A Career graph should never be in a declining path, it either should be constant or inclining to make it successful. Exploring new options and grabbing opportunities will help for future growth. This professional development called a dynamic career.
Surviving in the same position or role for years with no development and progress in a professional career is called a stagnant career. A stagnant career has no growth nor future, one needs to update with new skills and new challenging to reach goals of life. One can get a chance to face new roles and responsibilities in a dynamic career.
Stagnant Career:
Whose career has no growth or there is nothing to achieve in the workplace for them, such type of career is called a stagnant career. It may be due to several issues like lack of performance, or lack of recognition, lack of skills, lack of management support.
It is hard to survive in such work because one will not find it interesting and exciting to learn new skills, one will get bored with the routine career. Career may stick or lag, the management may not offer new responsibilities or assignments this will lead to failure of career. Their experience will be of no use since they have been working for the same role and not updated with new skills that are necessary to get a new offer.
10 Telltale Signs of Career Stagnation:
Career growth and development is the dream or rather wish of every employee. To make it come true, they opt many ways and one such way is changing of jobs in search of better growth opportunities.
You might have seen that most of the employees when leaving their job, answer the reason for change as to improve their skillset, better growth opportunities, etc. Now it is not mandatory that changing jobs can help you grow. You can stay at your present job and take up an initiative to improve yourself.
But if you feel staying in your present job has stagnated you then you need to seriously think about it. There are many employees who get stuck at the same job and company and the reason for it could be any like
- Getting used to the comfort zone
- Fear of not getting any other job
- Timely pay
- Lack of skills to compete in the market etc.
Career stagnation is something very common but should be dealt with seriously and early precautional measures need to be taken. While climbing the career ladder, success should be your primary aim on the professional front.
If you are confused about your career then here we are enlisting a few signs which help you know, Is your career stagnating?
- Lack of motivation
- Not given the right opportunity to grow or develop
- No appreciation for the work
- Clash with the boss
- Not able to utilize your best skills
- Passed over for a promotion
- No hikes or bonus
- Had a halt in the learning process
- Monotonous work
- Getting the Sunday Night Blues
Reasons for Stagnant Career:
Accepting temporary offers:
Many of them accept temporary opportunities, especially freshers due to lack of jobs in the relevant field, they may tempt to accept it because of highly paid salaries. Such decisions may prevent their career to grow further, they keep continuing in the same field for the amount paid, also they start losing new opportunities as their experience doesn’t count since it is not related to their education and skills.
This is one of the biggest reasons for the stagnant career. Accepting such offers will effect long term career plans. Once they get trapped it is hard to come out of it. One may also choose a temporary option for their issues, also due to the comfort levels offered.
Unaware of roles and responsibilities:
One must be aware of the work environment, without proper knowledge of roles and responsibilities, one cannot build their career in a particular organization. Post joining or after accepting an offer, many of them will know their complete role in the workplace, it may not match with what they have assumed or expected.
Since they took up the offer, they continue to work in it. This is also one of the reasons which stop to perform well. As they have no idea to perform their duties, they cannot compete with others and lag. They will be pushed behind because of their poor performance.
Lack of skills:
One who always updates themselves with new skills will find ample opportunities, the one who failed to do this will working for the same role and position for many years. They not receiving encouragement from the management, in a few cases, they may ask to retire as they don’t need inefficient employees.
Nowadays all the organizations look for smart candidates, they give chance to employees who prove their skills and develop the organization with their smart work. One who creates barriers for themselves by performing the same work for years will lead to a stagnant career.
Dynamic Career:
Dynamic career is nothing but utilizing opportunities and evaluating a successful career from it. It is to switch new offers which help to develop their future growth. It involves a good plan and analysis of their goals and how to achieve them. This analysis helps them to grab the right opportunity at the right time.
The objectives are well defined and they tend to have a dynamic career, both financially and professionally they have an inclination path in their career. They utilize their skills and grab opportunities, they will have an interesting and exciting line up throughout their career.
Reasons for Dynamic Career:
Well defined Goals:
Career can be dynamic if one has a clear set of goals. They set their standards as per their goals and drive accordingly, they have a strategy to approach and handle responsibilities. They are much aware of their capabilities, they lay path based on that, they wait for the right opportunity.
The area in which they are strong enough they catch hold of that and develop their career in that. To excel than others one must always perform well at what they are good enough. They seek proper training and focus on only that role which is crucial for them, they do always have alternatives but they will not tend to accept until and unless it is worth enough.
Go get attitude:
They do not lose any opportunity that is important to their career, they have a dynamic career because they take the risk in which they are confident. At a phase, one should risk to develop themselves and meet their goals.
Their attitude towards their career is always to achieve it, they understand the motive of good performers at the workplace, they try to enhance inculcate the same in their career.
