10 signs it's time to get moving and change jobs
The skill of making the best career choices doesn't magically fall into your brain one day in a blazing flash of insight. Instead, it is learned through trial and error because usually we little by little learn what works for us, what makes us happy.
Sometimes it is the ‘mistakes’ we make with our career choices that can be the most informative. They help us understand what satisfies us professionally and what doesn't.
Has the time come to look for a new job? If you are not sure yet, here are 10 signs that could give you a hint on whether you need to look for a new job:
1. The snooze button on your alarm clock is your best friend
When your alarm clock goes off, you have a really hard time getting up. Getting out of bed, again and again, every morning is unfortunately not something that everyone can do. If despite a good night's sleep, you're still tired and depressed, you probably lack the motivation to go to work.
2. You feel out of place at work
You're not comfortable at work? Then look for another environment, which will suit you better. If you don't want to be left on the sidelines, you need to adapt to the culture of the company, which may even be just as important as the work itself. Statistics say 27% of workers leave their jobs because of problems with a colleague or the company culture.
3. Your paycheck is your only source of satisfaction
For a great many people, salary is the major motivation for going to work every day. But money doesn't guarantee happiness and when it takes priority over everything else, you get low on ambition and miss out on challenges. You neglect your skills instead of developing them. That’s sad, dude.
4. You stop learning new things
To build a career, you must continue to grow. At a new job, you learn a lot, including getting to know new colleagues and learning about an unfamiliar environment. Once this discovery phase is over, you want to go on developing personally and professionally. If this is not the case, it may be time to look elsewhere.
5. You are counting down the minutes to the end of the day
It's barely 10 a.m. and you're already waiting for the day to be over. Sounds familiar? Then you'd better look for a new challenge. Without motivation and ambition, your performance will be mediocre and you won't contribute anything to the company. Eventually, this will lead to problems. Stop sitting around and start looking for a job that inspires you!
6. You are less and less motivated
The drop in enthusiasm is a big sign. Work can and must be a moment of fulfillment. When you are fully aligned with what you do, you are happy to go to work. On a daily basis, this can lead to boredom, lack of desire, and energy. Spending your time looking at your watch, surfing the Internet, not looking for anything in particular, taking longer breaks, taking an hour to complete a file that usually takes fifteen minutes... All this can quickly become a source of trouble and result in a burn-out. Mental health is important, so don’t push it to the limit.
7. Your body doesn’t feel right
Upset stomach, altered sleep pattern, palpitations… When your body sends out warning signals, however slight, it is a good time to step back and start taking stock to identify whether it is a temporary discomfort or a deeper crisis requiring a change of job or even a change of direction. If you feel stressed on Sunday evening or Monday morning, it's not a good sign. The limit is reached when your body ‘speaks’ and calls for a change. From the moment you start noticing symptoms - when your back has enough, when you can no longer ‘stomach’ what you do... until the peak, the burnout, it's high time to branch off towards a path which is more in line with your values.
8. You tell yourself that your work is meaningless
One can have a very comfortable professional situation, envied by many, but it may not satisfy their want to fulfill themselves. This is the pinnacle of human aspirations. It aims to get out of a purely material condition to reach fulfillment. To feel more the meaning, do your thing. No one can do it but you.
9. You no longer believe in the company
When you started working, there seemed to be plenty of opportunities and you were proud to identify with such an organization. Lately, however, you have noticed a change in the atmosphere at work and you no longer believe in the company's values.
Perhaps recent business or strategic decisions do not suit you, or perhaps your beliefs have changed and are no longer aligned with those of the company. Don’t sell yourself short! There is always a company - a bunch of them actually - that would fuss over you. Go there and find them, Tiger!
10. Your skills do not match your personal interests
Sometimes we choose a profession without necessarily liking the job itself, just because we have a certain taste for it. Perhaps you have strong sales skills but would like to do marketing. Maybe Excel has no secrets for you, but you would prefer direct contact with your customers instead of sitting at your laptop all day long. Perhaps you practice a certain branch of law when you have always wanted to practice another. Although it is not always easy, it is natural to want to align your personal interests with your professional activity.
You should take these 10 signs into account if something doesn’t feel right of late and you think of changing your job. But don’t rush - sometimes minor improvements such as spending your lunch hour the way you wish or taking a break every 2 hours can have a tremendous impact on how you feel at work. If nothing seems to help, check out the cool job ads LocalHR offers. There’s always something to cheer you up.