Can you learn to love a job that isn't a good fit?

On June 27th, 2024, I was given a layoff notice and 60 days to finish out my position before it would be eliminated. August 27th, I walked away without a new job lined up, despite many applications and many interviews -- a technicality in my old job's classification was getting in the way of a new job offer. 

Fast forward to October 7th when I started a new job. 

I was actually offered four jobs all at about the same time and had interviews for several others lined up. It felt great to know I was WANTED. I felt validated and valued!

Of the four jobs I was offered:

• The first was offered based entirely on my resume and after only a five minute conversation. The pay, however, was low and the hours not great.
• The second job I was offered seemed like a great cultural fit and everyone was welcoming and warm when I did a shadow session as part of the interview process. The HR person told me that I not only could negotiate any offered salary but that I SHOULD. They offered just a tiny bit more than the first job, coming in at the lower end of their middle tier for the position (a three tier structure based on experience). I negotiated for the lower end of the third tier, anticipating they would respond with an offer at the high end of the middle tier based on what the HR person told me. Instead, they came back and told me the first offer was firm and non-negotiable. 
• The third job was the best fit so far in terms of not only the work place culture, but also the duties of the job. They offered a bit more than the second job, but less than the job that had just been eliminated.
• The fourth job offered A LOT financially. This job offered so much more than the others that I made the mistake of taking it without thinking too much about the culture fit and the job duties fit. I've only been in this position just about two weeks, and I'm struggling.

I should be grateful to have a job at all -- I am!

I should be grateful to have a paycheck that's so much higher than the other positions were offering -- I am!

I should be grateful that I'll be able to pay my rent and bills with ease -- I am!

And, yet . . . 

I am struggling. 

This job is not a good fit at all in terms of my job duties and the way the position is set up within the department. 

I'm not going to share too many details about the job itself -- I don't think that would be fair to my employer or co-workers, and even though I'm sharing on the internet, not every detail is the business of any potential readers. 

This job is 100% on the phone and I must be in person and onsite due to certain aspects of the position and the department. After six months, I may have the opportunity to work remotely. On any given day, only two or three others are present in our office. Our office is on the main floor of our building, but we are so far back in the building that it feels subterranean. We have no windows and everyone keeps the overhead lights off and prefers to only use the light immediately above their own computer. 

It's dark and we are spread out in two adjoining rooms. Everyone keeps to themselves when they have downtime and acts like it is a huge imposition if you ask a question. I have yet to see anyone genuinely smile except of the one person I met on my first day when my supervisor accidentally told me to take this person's desk and the person and I laughed about it after my supervisor left. I do genuinely like this co-worker and we've chatted some during downtime, but I do not have a fixed desk assignment and the last few days have had to work at a desk in the next room over.

There are a number of other issues too, and I feel like this job does not make use of any of my strengths and doesn't fill my need for my work to matter. I miss working with clients in a more face-to-face capacity so much more than I ever expected -- even the nasty and mean clients (I work in healthcare and used to work in emergency medicine). 

I am working hard to at least find ways to like my job. I don't know that I'll ever be able to love it, but I can try!

Fifteen things I love about my job:

1. I get to eat outside with sweeping views of the city and mountains beyond.
2. It is only a 10 minute bus ride from my house (the closest of the others was a minimum of 30 minutes).
3. I get a nearly free, unlimited public transportation pass.
4. They are paying me well and I won't have to worry about paying rent or bills.
5. They valued my skills and experience in determining my pay.
6. They appreciate that I already have a high level of knowledge about key aspects of the software involved in doing my  job.
7. One of my closest friends works at the same company.
8. I will have the opportunity to transition to a different (and permanent) job at the end of my current six month contract.
9. I AM helping patients directly, even if I don't see them in person.
10. Some of my co-workers are funny and supportive in the team chats.
11. When I accidentally shared my screen to the team chat instead of with my trainer, several people reached out and were kind in asking if I needed help with something.
12. My boss and my boss's boss both seem genuinely happy to have me on the team and seemed to genuinely want to get to know me as a person, not just as an employee.
13. The supervisor made me feel welcome right from the start and was extremely supportive about an issue I identified early in my training. 
14. I am learning a lot, even if it doesn't feel like it. 
15. My shift starts just late enough in the morning that I don't feel rushed to get up and going when I'm still half asleep and it ends early enough that I feel like I still have time to get things done in the evening. That short commute certainly helps...

I can learn to love (or at least like) this job, right?

I do think my personal and professional values are in alignment with those in my department and I am glad to have the job, but I am struggling with several aspects of it. I need to focus on the positives, so I likely will write several more posts like this in the future. 

Have you had a job that didn't feel like a good fit but you needed to stay for one reason or another? How did you make it manageable? I know I don't have to love my job, but it certainly would help.