There’s nothing like a change in the seasons to invigorate us, and new beginnings can often boost our appetite for further change. One area that is very important to many of us (and is a big part of our day) is our career/job. When things feel like they are going south and we start to dread going to work, there comes a time when we must determine how to make lemons out of the lemonade and improve our circumstances, or decide if it’s time to leave or start something entirely new. Because so much of our life, purpose and lifestyle can be dependent on our career, this is often a huge decision to make.
Before you job hop or start a new career, make sure you’re making the right decision and not just jumping the gun. If you experience any of these signs below, then you should look to transition into a new opportunity.
1) You’re Not Learning New Things, Being Given Opportunity or Advancing
If you’re going through the motions at work, and don’t feel like you’re learning anything new or feel there is no place for growth or advancement, then it is time to evaluate. The first step is to always have good communication about your desires and about how you might improve the situation. Please keep in mind that this process also involves hearing what you may currently be doing (or not doing) to contribute to the present issue. Being an excellent leader also means being open minded and accountable for your part of the current situation, and then flexing your muscles to improve it. In the absence of someone at your work being willing to hear your concerns or support you to reach your goal, then it may be time to create a plan to start looking elsewhere. Usually we advise you to have a career transition plan in place and the means to support yourself BEFORE you terminate your current working situation in order to minimize risk.
2) You’re Unhappy Most of The Time & Dread Going into Work
You’ve heard this a million times, but life really IS too short to be unhappy at work. However, where some people go wrong is that they confuse being happy in their career with being happy in their life. As a result, they can project that issue onto their work, as though its your work place’s responsibility to make them happy. However, if you find you are happy with most of the other aspects of your life, and typically have been quite happy with your past workplaces, THEN it is time to evaluate if this company or this role is a good fit for you.
What can happen is that you are at the right company and in the right culture but in the wrong role, this impacts your ability to truly thrive. Similarly, if you are in the right role but working with the wrong boss or in a company that doesn’t support your values, then that also greatly impacts your overall experience of happiness in your career. Doing personality tests can really help to determine what sort of job best suits you, and also gives indicators of what company culture would suit you best. When both of those things line up, good things happen! When only one or neither of those things line up, it is exceptionally difficult to thrive.
Stay tuned next week to hear Part 2, and learn when you should truly change your career or job!
We are also offering complimentary 20-minute consults so that you can determine which path suits you best. Contact us for more information.
