How To Work Your Way Out of a Career Rut - CareerAlley

How To Work Your Way Out of a Career Rut - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. We all have the odd day when work doesnt feel great or exciting, or much fun at all. But what if you feel like that about your job every single day, when you feel that what you do is getting you nowhere and doesnt inspire you at all? Recognising that youve reached a sticking point in your career is the first step to doing something about it. Then you can take different actions to fix the problem and move on. Decide What The Problem Is A survey by the Conference Board has been asking Americans if they are happy at work for decades now. Results from recent years arent very encouraging, as 52.3% of us are unhappy in our work. Still, its easy to say youre unhappy in a particular job, but sometimes its not so easy to pinpoint why. Perhaps the job itself is ok, but you have a problem with a particular colleague or the way the company is run. Maybe you like your co-workers but cant stand the daily commute that it takes to get you to and from work. You might have an unreasonable manager, who puts pressure on you with unreasonable deadlines. Credit: Pixabay Putting your finger on what is making you feel unsatisfied is the first thing you need to do. Then you can work forward from there. If the problem isnt an obvious one, then it may be worth trying some more offbeat solutions may do the trick. For instance, try describing your ideal job to a friend youll end up focusing on the parts of your job youre unhappy with at some point. Another great idea is having a clairvoyant reading to discover whats most important to you. People use a session with a clairvoyant to look at all kinds of different aspects of their lives, and its amazing what insights can be drawn out during a psychic reading. Although it may seem an unusual way to approach your career planning, it could be an enlightening one. Improve On What You Already Have If youre feeling like you should be progressing in your current role, dont wait for someone else to get you moving onwards and upwards. Do it yourself, by volunteering to take on assignments above and beyond your usual role. Not only will you give yourself a personal challenge, but youll be demonstrating your can-do attitude to your manager. At the same time, put yourself forward for training courses that will give you the required skill sets to get that next promotion. via GIPHY Plan Ahead For The Change Youre Looking For With some jobs, though, the only way to move away from that feeling of stagnation is to leave. If thats what youve decided to do, take your time to thoroughly research your next move. Handing in your notice without a plan is definitely not the best way forward. Once youve made the decision to leave, focus a small amount of time each day to planning your next career move. plan ahead CC BY-SA 2.0 by nedrichards Get a feel of what opportunities are out there, which ones appeal to you and whether you have the right skills for the roles youre looking at. If you havent got those skills, make use of training opportunities in your current job to make sure you have more to offer your next employer when you file a job application and (hopefully) land that interview. Be Prepared While youre looking for appropriate positions to apply for, make sure youre fully prepared should an opportunity suddenly present itself. Of course, the first thing you need to hand is a CV that will impress any potential employer, ready to email or print out with minimal changes to fit a particular application. But dont forget about your online presence. How recently did you update your LinkedIn profile? Does it tally with your CV details? The likelihood is that potential employers will also research your social media presence, so make sure any tweets you make are appropriate (including historical ones) and ensure that what you have visible on Facebook is what youd be happy for them to see. However carefully you plan your next career move, you arent guaranteed to get the first new job you apply for or any subsequent one, for that matter. The job market is a highly competitive one and its likely that you may not even get asked for an interview or selected after you have one. Accept the possibility of rejection, and be willing to keep trying. One day everything will fall into place, and youll be offered the right job to move you out of that career rut! We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+