How long have you been working in your current role? How long do you think it will be before you’re provided with an opportunity for a career change to take the next step up the ladder? If the answers to those questions are “too long” and “I don’t know,” it might be time to think of seeking pastures new. Far too many of us are guilty of sticking around in a job for too long either because we like the people we work with or we’re afraid of losing our security. The unknown can be scary and choosing to leave a job you earn well from and are comfortable with definitely counts as the unknown.
Knowing when to look for a new job when you already have one isn’t easy. Jump too early, and your resume will make you look like a ‘job hopper,’ forever moving from one place to another and showing no loyalty to anybody. Leave it too late, and you’ll go stale watching people who were hired more recently than you pass you by in the career stakes. A career change, as the old saying goes, is as good as a rest. Even if you earn well from what you do, waking up in the morning with a sense of dread about going into work is your mind’s way of telling you that it’s time to get out.
Ditching a steady job to take a chance on a new one is a gamble. We accept that. It exposes you to risk. Your career doesn’t have to be governed by luck and fate. If you believe in yourself and you know what you’re worth, go out and get it.
If you’re still not sure whether a career change is right for you, look out for these five signs.
You Have No Time For Yourself Outside Work
Having a poor work-life balance doesn’t just mean that you’re missing social engagements and you’re losing contact with your friends and family. If you’re spending all your time on work and none on play, you’re at risk of developing both physical and mental health problems. No job is worth that, no matter how much it pays you. The first thing you should look to do is see if there’s a way for you to lighten your load, whether that’s by reducing your hours, turning down overtime, changing your shift patterns, or deleting your work email account from your personal phone. If none of those things is an option, your job might be the thing that needs to go.
There’s No Ladder To Climb
Any therapist will tell you that you should have a one-year plan, a five-year plan, and a ten-year plan. What does yours look like? Can you picture yourself still working where you are now in five years? If you can’t, that’s a problem in itself and an obvious reason to make changes. If you can, what role are you in? Unless you’re running the company, the role you picture yourself holding in the future shouldn’t be the role you’re in now. Work out where you want to be, and ask yourself if there’s an easy-to-visualize route to there from where you are now. If there isn’t, speak to your employer and ask them to provide you with one. If that also fails, it’s time to go.
You’re Always Tired
We all get a little more prone to fatigue as we get older. It’s one of the many curses that come with the aging process. However, there’s a difference between being tired and being exhausted. If the simple act of getting out of bed this morning has become a struggle, no matter how much sleep you get and how much coffee you drink, something else is going on. While there are many reasons – physical and mental – why you might always be tired, it’s important to note that your career could be one of them. This is known as “burnout,” which happens when someone has been working too hard at the same task for too long. If left unchecked, that can turn into stress or heart problems. A change of scenery might re-energize you.
You Don’t Get Along With Your Boss
We all know what it’s like to work for an unpleasant or incompetent manager or management team. Some of us stay in such a situation for far too long, and only when we escape from it do we realize that we acted far sooner. We convince ourselves that we’ll struggle to find an occupation that provides the same income elsewhere, and so we grit our teeth and bear it. Again, that’s not good for our health. Not getting along with a colleague is one thing, but not getting along with your boss is far worse. They have the power to make too many decisions that could negatively impact your life.
On top of that, you spend most of your life at work. That’s too much time to spend somewhere you’re faced with conflict every day. You can’t change your boss, so change your job instead. It might be time to think of a career change.
You Could Do Your Job In Your Sleep
The main reason we go to work is to earn money, but it should also challenge us. We should learn from working, gaining new skills and more knowledge all the time. Once that stops happening, your career will stand still. While you might think it’s an advantage for you to be able to perform every function of your role without having to think about it, you’re actually teaching yourself not to think and not to challenge. You’ll start coasting, and the next six months will look like the six months that came before it. Eventually, that will turn into years, and before you know it, you’ll have stood still for far too long. Don’t settle for an easy life. You’re only here once – push yourself harder.
The job market isn’t easy to navigate at the moment, but opportunities are there for determined candidates. Don’t settle for another year of the same old, same old if you don’t have to. Make a break, make a career change, and accept a new challenge.
Featured Image by Werner Heiber from Pixabay