Career coach's 'Dinner Table Test' is a simple way to determine if you need a new job
It can be a real wake-up call.
Can you pass the "Dinner Table Test"?
When we do the same job every day, sometimes it can be hard to put things into perspective. We can become accustomed to high-stress levels or too easily accepting of a day-to-day grind that isn’t very fulfilling.
Career coach Madeline Mann has shared a simple test on TikTok that helps people understand whether they are in the right job or should start looking for greener pastures. She calls it the “Dinner Table Test.”
Mann is the creator of Self-Made Millennial whose coaching program has helped thousands of people land roles at major companies such as Netflix, Google, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, NBC Universal, Amazon and more.
She shared the test in a video that has over 9,000 views.
Here’s a test to know if it’s time to change jobs. It’s called the Dinner Table Test, did your job pass?
@selfmademillennial Here’s a test to know if it’s time to change jobs. It’s called the Dinner Table Test, did your job pass? Make sure to follow for more career tips! #jobsearch #careercoach #careeradvice #business #jobmarket #jobtips #businesstips
“When you sit around the dinner table with your loved ones or hypothetically imagine yourself doing so, and your loved ones ask you how your day was at work, for the majority of those meals, would you be effusive about your day?” Mann asked. “Or, would you typically say something negative?”
Note that she says the “majority” of those meals. Because everyone is entitled to have the occasional bad day at work. However, if every day is a bad day, then you’ve definitely failed the test.
If most of the time you are excited to share the highlights of your day, then you’ve passed the test. That could mean sharing why you enjoyed spending time with your time with coworkers, the joy that comes with working on an engaging product, or feeling satisfied that the work you did was valued or helped others.
But if the first things that crop up are the clients who give you headaches or the boss who keeps piling more work on your desk than you can handle—it's time to think about getting a new gig. “If the majority of things you say about your job around the dinner table are negative, it’s time to revise your resume and find a new job,” Mann explained.
Mann’s test is sure to resonate with younger workers, MIllennials and Gen Zers, who seem to have a different philosophy towards work than older generations. Younger workers place a high priority on having a healthy life-work balance and want jobs that are more than just a paycheck.
They also can develop an unrealistic idea of what to expect from work after watching other people’s social media feeds where all they share are the positive aspects of their jobs.
Younger generations are also unafraid to look for new opportunities. They know more than anyone that the job market is turbulent and there’s nothing wrong with being on a constant job search.
“These generations are used to economic turmoil and the roller coaster conditions of the labor market,” Andrew Seaman, managing editor for jobs and career development at LinkedIn, told CNBC. “A lot of younger workers understand that their jobs aren’t secure, and they might have to find a new one tomorrow — that kind of attitude can breed confidence in a person, because they’re prepared for the worst outcome.”
She shared the test in a video that has over 9,000 views.
[Video]
“When you sit around the dinner table with your loved ones or hypothetically imagine yourself doing so, and your loved ones ask you how your day was at work, for the majority of those meals, would you be effusive about your day?” Mann asked. “Or, would you typically say something negative?”
Note that she says the “majority” of those meals. Because everyone is entitled to have the occasional bad day at work. However, if every day is a bad day, then you’ve definitely failed the test.
If most of the time you are excited to share the highlights of your day, then you’ve passed the test. That could mean sharing why you enjoyed spending time with your time with coworkers, the joy that comes with working on an engaging product, or feeling satisfied that the work you did was valued or helped others.
But if the first things that crop up are the clients who give you headaches or the boss who keeps piling more work on your desk than you can handle—it's time to think about getting a new gig. “If the majority of things you say about your job around the dinner table are negative, it’s time to revise your resume and find a new job,” Mann explained.
Mann’s test is sure to resonate with younger workers, MIllennials and Gen Zers, who seem to have a different philosophy towards work than older generations. Younger workers place a high priority on having a healthy life-work balance and want jobs that are more than just a paycheck.
They also can develop an unrealistic idea of what to expect from work after watching other people’s social media feeds where all they share are the positive aspects of their jobs.
Younger generations are also unafraid to look for new opportunities. They know more than anyone that the job market is turbulent and there’s nothing wrong with being on a constant job search.
“These generations are used to economic turmoil and the roller coaster conditions of the labor market,” Andrew Seaman, managing editor for jobs and career development at LinkedIn, told CNBC. “A lot of younger workers understand that their jobs aren’t secure, and they might have to find a new one tomorrow — that kind of attitude can breed confidence in a person, because they’re prepared for the worst outcome.”
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A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
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Woman gives toddler a bath Canva
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.