7 Signs Your Career is at a Standstill
As a first step to becoming aware of potential career standstill, evaluate your job and career to see if you have any of the 7 Signs You May Be Stuck In Your Job:
- You don’t feel challenged by your job
- You’re unhappy with going into work each day
- You have stopped growing in your job
- Your accomplishments have not been recognized or rewarded
- You aren’t being paid what you’re worth
- You aren’t receiving the respect you feel you deserve
- You have taken a passive approach to your career
You should look into improving your job situation if you feel you lack challenges, have stopped growing, or feel unrewarded or unrecognized.
Pay is one of the first signs people notice that something is wrong about their jobs. When your pay isn’t keeping pace with your increasing experience and responsibilities, that maybe a not-so-subtle sign something is amiss.
If you have been taking a passive approach to your career and your main focus is on doing just enough to get by in your job, it’s time to re-assess your situation.
There are two ways to get your career unstuck – make progress at your current job or search elsewhere. Don’t automatically assume you have to change jobs. You may be able to enlarge it, make a lateral move, or change departments.
ClearRock offers these remedies to the seven signs you may be stuck in your job:
- Take a more active role in managing your career. A good starting point is a frank discussion with your manager about your potential, possibilities to expand your responsibilities, make your job more challenging, or transfer to another department or role.
- Determine whether it’s worth staying with your employer.Rate the major factors – such as compensation and benefits, opportunity for advancement, relationships with your manager and co-workers, and how much you like the job – as either positives or negatives. Then, see if there are more plusses or minuses.
- Look elsewhere for a significant opportunity to advance in your career. One reason to leave may be if a potential job is substantially better than your current position in career growth, chances for advancement, more responsibilities, and a sizeable difference in pay and benefits. The new position should offer clear advantages other than just a bigger paycheck.
- Make a lateral move or change departments. Transfer your skills to another part of your current company or at the same level with another employer. The switch should be to an area in which you already have both the education and experience to succeed.
- Increase your challenges.Volunteer to lead a special project, task force or charity drive so you can showcase your capacity to take on responsibility and produce results.
- Find a mentor. Working with a mentor can help you acquire job-related skills and refine your people-related abilities.
