Does Your Career Path Choose You

In the course of a lifetime, the average adult goes through seven careers. That doesn’t even count the individual positions within those career paths. Throughout those seven careers, the chances are good that a couple of them were not the best fit for you.

Every career choice that doesn’t work out is another opportunity to stand back, study what went wrong, and then make new decisions. However, if you spend your whole weekend fantasizing about your exit strategy from your current job, it’s time to find a new one.

This blog post will discuss four signs that will tell you it’s time to leave your job. The post will also give you pointers on the next steps you should take to finding a position that you just might love.

  1. You Don’t Want to Get Out of Bed In The MorningIf you spend every weekday fighting the urge to call in sick yet again, then you need to come up with an exit strategy pronto. You don’t want to quit right off the bat. First, make a list of the aspects of your job that you like or don’t mind. If you think that you like nothing about your current position, think harder. Perhaps you like the fact that you get to work from home once in a while. If this is the case, perhaps you should try looking into jobs where you can telecommute at least part of the time. Do you love your co-workers? Look for jobs with companies that emphasize their positive work environment.
  2. Your Personal Mission Statement and Your Company’s Mission Don’t MatchWrite out your personal mission statement. You don’t have to create a fancy document. One paragraph will do. Write down what drives you when it comes to your professional life. Then see if you and your employer see eye-to-eye on your missions. If the missions don’t sync up, it might not be the end of the world. Can you find any sense of purpose in your daily work tasks? Sometimes just focusing on the things that you like about your job can make all the difference. But if your mission and that of your employer vary widely, you might want to put some feelers out for companies that better match what you are about as an employee and person.
  3. You’re Bored At WorkBoredom is a huge sign that you’re working in the wrong job. If you’re not stimulated by the work that you do, hire a vocational counselor who specializes in helping adults change careers. The counselor can give you tests, talk to you, and use your work history to discover the paths that you should consider pursuing next.If you’re not keen on hiring outside help in your job search, do some research on your own. Resources such as the book “What Color Is Your Parachute?” and the MAPP Assessment website can shed a lot of light on the career path that you should follow next.
  4. You Always Think The Grass Is Greener On The Other SideYou look for jobs online when you should be busy with work. You’re constantly curious about the jobs of people you just met. If you’re thinking that any job must be better than the one you have, think about why that’s the case. If you think that no one’s job is more stressful than your position, think again. When you switch jobs, you’re just exchanging one set of problems for another. But if you think that the grass is greener because you’re genuinely unhappy with your work environment, prospects for promotion, or co-workers, then it’s time to change jobs.

Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is a startup enthusiast and entrepreneur who provides insights into the world of Silicon Valley and beyond. As a former startup founder, Mark lends his expertise to aspiring entrepreneurs through mentorship and his incisive writing.