Stuck in the Wrong Career? There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel!
Stuck in the Wrong Career
Do you know what to do when you’re stuck in the wrong career? There have been times when I’ve been stuck wondering about my wrong career. I remember a sense of darkness as though I were right in the middle of a dark tunnel, feeling lost and seriously questioning if there was light at the end of the tunnel.
In this article, I discuss the 3-Ds of dealing with the wrong career – Diagnose, Determine, and Develop. Using elements of the published story and my own suggestions, I will help you develop a career game plan and give you the right tools to accelerate your results. This is an important career management issue: what to do when we’re stuck!
Diagnose
We can – and do – get stuck in our careers – the challenges are non-existent or the thrill is gone. As a result, we are no longer actively engaged in what it is we were hired to do.
Frankly, we might feel as though we’re groping in the dark – our enthusiasm, motivation and engagement may be caught in the snares of a toxic work environment, faded aspirations for promotion or we’ve simply burned out in the work space we occupy and we cannot see our way through to the light of new possibilities.
For those in the Gen X generation who are at mid-career, only 30% are actively engaged and excited at their jobs. We have to ask ourselves, “Why does 70% of this working population remain stuck and ‘in the dark’ when they must know they are in the wrong career?”
Allow me to mention that I taught business classes at the largest community college in the state of NC. My experience showed that the emphasis placed on finding the right career path for students was paltry compared to the emphasis on academic performance. Both are important!
In addition, millennials have entered a workplace that is no longer loyal to its employees, and they reciprocate in kind. The primary reason for this disengagement is that there is no sense of purpose in their work. This is an example of issues I wrote about in an earlier blog, Shifting Sands of Success (link to previous blog).
“A successful career change requires a combination of self-reflection, research, and persistence”
Determine
When in career-management mode, it’s important to proactively manage the process:
Having a sense of purpose in our work has become so important in our work economy that Harvard and Stanford now have programs to help people manage their careers with focus on this topic.
If a wrong career and the confusion surrounding it is keeping you in the dark, this may help you to get started – download my FREE Career Vision Guide: Ten Questions You Need to Ask to Create Your Ideal Career Vision.
Develop
For those of you who seek career management help and cannot afford the expense of a Harvard or Stanford program, this is exactly where the professional services of a career coach can help. As a career coach, I can help you to navigate the darkness of disengagement, dissatisfaction, and disappointment.
I will lead you to the light of your inspiration and purpose, helping you to clarify your purpose so that you exit the wrong career wisely. I will help you avoid the knee-jerk reaction taken by the woman in the article who left her high-paying corporate job to become a therapist only to realize a decade later it was not her purpose. That’s the equivalent of lighting a match in a windy tunnel and expecting it to show the way completely.
Despite the urgency, you may feel to reach the light of clarity, be sure to think through what you really want in your next career move.
Remember the 3-Ds: Diagnose, Determine, Develop
Diagnose what it is making you stuck.
Determine your skills, talents and experience.
Develop your game plan.
Finally, acknowledge that you don’t spend all of your time immersed in career-related issues. Career coaches, counselors, mentors, strategists and consultants, like myself, devote our working hours to this topic and are well-equipped to help you. Call in the expert!
When a wrong career and the confusion surrounding it is keeping you in the dark, this may help you to get started – download my FREE Career Vision Guide: Ten Questions You Need to Ask to Create Your Ideal Career Vision.
Taking the time to do this and to know what you really want when ready to ditch that wrong career and make your next career move smartly just may help you reach the light at the end of the tunnel!
Be on the lookout for my next few weekly blogs where I will address the three D’s in more detail. Tackling these pro-actively will help you to get unstuck in your wrong career, and to make wise choices about your career path.
Resources
How to Stay Stuck in the Wrong Career – Harvard Business Review Home
The Myth Of The Wrong Career Choice – Forbes
5 Signs You Are Trapped In The Wrong Career – LinkedIn
Why 99 Percent of People Choose the Wrong Career Path (and 4 Steps to Get You Back on Track) – Inc
0 Comments