As 2019 closes in on us, it’s getting to the time of the year where everyone reflects on their job over the Christmas period and often decide ‘is it time for a change?’. However, as this is such a major decision, it’s vital that you don’t just assume that the ‘grass is always greener’ and make sure you take time to carefully consider things…
We’ve all had a bad day and had that ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’ feeling which very soon blows over however how can we differentiate between this feeling and serious motives to move on? Here’s 3 clear signs that the Robertson Sumner team believe mean that it’s time for a move:
- Energy depletion and boredom
Energy depletion can be one of the biggest signs that it’s time for a move and the exact same factor can be used as a measure to show you’re in the right position, if you find time flying.
Feeling a little worn out after a hard day’s work is extremely natural however we’ve had candidates approach us at Robertson Sumner who find just getting out of bed and into work involved an intense exercise of willpower. These work stresses can often then start spilling over into life outside of work, affecting relationships with friends and family. If this is happening, it’s time for a change!
If you feel this happening but it isn’t quite severe enough to think about moving on, it’s important that you dissect the problem to identify what activities are causing fatigue and what or who in the office gives the opposite feeling, an energy boost! Once you identify this, you can plan your days, weeks and months out to ensure that you control and mitigate the issue, making sure that you’re not exhausted by the early afternoon.
- Apathy
Apathy, or a lack of interest and general enthusiasm, is another major sign that it’s time to move on. Even if you’re not a perfectionist, it is absolutely vital that that you believe what you’re doing is making a difference and that you ‘care’ about the work you’re doing!
If you feel that this could be you and that you’re just going through the motions, it’s vital that you know what you would care about. The two areas where we find candidates losing interest or enthusiasm can source from two places:
- The candidate just doesn’t enjoy the nature of the work they’re doing – i.e. time for an industry/ career change
- The candidate enjoys the work however just feels that company ethos and values aren’t a fit and are dragging them down – i.e. it’s time to move business
Identify if it’s A or B scenario which best resonates with your current position as this will allow to get to the root of the problem, making it easier to fix!
- Jealousy
Jealously is an interesting one because you have to do a job which matches your talents and skill sets. I.e. You may personally be jealous of Harry Kane however this doesn’t mean that you should drop everything to become a superstar footballer. Because being honest, even though it can take a while to come to terms with, you probably won’t ever be scoring goals at a World Cup.
However on a serious note, if you find yourself getting jealous at an element of a friends job, it’s important to listen to these emotions and if they’re strong enough, act on them! With the Harry Kane example, you may not ever be able to score goals for England but if you’re jealous of the fact that he works alongside a lot of other highly motivated and like-minded individuals, and this is something not in your current role, then you could act on this and make a change!
This being said, it is important to be as rational as possible if jealousy becomes a motive to move on as in a social media dominated world, friends will often only highlight and talk about the good aspects of their jobs and not bring up the awful days they have…
To conclude, now is a great time to reflect on your year and career but do make sure you take as much time as possible to consider your situation as often the root issue can be fixed by making a couple of small changes and doesn’t need a major career change!
