Author: gisellacasolaro

Categories
Work/Life Balance

Trapped In A Career Rut? Try This Releasing Strategy

hand holding a pen on a maize illustration

After 15 years or more in the same job, you may assume that you know what you’re doing with your career. But do you really?

Recognizing when you are stuck in a rut

An interesting study by Harvard Business Review found that highly experienced professionals need help if they want to avoid being undervalued and overworked.

It specifically found that people in the age group from 40 to 48 were most likely to make work decisions that led to ineffective outcomes. This was partly due to the pressures of keeping up with daily demands and feeling stressed about making changes.

Here’s the thing. Employees that have a long-standing history in the same company or doing the same job often become “trapped”.

What does that mean?

> They are caught in a routine they don’t question anymore. It may go like this: get up – go to work – fulfil your duties – go back to your personal life – resume those duties the day after – have a little fun at the week end – start over.

> Their salary is too good to even consider a job change. Especially for people who have dependents and mortgages to repay, the notion of keeping a secure and safe job is unbreakable.

> They think their path is marked and no other option is available. They just keep saying to themselves: ‘it’s too late’: a very common self-sabotaging belief.

> They are too ingrained in their company culture. They simply can’t imagine what it would be like to work elsewhere and therefore passively choose not to leave.

💡 In all these cases, people are stuck between the need to change something and the fear of being penalized if they took risks that didn’t produce substantial gains.

This is because the more experienced we get, the more we expect higher rewards in terms of job title, remuneration and position within society. Therefore, any decision to change jobs must be backed by the near-certainty that the new one will be “better”.

Of course, each situation is different and should be addressed individually.

But, if you think you are heading into a rut or are already feeling stuck, you should take some actions to shake things up! I propose to you a two-step strategy to feel “released”.

typing on a laptop with a notepad on the side

Step 1 – breaking out from fear and boredom

The first step is to implement an action plan that you are willing and able to take to break the two negative elements that are holding you back: 1) fear 2) boredom.

Try all or some of these suggestions:

1> Focus on strategy. Identify how to best upgrade your present career without losing the positive elements of your job which are important to you. Think about the purpose and impact of your work and look for opportunities to influence and inspire others.

2> Ask for feedback. Reach out to old and present colleagues to learn what they value about you as a professional. Use the insights you gather to think about how else you could enhance your professional performance.

3> Cultivate your network. Warm up old contacts and reach out to new ones. Schedule one coffee or business lunch a week. Join committees at your professional association and networking events. A new opportunity may actually come knocking at your door!

4> Find a mentor. Find someone you can trust with deep expertise in the areas that interest you. Remember that mentoring can be helpful at any stage you are at – you could also reach out to a Career Coach who will act more as a “mirror” of you as a professional.

5> Continue learning. Sign up for training sessions or certification courses in relevant areas within your desired line of work. Subscribe to industry publications and discuss them with your colleagues. You could also learn a new language and explore the idea of doing your same job in a different country.

6> Consider a lateral move. Explore opportunities to change to a different but equivalent role with a similar level. Your job responsibilities will be different but they will give you new opportunities for professional growth.

7> Practice deliberately. Apply all your ongoing learning to your daily work. Set goals for increasing your productivity and accomplishments. When you gain the feeling that you are developing professionally, you will put in motion a virtuous circle of self-growth.

8> Review yourself regularly. Evaluate your career at least once every six months – both through formal appraisals of your company and through self-assessments. Update your CV/resume and social media profiles. Set specific goals to strive for. 🎯

MePowered Lightbulb

Step 2 – Creating your work/life balance 

As a second step, you’ll need to work on your own formula of “work/life balance”. This is usually the biggest missing ingredient for most experienced professionals who report a feeling of being stuck.

 Try any of these suggestions for achieving more balance:

1> Practice self-care. You’re more likely to have a successful career if you make your personal wellbeing a top priority. Identify what self-care means to you, break it down into its components and make a plan to gain them one by one.

2> Strengthen your relationships. Spend time with family and friends. Build a network of support with loved ones who know you and care about you. This will boost your positive mental attitude to face your day-to-day challenges.

3> Maximize your leisure time. Use your hours outside of work wisely. Develop a hobby that both challenges and relaxes you. Participate in cultural activities and team sports. Nourish your mind, body and soul – as you prefer.

4> Work smarter. Free up more time and energy for the things that matter to you. Plan your week in advance and coordinate errands. Leverage technology to complete tasks faster. Figure out the times of day when your performance peaks and use those hours to focus on your top priorities.

5> Start a passion project/a business. You may have cultivated a hobby for years and even gained expertise in that field. If I told you that there’s a way to earn money from your long-standing hobby, how would you feel?

6> Deepen your spirituality. Connect with something larger than yourself. Clarify your values and purpose in life. Meditate regularly and read inspiring content each day. Surround yourself by people who share your beliefs.

7> Lighten up. It is possible to enjoy life while taking work responsibilities seriously. Take frequent breaks from work and try to see the humour even in difficult situations. This will relieve the sense of burden you may feel in relation to work.

