In a Career Slump? Here’s How to Snap Out
We’ve all been there before; work is dull, the office is slow, and the hours just seem to be dragging by. You might find yourself looking at the time a bit more often, wondering how you’re going to make it until lunch time, and even hitting the search engine to look for another job when your boss isn’t around.
While it may sound like an extreme case, this is actually quite common in the workplace – and employees are increasingly likely to become restless, jump ships, and look for other opportunities both at their current job, at home, and even abroad.
If you’ve been in a career slump for a while now, it’s time to snap out of it and get back to your former glory days of productivity and ambition. Here is a handful of ways to get started so that you can continue to climb that career ladder either at your current job, at a new one or even as your own boss.
First: Considering what you want
While you’ve probably spent some nice and long hours thinking the situation over already at the office, you need to figure out what you would actually like to do. To start off with the conclusion, you will usually fall in under one of these categories; happy with your job but need a new environment, happy with your workplace but need new challenges, or unhappy and need a new career.
In this article, we’ll explore the different options and what you can do to feel a bit more fulfilled in terms of your career. There is, after all, a lot you can do to fix your current situation and you should never settle for something if you’re not happy with it. Have a look at https://biancabass.com to read more about snapping out of a career slump.
Need a change of environment?
Let’s start with the most common one first. If you enjoy your occupation, in general, but need a change, you may simply want to consider jumping ships and look for new opportunities at another company.
Back in the days, employees were encouraged to stay put in a job for as long as possible – preferably until they retire or just call it a day for good but, these days, we like to climb the career ladder by changing companies.
You will most likely be offered a higher salary since your new workplace would love to steal one of their competitors’ employees – and you’ll have access to a new environment, new people, and a completely fresh start.
Search for a new job online, by all means, but keep in mind that it’s far easier to get someone in your network to help you out. Hopefully, you’ve built up a decent set of contacts by now and can ask somebody you already know – or you might want to hit a few networking events to broaden your network a bit.
Just remember that jumping ship is normal and it’s going to be a lot easier for you to find a job if you’re still employed somewhere. It helps you to look a bit less desperate, so to speak, and you’ll immediately be a lot more appealing.
Changing career paths
This isn’t always going to help, though, and if you feel a sense of dread at the thought of continuing to do the same thing, it may be time to change career paths completely. Luckily, it’s never too late to start over and do something else so get started with your future plans right away to avoid any further delay.
You have several options if this is something you’d like to consider, though, and you can definitely take another degree online to make it work around your schedule. The sooner you get started with your new education, the sooner you can get started and actually enjoy the work you were meant to do.
Sometimes, you don’t really need a degree to change careers and you might want to consider starting your own business. It’s a risky venture, that’s for sure, but if you’ve done enough research and have some money saved up, you’ll be able to enjoy so many more opportunities and benefits than if you were working for somebody else.
Start by having a look at https://www.youravon.com/us-home/other-content/working-from-home.html to learn all about the different options in terms of working from home, being a freelancer, and telecommuting for your current company. There are, luckily, a lot of options when you need a change.
Climbing the career ladder
Sometimes, it’s just the fact that we’re not able to climb up to a higher position and get a bit more responsibility that makes us feel so sluggish at work. Just doodling around at your desk isn’t really going to make things better for you, though, so it’s time to get started on doing some real work.
Start by having a chat with your boss, for example, and explain that you would like some more responsibility. If he or she doesn’t think you’re ready for this yet, you’ll at least have a decent insight to what it takes and what they expect from you.
Try to seek out a mentor if you’re able to and learn from him or her. It should, of course, be someone who is a lot more experienced than you and willing to guide someone with less experience. Most of the veterans at your work should be happy to do this, though, so don’t let any shyness hold you back.
It will help you to do some networking as well and build relationships with the rest of your workplace. When all you need is a slight motivation boost rather than a complete career overhaul, there is so much you can do to kick yourself back into gear.
Commit to making your days a bit more productive, get up earlier in the morning and enjoy some exercise, and go out of your way to socialize with your colleagues during lunchtime. Being at work can be fun sometimes too, you know, as long as you enjoy the environment.