In The Wrong Career? Here's What To Do About It

It’s very rare that a person will stay in the same career/position forever. Many people go through multiple job changes throughout their lives. As we get older, our tastes change. What we want from a job changes. We may need a different role to suit our lifestyle, or we may realize that the current role we are in just doesn’t suit our values and beliefs anymore.

If you feel like you’re now in the wrong career, don’t look at it as a failure. Look at it as a natural occurrence that happens to a huge majority of people! So, what are you supposed to do now that you realize you are in the wrong career? Read on to find out!

List All The Reasons You Are Dissatisfied With Your Current Position

Grab a pen and a piece of paper and list all of the reasons that you are dissatisfied with your current position. You’re going to do this in order to identify whether they can be realistically resolved over time. You can also use them to figure out what you don’t want in your next career, if it does transpire that you would like to change jobs. Be as detailed as possible!

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Consider The Positive Parts Of What You Do

Now it’s time to do something you might find a little hard if you’re experiencing problems - consider the positive aspects of the job. The problems you are encountering may be short term, and intense feelings of dissatisfaction may be distracting you from the positive aspects of your career. Think hard. What are the pluses? Do you enjoy the people you work with? Maybe your role allows you to use a particular skill that you have? Not only will you be able to weigh the pros against the cons, you’ll also have a good idea of the sort of things you want in a future role.

Save An Emergency Fund

If you do want to leave your job, you must understand the immediate financial risks of leaving. Saving an emergency fund before you leave, if you don’t have one already, is a good idea. More finances mean more freedom. Having more money saved in an emergency account allows you to leave when you are unhappy and find something you actually enjoy, without the pressure of needing another income right away and potentially ending up in another job that isn’t right for you. You should aim to save a minimum of 3-6 months living expenses. Depending on how long you think you may be job hunting for, you might want to save more.

Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses means knowing where you need to improve for your new role. You might want to take a msw degree online and look into other learning opportunities that could make a you a more attractive candidate for future jobs.

Network

Network regularly, so you can identify relevant contacts in your chosen industry. You never know who you might meet and what opportunities might be presented to you!