Is your career beginning to feel like it’s on the road to nowhere … and fast? It may be time to ditch that dead-end job and seek out the career that you want and deserve. Take a look at these signs to see if you’re just burnt out or desperately in need of a change.
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Here are five signs that you may need to leave your current job:
1. You habitually dread waking up in the morning to go to work.
2. The morning commute is enough to make you want to call in sick (every day).
3. Your current occupation isn’t aligned with your ultimate career goal(s).
4. Your co-workers suck … and your boss is the worst.
5. The company’s culture is nonexistent or it doesn’t mesh well with you.
If your career isn’t going in the direction you’d like, then here are three questions to consider and help you get on the right track:
What is your dream job? If someone came up to you today and said that you could have any job that you wanted tomorrow, what would it be? “Dream job” doesn’t necessarily mean it brings in the biggest salary, but rather it’s the job that would bring the most fulfillment in your life and career. Think about when you were a kid and said, “I am going to be a (insert dream job as a child) when I grow up!” Now, take that same blissful, fearless ignorance and ask yourself that question today.
If you knew failure wasn’t an option, what job would you go after? Some people are too scared to venture out of their comfort zones to go after what they really want in their professionals (and life, for that matter). So, if you knew that failure would be taken out of the equation, what is the profession you would pursue? Of course, failure often helps you appreciate the success that much more, but for the sake of figuring out your ultimate vocation, what is fear holding you back from achieving or trying?
Is it about happiness or money (or both)? You must be realistic with where your aspirations lie. As we mentioned in the first question, if earning a top salary is what you’re after, then align your career objectives accordingly. However, if you’re more interested in finding a fulfilling career and money isn’t your number one priority, then seek out the occupation that will satisfy your needs. And yes, there are plenty of careers that are both satisfying and lucrative, however, when you’re in a dead-end job and looking for a way out, you must figure out what is lacking in your current occupation so that you don’t wind up in the same work predicament.
Tell Us What You Think
Have you taken the road-less-traveled and left your dead-end job for a more promising career? If so, tell us what was the turning point for you. Share your story on Twitter or in the comments section below.
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Matthys, your list is right on the money!
I like this article. I would just like to add that each person is in a unique situation and probably has an equally unique potential solution to their unique situation. Even two different people in the exact same situation might have distinctively different solutions because of their own unique abilities, aptitudes, strengths, ingenuity and so on. Nonetheless, the principles within this article can be applied to many different situations and different individuals, without even defining the details of how to… Read more »
The above soon hits reality. 1. Jobs aren’t easy to come by, particularly if you’re not outgoing/extroverted. 2. If you’re over 40 or trying to switch sectors, e.g. from public sector to private, you are swimming upstream, and the older you are and/or the longer in one sector, the stronger the current. 3. People tend to live within their salary, so taking a cut isn’t a simple, easy thing, as expenses tend to match one’s income and aren’t easy to… Read more »
May I suggest a new list of 5? 1. You’ve reached a ceiling in promotions and there is no space left to grow (I.E, your in a small company without any signs of reasonable future growth). 2. You’re no longer gaining valuable experience in your day-to-day tasks, I.E, you’re no longer learning new things and you feel unchallenged by your work and everything you do seems repetitive. 3. You have outgrown your co-workers on a professional level. The people that… Read more »
In 2008 I took an internal role with a financial consultancy – my job was developing month after month and I loved going to work for at least 3 out of the 5 years because it was always challenging and it kept me stimulated, and I became a believer in myself and that I could do great things. Unfortunately it also meant that I was doing pretty much a job and a half for most of the time and worked… Read more »
I have all 5 above but in current economic environment and the discrimination against anyone over 40 means I am stuck in a job that pays less than I was earning more than 10 years ago and would be an insult to the intelligence of a 2 year old