Having accompanied thousands of executives and professionals through their career analysis processes, I can name some internal signs that indicate that it may be time to think seriously about changing jobs and betting on being loyal to oneself. Although this may not seem easy to do, staying in a job where one is not happy is a dead end road, which does not bring anything good. Instead, it has a very negative impact on our performance, level of employability, reputation, and personal brand. Here are some examples of those signs to keep a look out for:
- You are bored —your job has no challenges or mountains to conquer, no new projects to develop. You feel that you are not growing, not learning, not developing new skills, and have little intellectual stimulation.
- You sense that there is no future to take on more responsibilities; that you are doomed to be doing the same thing for an indefinite time.
- You do not like the work environment —it is unpleasant and negative; your bosses or colleagues are not friendly, people are isolated from one another.
- The responsibilities are overwhelming or even potentially dangerous, having legal or judicial ramifications. You are under too much stress; you either have too much work or work excessively long hours.
- You have a bad relationship with the boss, with whom there is no chemistry, or worse, who is no longer respected. You do not feel recognized or valued by that boss or the organization in general.
- You earn little, or less than the others for doing the same job, and see no hopes for improvement in the short- or medium-term.
- You feel that you are not adding value, or that nobody values your contributions.
- You work in an organization that doesn’t invest in people or technology, or worse, that doesn’t respect people or values, and there is no solution.
- You don’t like what you do, you don’t like the company, and its mission doesn’t inspire you. You feel disappointed, disillusioned with your assignment, your post, your boss, or the company.
Clearly, our goal is to find a new job that is aligned with our expectations of growth and development, as well as what we like to do, enjoy doing, and can do well, and not stop until we find it, although it may take some time. The challenge is to enter the labor market, bearing in mind that, if possible and ethical, it would be ideal to look for a new job while keeping the current one. For this, it is vital to commit to complying with the goals and objectives for which they pay us and to do so with great respect to our current employer, to our commitments, and assumed assignments. And this is not only for obvious ethical reasons and professional correctness, but because our future references and recommendations will depend on it.
And yes, we deserve to give ourselves the opportunity to find a job that awakens our enthusiasm and passion!