They have a clear vision of what next, they build step by step and finally get to the right place. And also they focus on all the skill set required to attain it and they keep tracking of their grades and progressive graph.
They do what they love:
Unlike a boring and routine job, they choose career what they love and what dreamt of, they do not entertain temporary opportunities, they always look for a long term cherished career.
They enjoy their job and they do work for an organization which makes them excite and provides opportunities to excel, they always look for challenging positions that pave for their dynamic career. And they compete with themselves and strive for progress.
They motivate themselves to learn new things and utilize them in their profession. And they are much creative and smart. They push themselves to be perfect at their responsibilities.
Difference between Stagnant and Dynamic Career:
Update with skills:
Probably someone’s career stagnant because they not updated with new skills and no tendency to learn something new, this is the reason for their career downfall.
When we look at a person who has a successful career path, they always try to seek new skills and get updated with their new technology required for growth of their career, it may not bring change to a career at that moment, but it plays a crucial role for a career change.
They may get promotion and appraisal based on their techie knowledge. One who is passionate enough can have a dynamic career. One will be blocked in the same positions because of this reason.
Facing the risk and challenges:
A person who is successful in the profession will not wait for the opportunity, he/she will keep exploring new opportunities to enrich their career. One should aim for progression to have a dynamic career hence they are ready to take up any new challenging role and face it, they take the risk of a career change when they don’t find it interesting anymore.
People have a stagnant career because they don’t try, they don’t allow themselves to face the challenges, might be fear of losing a current opportunity or lack of confidence in them. They ignore career growth but just focus on comfort levels and temporary income which why they stuck in the same position.
Balance work-life:
The one successful in a career is successful in their personal life too, they enjoy their work and can spare time for personal work. One who is not satisfied with the workplace, they are more depressed and frustrated which affects both work and personal life.
One who choose a dynamic career to fulfill their dreams of life by choosing the best options for their career, that is why they are much confident than the others.
They are aware of their goals, whereas the others are messed up and blocked themselves with no option left with them to kick start a new life. They cannot balance their work-life and not strong enough to switch to a new career.
Recognition of strength:
Many of them do not utilize their strengths in a professional career. They are good at something but they perform something at which they are just zero. It may be because they do not research well on the opportunities or lack of career awareness.
Many of them prove themselves by paving a dynamic career because they are aware of their strengths and they just keep improving in it and they work only for those skillset jobs. They receive well and recognized for their expertise in it. They experience that career is much worth enough, when compared to these.
Competitive:
To grow vertically one should compete with themselves, they should keep tracking their results for the fiscal year, and they set goals for the next fiscal year to meet them accordingly, they break their records to progress, thus they build a progressive career.
The reason for stable growth in careers is they’re not upgrading or improving themselves to be perfect at a profession. They are not trying to compete with themselves or with others, they may lose opportunities likewise, though they have experienced it is of no use since progression is important for a better career.
How To Revive a Stagnant Career?
Set short term goals to achieve long term goals:
Make a detailed plan and create short terms goals to meet the aims of life. Analyze priorities, work on the weak areas which are stopping to move forward in a career. Take tips from seniors, learn completely new things.
Take feedback from managers to improve and prepare own skill set that requires the next appraisal. Convert backdrops to strengths.
Do something which never did before to improve in the given space. Follow the success mantra of successful employees to achieve it. One may not see a high progression but can improve step by step.
Analyze interests that give job satisfaction:
At times one may be pissed off at their nature of the job. Consult a job expertly, take a piece of career advice. Take a step to change the job of your own choice.
Give a note to the manager regarding the role change, or explain skills to them so that they provide an opportunity of the chosen role which matches with skills set and gives job satisfaction. Give ideas to a manager in the expert field.
This gives new opportunities for new projects. It is interesting to work in a relevant field it gives job satisfaction and one can grow their career in that path of their own choice. One must make note of their interest and keep working on it, to have a dynamic career.
Never give up:
Never give up for those jobs which are just sufficient to survive as of now, choose an organization that has a bright future and evergreen, so that one can grow along with the organization.
One must remember that they have to keep learning to survive in this competitive field. As technology and skills keep updating, one must be also ready with it, otherwise, someone else grabs the opportunity and there will be no improvement in career.
It is not just enough to learn something just require for that particular role, it is important to know something out of the box to in the race so that one motivate others and be a leader for their team.
Never set limitations:
One must be flexible enough to take up any challenge that is much required for a career. One needs to choose the best option so that they do not regret it later for losing that opportunity.
Chances rarely show up, one must be able to utilize to prove themselves and stand as unique between their co-workers. They would receive appreciation and recognization for being flexible at the workplace, which helps for growing in their career.
So never set limitations which blocks the careers.
