Would you take your job now?

And if so, what would you negotiate for?

Today is Labor Day in the United States. Many people have the day off work, but even if you don’t spend the day thinking about the history of the labor movement, it’s still a good occasion to reflect on your job. What do you like? What do you not like?

I know sometimes when people reflect on this, they dwell on the negatives — and every job has some. But one way to shape your thinking about this matter is to ask two questions. First, would you take your job now? And second, if you were considering your current job, what would you negotiate to change?

More of the good stuff

Often when we think about an actual job description, the job sounds pretty cool. The problem is that in the day-to-day structure of life, we spend more time in meetings and on emails than on the “stuff” of the job. The good news: with some patience and work, it might be possible to spend more time on the substance of the job. Could you aim for an additional hour this week? What about two hours next week?

But I think the second question is even more helpful. Maybe you’d be very interested in your job as summed up in a job description — interesting work, well-known company — but knowing what you know now, for sure you’d want to be paid 10 percent more. Or you’d ask for another week of PTO. Maybe you’d negotiate for an additional team member so things don’t always feel so stretched. Maybe you’d want the chance to meet more frequently with senior leadership. Or you’d want to work more with one manager vs. another.

Know what to ask for

There is probably something that, with the negotiating power of having been offered a position, you’d want to change. But once you figure that out, you can probably figure out a way to make at least some of that happen now. At your next review you can ask for a raise or, if that’s out, more vacation days. The next time your manager wants you to lead a big new project you make it contingent on being able to hire more headcount.

Some jobs are better than others but, in general, I think it’s possible to turn the jobs we have into something closer to the jobs we want. Figuring out what you’d negotiate for is one step toward making that a reality.