With all this talk about the Great Resignation, you may be wondering whether you should be considering a career change too – and you may even know people who have left their jobs and found greater satisfaction in a different career. While there can be many different reasons for wanting a career change, there are some hard-to-ignore, telltale signs that you may be ready to start the process. Only you know what’s best for you.
1. You dread going to work everyday and count the hours until you’re done.
This one is the obvious sign you may need to make a change ASAP. It’s not healthy to hate going to work everyday (especially considering we spend one-third of our lives at work) and if you’re in this situation it may be time to look at your options.
2. You’re burnt out.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Your job requires more than you can give or you have so much going on in your life that it’s hard to focus on either your career or your life. Burnout can lead to serious health conditions and you need to take this seriously and take care of yourself.
3. The things you used to enjoy doing now seem tedious or frustrating.
Maybe when you started the job you enjoyed certain tasks, but those things no longer feel fulfilling or satisfying and you feel frustrated or bored in your daily work. It might be time to look for a career that involves the tasks you enjoy doing or that you’re more interested in.
4. You no longer believe in the purpose of your role, the goals/values of the company, or the service/product you’re providing.
Let’s face it, sometimes the rose coloured glasses fall off and you realize that your beliefs and values aren’t in line with those of your company or industry. Or the company has changed since you started and you no longer identify with what they’re doing. If you’re finding it hard to connect with the overall purpose of your role or the company as a whole it’s probably time to move on. You can’t be your best self, as a person or an employee, in a place you don’t connect with.
5. You’re drawn to researching or learning about things outside of your current career.
Even if you don’t mind the work you do, you may have other areas of interest that draw you in or keep you wondering what it would be like to have a career in that area. Sometimes another field is just a better fit or you’re just ready for something new.
6. You feel like you’ve outgrown your career.
You’ve given all you’ve got, whether or not you enjoyed the work, and you know there’s no more space for you to grow in your career. Perhaps you’ve mastered your skills, learned as much as you can, contributed a lot to your industry, or you’ve been promoted to the top and there’s nowhere else to go. It may be time to make a change and look elsewhere for opportunities to grow.
7. You don’t feel connected to the culture of the company or industry.
This may be due to a toxic work environment, ethical dilemmas, poor management, conflict with coworkers, or a change in your industry. The work environment can contribute to career satisfaction just as much as the tasks of the job or your interest in the field.
8. You were pressured by someone to choose your current career and it never quite seemed to fit for you.
Even if people have the best of intentions, only you know what’s best for you and what type of career fits your interests, values, skills and personality preferences. It’s never too late to decide you’d like to change paths and pursue a career aligned with what you want.
9. You ended up in your current career without intentionally choosing or planning for it.
We all know someone who ended up in a job purely because of circumstances. Maybe this is you and it’s several years later and you realize that the career you’re in isn’t what you would’ve chosen if you’d thought about it more intentionally. If you’re feeling ready to intentionally think about your career path, maybe it’s time for a change.
10. Your career no longer fits with your lifestyle or who you are.
It’s a fact of life that things are constantly changing – people, circumstances, lifestyles. Sometimes the career you chose when you first started out doesn’t work for your life anymore – possibly because of the work hours, schedule, pressures, travel, pay etc. Even if it’s a career you’ve enjoyed, it’s ok to decide that it’s time to make a change to a career that better fits who you are now and the life you want to have.
11. You find yourself wondering what it would be like if you had taken a different career path.
Maybe you were considering multiple career options before you chose your current path, or perhaps you had another interest area you never had the chance to fully explore. Whatever your reason, you haven’t stopped thinking about that other career. It’s never too late to pursue the career exploration you wish you had done earlier and never too late to decide to make a change. So if that nagging ‘what if’ feeling keeps coming back, it may be time to give it some attention.
If any of these signs resonate with you, you may want to seriously start considering where you’d like your career to go. You don’t even need to know what career you want to be doing instead, the first step is recognizing that it’s time to explore other options. There are many ways to start your career exploration journey including looking at job postings, talking to people working in different jobs, taking career assessments, or meeting with a career counsellor or coach to hash out your ideas and get the ball rolling. Whatever you decide to do next, know that every small step you take is progress that can help you stay motivated and moving in the direction you want your career to go.
You are in charge of where you go from here.
~Ashley & Larissa
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