the role)? If I were to ask the person leaving this role what sort of challenges they faced, what would they say?

But if you have already taken the role and it just doesn’t feel right anymore, Thurlow and Norris have some advice:

• Determine salvageability. Sometimes it could just be a misunderstanding over responsibilities or something else that can be corrected, Thurlow said. “But if you get in and you find that it’s just not salvageable and that it’s a misaligned, undersold–or oversold–opportunity, that’s the time to go back and look at your search and see what you found that you didn’t want.” Norris agreed with this. “You’re either going to leave this job or you’re not. So just keep asking: What else can I do? That puts you in a place of choice, which is very empowering.”
• Re-evaluate your wants. Are you experiencing something known as fading affect bias, when you forget what you disliked at your last job? “Don’t be self critical. If you’re feeling stressed because you’re in that situation and feel stuck, slow yourself down,” said Norris. “Give yourself some space because you want to set yourself up to make a really good decision. Then, identify the source of your discontent and ask yourself, is it temporary or is this permanent? Is it the job or is it that you just went through a big change?”
• If all else fails, leave. “It's never too soon [to leave], but just make sure you’re making the right decision. If you do move on, be prepared to talk about it and be frank with your next employer,” Norris said.—SS

Your punch list for when you punch out.

Listen: Ok, so that weird, long serenade in the Euphoria season two finale might have soured you on Elliot. But in real life, Dominic Fike has some pipes, and we’re really into “3 Nights.”

Read: It was only a matter of time until nuns discovered TikTok, and honestly, praise be.

Eat: If you need something to excite your taste buds but you’ll blow a fuse if you turn on your AC and your oven at the same time, try this slow cooker chicken taco soup that proves tacos are delicious in literally any form.

Celeb tea: Stay ahead of the movies, style, and pop culture you love with this deep discount on People magazine. Get a full year for just $92.40 $52. Snag this deal on America’s fave magazine here.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Sidekickers, break out the popcorn. The last two years haven’t been great for the movie industry, but this summer, the watch list is strong. Splurge on the movies or Netflix and chill (or HBO Max and relax, or Hulu and do you, or Peacock and…uh…perch?).

Horny for Thor? Jane Austen superfan? Another Jordan Peele white-knuckler? Sidekick has got you covered.

Pearls of career wisdom.

What career advice would you give your younger self?

“Earlier in my career, I was a self-proclaimed workaholic. Each week, I was working at 150%, prepping decks and presentations. My mentor took me aside one day and said she noticed that I was going above and beyond. She told me that I needed to let go of the 150% and go out to lunch more. What I was missing by working around the clock was the opportunity to build and nurture relationships with colleagues, mentors, and sponsors. As soon as I took this advice, my career skyrocketed.”

“Don’t limit your networking to your team. Reach out to people who are successful in other parts of the business. As you rise to middle and senior management, I recommend exploring reverse mentoring opportunities. Mentoring can be just as rewarding for you as it is for the mentee. Junior employees can provide unique perspectives that ultimately result in more thoughtful judgment calls and leadership plans.”—Pam Habner, CEO of US branded cards and lending at Citi