If you aren’t really in love with your current job, or even if you do, this article is for you. Statistics have long suggested that working professionals will have up to seven careers in their lifetime. According to several career experts, is not to anticipate a lifetime of seven long-term careers. It's to plan to change your job regularly every few years, even if you like what you do and feel comfortable.
Change is difficult, but the benefits pay off in ways you never even imagined possible, both professionally and personally.
If you're still on the fence about making a career switch, here are the experts' best reasons why you should give some thought to changing jobs, even if you don't want to.
When we find comfort in anything, be it a job, relationship, or academia, there tends to be a period of time where individuals use that moment to coast, like a boat in a dock. The problem, as we mention time and time again at Brisk is that, within their comfort zone, individuals never evolve, and fail to reach their full potential. That may not seem immediately threatening, when your job just turns into boredom, but eventually it may affect your happiness and development as a human being. The longer we stay in the same job (whether it may be the company or simply the position you occupy in it, the more energy is required for one to pursuit self-growth. This also may not seem very dangerous; some people’s goals are simply to be comfortable and don’t really see the need for self-improvement. But the company eventually will! Your boss or co-workers will eventually see it happening simply by observation.
You’re actually losing money staying in the same job.
It is said that staying with a company for more than two years is detrimental to your salary and worth because there’s a limit to how high your manager can increase your salary based on a normal annual raise. By changing jobs, you can ask for a higher starting salary, and you have an advantage in negotiating, once you’ll do it from a place of strength. If the salary isn’t appealing, you can just decline the offer and keep looking while still maintaining your current position.
“Coasting is a problem when it comes to self-development, because it simply doesn’t happen. Settling down for a long time without challenges and stimulation makes you stop learning and aiming for more, while those who quickly learn new skills and gain experience from various places and situations are more easily adapted to the professions of the future.” says Christian Eilers, a career expert.
There are four basic needs you need to be met as a professional, and if one of them isn’t there, it’s time to explore what else might be out there for you. So ask yourself: :
· Does this role use my portfolio of strengths?
· Does it align with my areas of interest?
· Does the culture of the organization match my personality?
· Does this role enable the lifestyle I want?
Sometimes we even have that internal voice, saying it is time to change and eager to see what the world has to offer. Listen to it!
To summarize it, here are 5 signs it is time for a career change:
You don’t feel you’re making an impact
This is more important to some people than others, but if your job looks identical every single day, you feel like you’re in autopilot, like you have mentally “checked out”, underperforming and failing deadlines, you are definitely disconnected and feel demoralized and, or, undervalued. It is time to actively seek for new opportunities to contribute, that make you feel connected to the company’s mission, energized by new ideas and invigorated by new projects where you can simply contribute with your strengths and knowledge.
You have to force yourself to go to work
We all have those days when we just feel like hitting the one too many times, or it takes a little extra boost to get up and go to work. Maybe the project you’re working on just doesn’t excite you, or you’re anxious about a meeting with the boss. But this is different—this is every day! You live for the weekend, you despise Mondays and you find yourself dissatisfied with your current role, it’s time to think about what other areas of work might better align with your passions.
Even your salary can’t make up for your dissatisfaction.
The pay was once good and at one point you could justify staying because of the paycheck, but now, even that isn’t enough. You find yourself dreading every meeting and watching the clock all day long waiting for the time to go home. It’s Tuesday, you already feel exhausted after a long weekend and you’re already marking your calendar until the next holiday. While you appreciate the stability that your job provides, you’re beginning to feel like you’re wasting your potential. These are clear signs that one could use a change.
You daydream about a new career
Do you spend your days looking for job opportunities and dreaming about how taking that position would make you feel? Do you spend your lunch breaks thinking about what you’d do in “your next life” and relishing the thought of how you would deliver your two-weeks’ notice? Or do you find yourself updating LinkedIn or browsing job boards instead of work emails, and the thought of leaving your current job lingers in your head? Then it’s time to go!
Your job is affecting your personal life
Work should be challenging, but not debilitating. If you’re chronically exhausted, losing sleep, suffering from headaches, or experiencing other physical symptoms, this may be your body’s way of telling you your career is not right for you. Being permanently stressed can also impact your relationships with others close to you. Have your friends and family commented on your irritability or constant complaining? If work is turning you into an unhappy or bitter person, start to explore activities that will make you feel like yourself again.
It's time to do what makes you happy
If you feel like something is missing in your career, that you’re worth more or wish you could help people and find deeper fulfillment, you need to change jobs, even if you are not sure it’s the right time. Career coach Gracie Miller says that “It's worth the risk to go for long-term happiness, You have to act on the fact that deep down you know you could be more fulfilled. You will be happier for it, and your family, friends, and coworkers will be happier to be around you."
So, if you want to take that step forward:
1. Get specific about what’s not working in your professional life right now.
2. Identify what you like about your current role – knowing what you still like there, will help you keep what’s important in a new job.
3. Consider your core values – Do you value autonomy, community, innovation?
4. Assess your strengths and skill gaps
5. Develop and execute your plan After a thorough self-assessment, map out your goals, identifying short-term milestones, and give yourself reasonable timelines. Focus on expanding your network and reaching out to old contacts, and continually developing your skills and updating your social media.
Most of all, don’t be scared or disheartened by the search for your new career. Check in with yourself on a regular basis to make sure that your current role is aligned with your long-term goals. Know when to walk away, and when to move on. It’s never too late to start again in order to do what you love, every day.
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