Career- Are You In The Right Seat?
If you're ever feeling stuck at a job you don't like, it can be difficult to know whether or not making that leap is the right thing to do. We're here to help. We'll go through five signs that might indicate it's time for a change and what you can do about each one of your circumstances.
1) You haven't felt this excited about coming into work in years- You could be experiencing burnout, which means as time goes on your day-to-day tasks are becoming more and more daunting, debilitating, or draining than they once were.
One of the main signs that you're at this point is if you've never really been excited about coming into work in your entire career. There might be a certain part of your job that was always kind of OK, but then every day it becomes more and more of a burden or a chore.
Burnout can happen to anyone, no matter what kind of job they have. You might not feel as valued in your position or you're getting resentful because you feel as if your job isn't changing fast enough with the social/economic times around us. It might be time to think about leaving that workplace for something completely different- meaning, either applying for a new position at your company or leaving altogether.
It's important to always remember that feeling burned out at your job is a natural part of having a career. As you become more experienced and learn what you like and don't like, the changes that happen in your professional life can make it necessary to find something new.
If you've felt this way for months or even years, it might be time to start looking at different jobs you might want to try. Sometimes being stuck in an environment that doesn't satisfy all of your basic needs can lead to you becoming less productive and more drained than ever.
And that's when things can get bad.
2) You don't know what you're good at- If you never really feel successful at your job, it might be time to make a move. Sometimes it's hard to realize this because the traditional method of measuring career success is based on money and job title progressions. But neither of those things mean success if you don't like where you work.
It's important to try different things out and figure out what makes you feel good about yourself as a person and professional in the workplace. Different people have different skills that they can use in the workplace, some of which are more easily identifiable than others as well.
When you don't know what that is, it's easy to feel like you have no idea of where you should be headed or what kind of career choice is the right one for you. You might feel stuck because your current position doesn't suit the kind of person you are or the type of work experience that makes you feel fulfilled.
If that's the case, it might be time to start thinking about a different job experience. You can always question whether or not staying in your present position might hinder your ability to take advantage of opportunities down the road in life.
3) You haven't made any major career or personal goals in years- If you haven't really had any major accomplishments in your career since you started that job a long time ago, it's time to think about the reasons why. Some people don't feel like they have a choice when it comes to finding what they like, but if that's the case, it might be time to start questioning whether or not it's possible to make a change at your current position.
If you've been saying you're a people person all along but you don't feel challenged in your current role and it makes you feel unfulfilled, there might be problems with the way things are conducted at that job. That's what makes it so hard to move on to something new.
If you're struggling with this in your career, as a professional, it can be frustrating. When you don't feel like you have much direction or purpose in your current situation, it can be difficult for you to identify why that is. If that's the case, it might be time to try questioning the company or peer leadership of your company and start working on finding out how you can improve or change things up to fit how you want to see things moving forward.
4) You question whether or not your job is still fulfilling you- As a professional and as a person, it's important to always be reaching for something more. If you're not wondering that question every day, it might be time to start thinking about how you can make things more satisfying within your position.
If you're questioning whether your job still fits the way you want to live in this world, it might be time to try differing things out by taking on new projects or work from home positions or adding new responsibilities or even challenging yourself with different methods of work.
When people don't feel like they have much passion in their career, it can make them feel stuck and unfulfilled. That's what leads to people to question their career choice, even if they've been working at something for years.
How you face that challenge can be a difficult thing depending on where you're coming from. Think about trying new methods of work or looking to expand your skill set by tackling a new project that you're not familiar with. If you're finding yourself feeling like this, it might be time to start thinking about new job opportunities that are in your professional wheelhouse, meaning what you're good at and really enjoy doing.
Sometimes it's hard to get away from feeling like you're stuck in a situation where you're not making any progress, especially if it's your job that you feel that way about. If this is the case, there are ways to make those situations better and more fulfilling.
5) You have a bad impression of your company or its leadership- When you work for a company and you start feeling unhappy with things, it might be time to start thinking about the leadership of that company. Sometimes people don't think about this part because they feel like they can't leave their jobs no matter what.
That's not necessarily the case. It really depends on how you choose to look at it and how you decide to handle it moving forward. If you don't feel like you're being heard or that leadership is always pushing you to do things your way, or not necessarily the right way, it might be time to start looking for a new job that stands in contrast to whatever problems you feel like your old job has.
Conclusion
There are many reasons that can lead to feeling stuck in your current job. Sometimes it's obvious and there are solutions you can use immediately to try and improve your situation. Other times, it's more complicated and things need to work themselves out a little bit more.
Sometimes it takes some time for things to change for the better, but if you really feel stuck in your job or career right now and you don't know what to do, you might want to look at some of the points above and see what kind of opportunities fit in with them.
Sometimes making a change at one phase of your life can mean finding a new phase entirely.