As rare as it may sound, many people today don’t like their career, but they keep on with it for the sake of it, and what’s more? Money obviously, so they just don’t quit because they are earning now and changing careers isn’t easy as it sounds. But for what it is worth, you only live once; most of the other things can change.
So, here are some signs you need to get off from your office chair and be the change you want. In simpler words, signs which intends that its time for a career change.
Is It Time for a Career Change: How do you know?
1. You hate your boss:
First and foremost, if your boss is a never shutting up type of guy but never appreciates you and period, you hate him/her. This is a call of duty towards you. You cannot work under someone you don’t like and things are going to get even worse if you continue to curb your feelings and go on working for ‘the boss you hate’.
Well, you can take your chances and hang on but trust me, if you have given it enough time, let it go. And quit.
2. You don’t blend in:
Well, not if you feel like this at the beginning, because beginnings are hard, you should try a little more in that case. But, if you have been at it for a long time and you don’t blend in with your colleagues, it is going to leave you alone and at the corner table of your canteen, and that should not be you.
It is really necessary for the people surrounding you to be cooperative and friendly. You need to work, not concentrate on your loneliness.
3. You are never apprehended for ‘your work’:
So, yeah! Obviously, you are working for someone and that someone is working for someone, but your work is still your work. You should always be well acknowledged for it. Being paid is another thing, it is important to be apprehended too.
It’s the appreciation that makes you want to work better and better and if you don’t get the motivation, you are going to speed down instead of up and that is not a good thing.
4. Your superiors patronize you:
You have superiors over you and they are condescending and you just know how to shut them up. They keep on yelling at you for no reason and then they just keep pushing you down.
In spite of all the work you put up with, no matter how hard you work, they just give you that disappointed look all the time. It doesn’t matter at times, but in the long run, this could depress you or even actually degrade the quality of your work.
5. You don’t get paid well:
Well, you should have considered this before taking up this job; but now that you are here and even up to the mark performances haven’t gotten you that raise you were hoping for, this might be a sign that you should get out of here and start fresh with a new career.
A career is not only a job but it should be a satisfying job. The kind that doesn’t keep you worried about the bills at the end of the month.
6. You are downright exhausted 24/7:
Day or night, just starting or just closing the file, if you are tired all the time, round the clock, it is not good and you should not put your body at stake for your work. Sometimes is considerable but all the time is out of the question.
You should always be fresh and ready for the next task and if you are already exhausted at the first, it’s just not going to work out.
7. You loved it before, you hate it now:
This is where you need to be honest with your inner self and ask yourself, “Do I still love this”, and if you don’t, it’s completely okay. It can happen; you can like it at the beginning but being at it for some time now, you realize that this is just not for you; just loved the idea of it. You should fall in love with your career and that’s when you prosper in your career.
8. Your work stresses you out:
No matter how hard you try and work, and even if your work is complete, you are still stressed by the very thought about your work. All the work done or not done is not the stress, the career itself is stressing you out.
Occasionally stress can prevail because of the workload but all the time is not acceptable. Talking about signs, well this is one.
9. It is leading nowhere:
Everyone starts with a basic goal, to flourish and excel and you have to give the tree enough time to bear the fruit but if it has been time, and isn’t just giving you what you wanted with it, it’s just not worth it to put in extra work and effort and time.
You should just grab some strength and walk towards a change or else you are just going to keep regretting making that decision to stay any longer and doing all the work in vain.
10. You’ve lost your integrity:
There are just no values to your work and you just don’t want to put up with it anymore. You should never compromise on your values. Today, everyone wants to give something back to society and oneself, but if it’s just not the way you are working; then you should just try some other career. A lack of integrity is going to make you feel guilty sooner or later.
11. You are not growing professionally as well as personally:
It is a basic rule of life, you grow as you live and so should you when you work. Your career should take you to new heights professionally and as a person too. All the work and challenges mean to accelerate the growth of a human being.
So, if your career isn’t doing that to you and you don’t experience a growth at all, then my friend it is time to quit and look for something else that will help you do that.
12. Negative work environment:
A negative environment in any part of your life is formidable. You should never tolerate all those negative thoughts because tolerating and being around them makes you like them.
So if there is jealousy or gossips or envy around you, one day you will either be frustrated or you will eventually become like your colleagues. Your work environment should always be flowing with positive energy, not all this. And that is a sign,
13. Boredom:
Going to work is like going to a family dinner when you are 17 and all your friends are out having fun and you are sitting around old people sipping soup. How does that sound? If you are never excited about your work and you just drag yourself out of the bed and just go to work, is it worth waking up at all?
