.“In two hours, I only have five more hours until I have one hour left of work.” – Me at 9:00 a.m., 30 minutes into the work day on a Friday.
Admit it – we’ve all been there. We rationalize with ourselves that this breakdown of time somehow makes it go by faster and ultimately clock-watch the entire day away. It’s totally normal to feel burnt out every once in a while, needing the weekend to destress or a vacation here and there to recharge. But if this is you every single day, it may be time to reevaluate your current situation.
Here are 5 signs it’s time for a career change:
Your countdown goes beyond Friday.
You keep telling yourself that “if I can just get through this week, this month, this year, everything will be okay.” Your weekends are often ridden with anxiety because you know, come Monday, you have to return to the source. That much dread weighs on your well-being and is a foolproof sign that something isn’t right.
You’re disengaged.
The excitement you felt when you first started has long lost its spark and you are having a hard time caring about your work input. Maybe the job isn’t what you thought it would be or maybe what you want out of your career has changed. Either way, you don’t feel passionate about what you’re doing and find yourself wondering what the point is. Being bored in between projects is one thing, but losing interest all together is another.
There is no room for growth.
You’ve been with your company for years. Despite your proven ability to adapt and mature along the way, you feel pigeonholed in your current role. Your potential is being suppressed and your long-term goals for yourself have suddenly been put on hold because of a lack of opportunity.
You regret the very things that got you to this point.
Your college major, your internships and prior work experience all led you to this very job. But was it the right choice? Maybe accounting isn’t for you after all and you wish you had studied marketing instead. A desire for such a drastic change in direction is cause for alarm.
Monster, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn are bookmarked on your browser…at work.
You’ve already started exploring your options and you do so on your work computer. There is no harm in seeing what is out there on your personal time. But stalking job boards instead of doing your actual job is an indication that you want something more.
If you find you relate to more than one of the above signs, a change is in order. Without a doubt, it won’t be easy – change never is. But when your happiness, health and growth are in jeopardy otherwise, it will most certainly be worth it. And besides, after reading this article, you’ve cut today’s countdown by 5 minutes!
