Climbing out of a career rut
You can easily become indifferent after you are employed in the same position for a long time. You might commit endless hours, months…even several years to a company yet you remain stagnant. Unfortunately the climb up the corporate hierarchy may not always be a linear progression. You might be required to sit and wait patiently (or impatiently) for an opportunity. This is truer than ever in our present economic climate; businesses are running as lean as they possibly can, which means that there is less money and most likely fewer positions to occupy. So when you realize that your job is in a rut, what can you do about it?
When shifting up the ranks is not really a possibility for you personally, why don't you try moving sideways (Yes, that’s right, sideways!) If you are willing to get away from your comfort zone, branching out across departments provides you with the opportunity to have a richer understanding of the company while growing your set of skills. I’ve experienced this first hand in my own career as a programmer. Downsizing led to the IT and marketing divisions merging so my time was assigned less to programming and more to Search Engine Optimization. I was hesitant to start with, however it was certainly better compared to being without a job. I had to hit the books quite hard but before long I was becoming competent in the tools and techniques necessary to keep our websites high in the search engine results. Presented with the chance to study new things reminded me what it was like when I first began at the organization. Not only did I find that I was reenergized-but there was an added bonus and when it came time to review my wage the new expertise that I had gained allowed me to work out a better agreement.
The truth is that I was rather fortunate to be granted that opportunity and that perhaps this is not a possibility for everyone. If you can’t see any room to develop or if your situation is different altogether it could be beneficial to look somewhere else. Perhaps this is your first job and you have been typecast as the junior and in spite of all of your best efforts you can’t get anyone to take you seriously. Or perhaps your ideals have changed and you just aren’t sure what you are doing in this business anymore. You might feel underutilized, underappreciated, underpaid, or simply overworked. In either case, if you no longer enjoy your work you may need to get out and start over. Although you must be sure that prior to leaving your current job that you do as much investigation and ask as many questions as you possibly can. Make sure that the grass really is greener; a new job might appear more interesting, more challenging, and provide more pay…but appearances can be misleading. You may find the same annoyances somewhere else and not be any happier.
If you opt to go ahead with your job search you will need to formulate a plan. Go ahead and check the local newspaper/employment websites for jobs that suit your ability and experience. See how competitive the market is. Determine what employers are seeking. Do you need to upgrade your skills; do you first require a course? If your plan is to change careers entirely then look for jobs that are a good mix between what you love and what you are proficient at. If it is something that is entirely new for you than be ready to take that initial pay cut as you develop experience. After you have performed the initial investigation, clean up your resume and rehearse your interviewing techniques. Draft a plan that outlines who you will make contact with and how often. Are you going to approach recruitment specialists? How many copies of your resume are you going to distribute? Throughout this process make sure that you have a contingency plan. How are you affected should your employer discovers your intentions to leave? Are you ready to leave work earlier than predicted? Or what if your employer counter offers? You should be ready for these scenarios.
Ultimately-work is a major portion of your life currently and will be up until the day that you retire. When you are in a job that is making you miserable then you should take action to identify a job that you love. Of course, try your hardest to make the most of your present position first…but if that is impossible make sure you do your homework and are well prepared in your job search. Good luck.
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