You should always wake up with excitement and go through it like the entire day. A day or two of boredom is fine, but all the time is a sign you need a change.
14. You don’t like to talk about your work:
Your friends keep asking you to tell them about your work or they all tell you about their work but you never want to. You don’t like talking about it because you feel like you just don’t like it or you might just burst out with all the frustration from the work.
Anyway, you don’t want to talk about it; and that is a clear sign you should choose a career that you can tell people about with passion and interest.
15. You dream about another career:
Now you’re at your desk, doing your daily work at your office and you’re thinking about your other career, your dream career. But you should know that dreams don’t come true all by themselves, you have to work around them to make them come true and you should do that and start living that dream from scratch and make it happen. Never be afraid to follow your dreams, chase them and one day they will fall right into your arms.
16. You know more than your boss:
Your boss is your ultimate judge and if he is just a superior who got there by luck and not by his knowledge and you have to keep serving him with all the information in a platter, he should be your subordinate, not your boss.
Remember, you can learn a lot from your boss and that is the reason that the boss should be an experienced and skilled person. And if you feel like you’re a teacher here, you should choose another career where you get your rightful place.
17. Declination in the industry:
It may happen at times, that when you start with this career, this industry was booming but now it is degrading or falling in the market and in that case you cannot sink with the ship, it is a stupidity.
It is a small mistake and you should move on from it before it is too late. You should immediately study the market trends and analyze and choose another career.
18. You are Unhappy:
Your work supposed to make you happy. Don’t ever do this to yourself, if you are not happy, just don’t do it. Your career isn’t going to pay you for the unhappiness it is bringing to you and one day or the other you will want to just walk out and never come back.
But being late at quitting means being late in beginning with a new career opportunity; so they say it right, ‘the sooner the better’.
19. You don’t have a reason, you just want to:
As wild as it may sound but your work is not your life, it is a part of it and if you just want to quit, you don’t know why, but you’ve been thinking about quitting for a really long time because maybe the chair isn’t cushioned or the coffee maker stinks or the floors are too bright; you know, you’re just giving yourself dumb reasons to quit, then maybe it’s your gut just telling you to leave. Then you should always follow your heart.
20. “Okay! That is me”:
One reason good enough is if while reading this article you were thinking, ‘this happens to me all the time’ or even ‘oh my god!‘
This is happening to me’; then you should seriously consider a career change. Because if all or any of this keeps happening to you, it is not at all a good sign and you do need to quit the current career and start fresh.
21. Life’s just too short:
It’s like when you have been wanting to do something for a decade now and your father or mother or aunt or a friend or even grandmother suddenly tells you, ‘life’s just too short’ and you realize it is.
You should eat that bagel, you should take that trip or the other things that strike your mind; similarly, you should get up and start a change in career as well if you want to and do something you love.
Career Change Advice:
Moving from one job to another without staying long not even in one company is a big mistake, this will never let you become successful. Many employees practice job hopping just to get paid higher in their new company.
Saying this doesn’t mean that you should never change your job. If you’re not happy with your job, then changing the job is to be the best option to choose from.
The instance which we spoke above is a continuous change of jobs. Also, money alone should never be the reason for your job change. After all other than money, many other things make your work engaging and employee-friendly. Changing a job connected to several things that we need to focus on and do the necessary steps so as not to suffer later.
Now if you are thinking of a job change, then here are several questions which you need to ask yourself to assess your decision of job change.
Career Change Checklist:
- How is your new workplace?
- Was it having a professional outlook?
- How did the people interact with you
- Will you give the freedom to speak independently
- Will the new job role be challenging?
- Is there any opportunity for your growth
- Have you researched and learned about the company well
- Will you be provided with extra benefits like health insurance, and extra perks other than salary
- How many leaves granted to an employee annually
- The number of sick leaves allowed?
- Is there any option of paid leaves?
- Will the commuting time more to your new place when compared to your present company
- Is there any transportation facility provided by the organization?
- Will the organization provide work from home option if necessary?
- Does your long term goals look achievable with your new job?
Conclusion:
Change can be liberating, and it can definitely change the way you’ve been living but always remember, with change comes a great responsibilities too, because this is your career, not just a car or mobile phone change, this can be the deciding factor of how the rest of your life is going to be. So, always follow your heart, but take your mind along.
