This article is part of the “Career Advice” series.
It is not always easy to differentiate between a wrong career and a wrong job. Sometimes we are working in the wrong place, and that makes us think we are losers because of the work environment. And sometimes we might be doing something that isn’t helping us to grow. We only thing we need to have during such situations is a change.
So, read on to find out what the wrong career looks like, and what you can do if you need a change.
- You work hard, but your results are still bad:
Once you love your career, you surely enjoy your work, but if you are unceasingly diligent about completing your work and even not able to achieve your target that your peers are easily able to, there are chances you need a career change. However if you are unsure what career path you want to pursue, there are other options to see what would fit you best. for example you can take this Holland code career testor one similar to figure out what career is best suited to you.
- You complain about your work a lot:
If you spend a significant amount of time whining about your work, the pressure at work, your boss, your clients, and then you may have chosen the wrong career. And you surely need to rethink if you want to keep doing this for the rest of your life.
- You wait for the minutes until the day is over:
Find yourself glancing at the clock every day? It is a pretty clear sign that you’re not engaged in your work. In this case, the saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” is completely true. When you truly love what you are doing, the minutes fly by. You become so engrossed in your work that you forget to check your social media, go for lunch, or even go to the bathroom! But when you’re disengaged, you’re easily distracted from the task at hand, and this affects your quality of work.
- Telling people about your job makes you cringe:
You should be proud of what you do! When friends and family ask about your work, you shouldn’t feel like you’re embarrassed about your job, or that it’s beneath you, or that it doesn’t suit you.
Instead, you should be bursting at the seams to tell the people you love your job and how much you enjoy it. If you are not able to get the desired outcome from your work, you will not talk about your work to people. This is a clear sign you need to change it.
- You stay at you’re the job just for the perks or security:
Many employees stay with the company, look forward to a work trip, bonus, health insurance, or other “perks”— but not the job itself. And many do work without interest to avoid explaining gaps in their CV if they don’t find the best job opportunities in USA in a certain time.
- You’re mentally exhausted:
Every day, you get mentally exhausted when you go home, and maybe you feel like you didn’t accomplish anything. It’s normal to have days like that sometimes, but when it’s most of the time, it means you are a misfit to the type of work you are doing. The career doesn’t make use of your strengths. You want a career path that uses your strengths and avoids your weaknesses. So think about something you are good at as it is important to change your career.
- You’re bored at work:
When you don’t like the specific job, you often get bored. You eventually stop enjoying it, and so you stop growing, and you don’t see any growth opportunity in your current path or industry in your near future. If you find yourself feeling anxious about your job, it is definitely time to consider a new career path. Maybe you want to finally put your degree (whatever you may have studied) to use and switch to a career more aligned with the skills you developed at college. Conversely, perhaps you want to get into interior design without degree as this is something that you have nurtured an interest in for a long while and you’re more than up for the challenge. Growth is necessary for your success—take the initiative to find it.
- You don’t feel any purpose at your job:
Ask yourself these three questions: Do you value or believe in the work you do? Do you follow the mission of your company? Does your chosen industry contribute to your bright future? If your answer is no, then it’s time to switch your career. Your job doesn’t seem purposeful to your family, your friends, or even to the public, and it won’t either to you in a short span of life.
- People keep saying you’d be great at something else:
This kind of feedback can be a genuine compliment or a hint that you’re not thriving in your present role. Learn to listen and welcome feedback from nontoxic and positive people.
- You’re not doing your best:
You do not feel to initiate on work or let others seize opportunities you could have had, or if you no longer feel nervous before a big meeting or a major deadline, this could be a sign that your mind just isn’t at it. You get less upset when a failure occurs. Once you think you have stopped growing, you need to start thinking of a new career where you can work better.
- You fantasise about quitting:
You’d be happy if you were fired or asked to leave the job. This is a sure sign that your career path choice is not a good fit for you, and you will need to change it.
- Your work doesn’t align with your values or goal:
Even if the opportunity is profitable, it’s hard to escape that sinking feeling when your day-to-day work doesn’t line up with your overall priorities. You know yourself best. If you devote more time thinking about other career opportunities than to sustain within the field you’re working, perhaps that’s a sign that you’re seeking a different sort of fulfilment from your current job.
- You are not learning or growing on the current career path:
You are in the same job for three to five years and aren’t learning anything new or growing with the company, While that may be a sign you’re ready for a job move, it could also be a signal to reevaluate your work and ask yourself.
- You’re constantly uninspired & unmotivated:
The signs of career change you can observe when you don’t feel inspired and motivated to do your work. You feel tired, sore, and unsatisfied and stressed with my career path. It might be worth noting; however, if you feel your motivation levels have totally tanked in your current field and stayed there, you may be on the wrong career path.
- You’re always on job websites.
It’s not a good sign when job searching becomes a daily hobby. Consistently looking on the other career path often means you’re currently on the incorrect path. If you find a career you’re satisfied with, it should help you exert that job-searching energy in your work. If your current job is lacking about what you want your post to be, maybe your job isn’t what you once thought it was.
Even if you can relate to a few of the reasons as mentioned above, you should rethink what you are doing and how long you can keep doing it. You can take some time off and figure it out in your ways. Changing your career or getting a new job won’t be a simple task. You will need to understand what is your passion, interest, your strength, and your weaknesses to find yourself something you love the most, and that is the only way to have a bright future.
Don’t be afraid to change career paths when you’re feeling you’re capable of doing more or if you’re unsatisfied. You never know where one decision can get you. To exemplify such changes, Zety has analyzed a variety of leadership career paths and found one mutual factor when it comes to attaining a successful career: being adapt and open to change.
