5 Signs it’s Time for a Career Change
Have you been questioning whether it’s time to make a career change? Whether it’s re-organizing your work, starting your own business, changing industries, or changing careers completely, it can be very overwhelming to make a change.
You might be wondering “is it worth the risk”? You may depend on the stability and income where you are. Or maybe you’re afraid that starting something new will leave little time for your family or yourself. The list below will help you assess if the risk is worth it. If one or more of the “symptoms” below strongly resonate, you can rest assured that making a change will be worth it in the end.
5 signs You Need a Career Change
1. You feel burnt out
No matter how much you try and set boundaries, you feel drained and you’ve got little left to give. Think of burnout as the opposite of engagement. If you’re engaged, you are involved in your workplace events, have energy, and are being effective.
Based on decades of research, Applied Psychology Researchers Leiter & Maslach define burnout as being cynical, exhausted, and lack effectiveness.
So, if you are burnt out the cynicism it creates will lead you to distance yourself from work and workplace events as much as you can. The exhaustion leaves you not just physically tired, but emotionally depleted. Finally, the lack of effectiveness burnout created will lead to declining performance that will make you even more unhappy and unfulfilled at work.
If you only have one of the 3 signs of burnout, you may still be in the early phases. But once it starts to become more overwhelming, it may also affect your health. Headaches, stomach issues, hypertension, a weakened immune system, trouble sleeping, anxiety, and depression have all been linked to burnout.
2. You feel stuck
You feel like you aren’t where you imagined yourself to be at this point of your life and you don’t see a clear direction. You might be asking yourself, “did I really choose my job, or did my job choose me?” It’s easy to become pigeon-holed into something because of what others see in you, or what kind of work you’ve had the opportunity to do up until this point.
3. You have a value-conflict
A value-conflict is when something you care about deeply is in direct conflict with your work. For example, you may value freedom, but your work doesn’t enable job autonomy, i.e. the freedom to make choices about how your overall job is designed and/ or the day-to-day decisions impacting your work. Another example is if you value inclusion, but you work in a very rigid, systemically oppressing work environment. Or perhaps you value creativity, and you have to follow a prescribed way of working every day. When you find work that is aligned to your passions and core values, it’s easier to be engaged and ultimately fulfilled through your work. Sometimes you can make adjustments where you are, but other times a full career or workplace change needs to happen.
This article will help you with some questions that you can ask yourself to guide you toward the ideal work. Think about who you are at your core, what is most important in your work, and if it’s possible to obtain those things where you currently are.
4. You aren’t advancing
This goes hand-in-hand with #2. Not only do you feel stuck, you also are undervalued and overlooked for promotions within your current area. You might love your job, but it’s not challenging you anymore. You’re ready for more responsibility and to make a bigger impact. This is only considered a problem if you’ve exhausted all options for development opportunities, and still feel the support and opportunity is missing. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of applying for a role that you feel unqualified for. If that’s the case, read this article explaining why you should apply for a new job before you feel ready.
5. You’ve got imposter syndrome
Ok, this is a tricky one. You might be telling yourself you’re not good enough, or you have to do and be someone you’re not to be respected in your role. But, often the opposite is true. You may have untapped potential because you haven’t been recognized for your unique strengths. Or you just haven’t been given diverse development opportunities to allow your true strengths to shine. If you have imposter syndrome, and it causes you to avoid learning, growing and stepping into your potential, that little voice in your head becomes even louder over time, convincing you it’s better to play it safe. Sometimes, there’s a toxic leader or team that making it feel even more impossible to expand your horizons. If you’re in an environment that is contributing to imposter syndrome and isn’t lifting your self-esteem, it might be time to break free and see what you’re made of.
Now if one or more of the above resonates with you, ask yourself, “can I stay where I am and maintain status quo for the next 5 or 10+ years? Or do I need to start making changes today, before it’s too late?” If you answered the latter (you need to start making changes today), it’s worth whatever risk—real or perceived to make a change.
You can sign up for a free discovery session with me by clicking here, and going deeper into what it will take to get everything aligned to be fulfilled in your ideal role.
BEFORE YOU GO… If you struggle with work-life balance and the overwhelm of the many things you could be focused on- download my free clarity wheel. Instead of playing the losing battle of trying to balance work & life, this will allow you to look at all the important aspects of your life holistically. It’s a quick 3-step exercise that will give you instant clarity of the top 3 areas you need to focus on to gain more fulfillment and impact.