You may feel trapped in a jail job rut. Life is too dang short to live it stuck in a rut, so here are some things to consider before you change jobs.
How do you know you’re feeling trapped because of your job?
Seems too simple to be worth considering, but life is like a Mozart composition. It’s so simple that it is transparent. You can be knocking out the notes, but mistakes jump out glaringly. It’s about whether or not we want to address those wrong notes. You’re the audience, the performers, and the maestro in this case.
If you’re able to say, yes, to the following questions, you may be feeling trapped in a jail job rut.
- Do you drag your feet to get into work each morning or shift?
- Do you actively seek distractions at work to avoid the task at hand?
- Do you find yourself regularly (almost daily or weekly) shopping for higher salaries anywhere but here?
- Do you feel frustrated that your skills are not being engaged or tapped?
Check out this Forbes article, 10 Signs It’s Time to Find a New Job.
Before You Change Jobs – 3 Options to Choose From
OPTION #1 – Brush up that resume and go job hunting
Change jobs! This is the one we’re most familiar with. We brush up the resume, and begin the search for a company that will be closer to home, offers a promotion, or a pay raise.
If the following criteria apply, then looking for a new position with another company may be the route to go:
- You still love the work (industry, helping people, etc.)
- You’re good at what you do
- The current company is toxic
- The current company has no room for growth whether with skills or positional movement upward, or laterally
- The only way for the advancement you seek (promotion or pay boost) is to move out
Here are 10 Resume Writing Tips from Indeed worth checking out. As a leader who hires people, I’ll tell you the first thing I look at when scanning a resume is whether the candidate even bothered to align the resume with the job posting. It’s the first two signs of (1) does this person care about the company or position and (2) does this person have a grasp on what we do?
OPTION #2 – Time for a career change and a completely fresh start
It may be more than time to change jobs. You got into the field you’re in because other people told you to do it. I was a pre-med student because my mom raised me with phrases like, “You’re going to be a doctor someday.” Since she was the stereotypical tiger mom, she also bragged to all her friends and our extended family how I was going to be a doctor someday. Problem: I realized by the time I was 27 years old that I did not want to be a doctor, and never did. That was nine years of pursuing a career I consistently self-sabotaged along the way.
Maybe you’re more like Jody Maberry who left his dream career as a park ranger to become an entrepreneur who has a passion for helping park service leaders. He aligned skills, talents, and passions to make the income he desired to support the lifestyle that met his needs.
Check out some of these episodes to guide you through whether it’s time to shift careers, and gain better alignment with your values, passions, and skills.
Find Career Clarity with Career Catalyst Tracy Timm – BtR 181
Earn More Doing Work You Love, Scott Barlow (Happen To Your Career) BtR 046
4 Practical Tips for Pursuing a Career in Something You Love
OPTION #3 – Reinvent yourself where you are now
It may not be time to change jobs. Bloom where you are currently planted. Sometimes, what our current career or job needs is just a pivot rather than a new setting or entirely new direction into the unknown.
The progress we seek is always going to be an inside job. Jeff Brown from Read to Lead podcast talks about personal growth as the result of reading books on a variety of subjects. They’re cheaper than going to conferences or hiring a coach, and a great way to expand your knowledge base. Take a look at what your supervisor has on their bookshelf.
Download our free list: Top Ten Books to Boost Your Career Or Business
Dondi Scumaci shares that you can re-energize yourself and turn your current job into a career you love. Click here to listen to her tips on doing just that.
I still love what Lisa Reynolds did. She created the job she wanted within the company she loved working with. That’s right! She conducted a business needs assessment, then presented a business proposal to her company to create a role they needed and why she was the best person for that role. She’s been with her current company for nearly two decades and three of her jobs have been invented by her.
Hope this gives you some insight and a spark to get unstuck from that jail job rut. Be sure to check out the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever podcasts are curated.
Go live life Beyond the Rut! Take care!