Key takeaway: it’s never late to make changes to unstuck your situation.

Even after 15 years in the same job, you can find a way to learn and grow. You can make dramatic changes like changing jobs or starting a new business or make smaller adjustments in how you approach your current position and daily life.

The choice is yours. 🎯

Chat To Me.

If you are ready to see some changes in your career or business, let’s chat!

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL
Categories
Career Planning

Want To Make A Career Change At 30?

30 and change written in the sky

Are you fed up of your job and happen to be in your mid-20s to early 30s? Here’s how to evaluate your next career change.

Do you want to change jobs or careers?

Let’s review some background facts together. If you are in this age range and have worked as an employee so far, you probably have 4 to 8 years of work experience behind you. You’ve probably worked for 1 to 3 different employers. You’ve likely had a chance to work in 1 or 2 different countries only.

All these numbers prove that you’ve experienced a small amount of work possibilities so far – and there’s potential to try a lot more before you can establish that you’ve found your “perfect job”.

So, the first thing to appreciate is that it’s most definitely not late to change either your job or your whole career path, should you want that.

Here’s an initial self-evaluation you can do:

1> If you are feeling bored, stressed, undervalued or overworked, the issue more likely lies with your present employer. In that case, it’s time to look around and search for alternative employer options.

👉 These factors largely depend on the culture, the processes and the ways of working of a company, so it’s very possible that in a different place you’ll find a better match to your professional profile.

2> If you are feeling uninspired, disillusioned or even trapped in your current job, you may want to deeply reconsider your whole career.

👉 It’s possible that you have some aptitudes which have not been developed yet and that you would express your full potential in a different line of work.

3> If you are feeling very confused on the whole direction of your life, including your career, you may be going through a “quarter-life’ crisis.

👉 Similarly to the mid-life crisis, this is a common occurrence where you develop a sense of resentment for some of the life choices you made, and feel deeply unsure about your future. In this case, you would benefit even more from external professional support to unblock your situation.

Once you get a feel for which scenario you are experiencing, ask yourself this question:

💡 If I could change jobs/ careers in a smooth and painless way, how would my life change?

hand holding sign "Let's rethink"

Start to self-assess your career

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t know what to do next – take some quality time to learn more about yourself by doing some further self-assessment.

Ask yourself these questions before you take any drastic decisions:

  1. What led you to your current career?
  2. What do you hate about your current job?
  3. What attracts you to another job?
  4. What do you enjoy about your current job?
  5. Are you willing to start in a new career at the bottom of the ladder?
  6. Are you financially able to take a pay cut in order to change careers?
  7. How much time are you prepared to invest to make this change?

💡 Once you answer these questions, you’ll get a better idea of what motivates you in a job and what improvements the new one needs to bring to your life. 

MePowered Lightbulb

The first 7 actions to change your career

If you decide to change careers all together, you may quickly fall into a feeling of overwhelm and subsequently give up pretty quickly.

There’s no denying that it’s hard to do this alone, but if you manage to break down the change you are trying to make into small “actions to take”, it will be easier.

Here are 7 practical steps to start change:

1> Reach out to your professional and personal networks. Talk with a few people who are already in your desired field of work. Your friends may know someone they could introduce to you and you could contact other members of your social media or professional networks. When you speak to them, ask as many questions as you can about their day job.

2> Do your research. You may think that starting a new career will require a University degree or further studies which will take time and a high financial investment. In reality, you may only need to invest a few months completing an online course so, don’t assume: take the time to do your research!

3> Work on any missing skills. What skills do you need for this new job/ career path? If you need to develop certain skills, you could try some skill-based volunteering, where you can work on your skills in a voluntary position while building your CV/ resume’.

4> Gain relevant experience. Luckily, we now live in a gig economy, where you can build up experience by working on freelance jobs. Even if you are working pro-bono initially, you are still building experience and making contacts that will likely be useful in future.

5> Recreate your CV/Resume. Review your existing CV/Resume’ from a strategic perspective. Just because you’re making a career change doesn’t necessarily mean that your professional profile to date will be irrelevant. For example, you can look at your past experience and see if any of the skills you acquired are relevant for your new career path.

6> Create a purposeful cover letter. When applying for jobs in your new career, let potential employers know your story and why you’ve decided to change careers. Talk in a positive manner and show how passionate you are about this potential role. Employers would prefer a candidate that genuinely wants to work there!

7> Expand your network. If you are new to the industry of your next job, your existing professional network will be small. It’s important to expand this network as much as you can, not only to increase your knowledge and exposure, but also to ensure that you hear about any future job opportunities – even before they may be advertised on job search engines.

💡 Key takeaway: yes, you can do it!

Changing careers at this stage may feel like a big step to you. Yet, as soon as you realize that you have so much time ahead to flourish in a new career path, you are setting your mind to making it happen. 🎯

 

Chat To Me.

If you are ready to see some changes in your career or business, let’s chat!

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL