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#CareerAdvice : #HateMyJob – 5 Ways to Overcome a Career Slump. Great Two(2) Min Read!

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There’s something to be said for getting into a groove at work and coming in each day knowing exactly what tasks you need to tackle and how you’ll get them done. But there does come a point when too much routine on the job turns into a negative thing.

If you can’t remember the last time you were excited about a project, or got to branch out and do something different, then chances are, you’re headed for or are already experiencing a career slump. This especially holds true if you’re in a role where opportunities for upward mobility are limited.

If you’re in the midst of a career slump or creeping in that direction, don’t despair. There are a few things you can do to breathe new life into your job and make your experience more fulfilling.

1. Volunteer for New Projects

It’s natural to get bored with doing the same old things over and over again. So if your manager doesn’t think to assign you something new, seek out opportunities yourself and volunteer for them. This might mean approaching other teams and asking to get involved in what they’re doing or suggesting valuable projects of your own and taking charge. Heading up a new initiative at work is a good way to not only bust out of a rut, but get your boss’ attention — and that could open the door to a promotion down the line.

Switching Jobs Internally — How to Apply & How to Manage the Transition

2. Interact With Different People

When we think about networking, we often imagine ourselves hobnobbing with outside associates at conferences or industry events. But there’s no reason you shouldn’t do your fair share of networking in your own office as well. And the more people you aim to interact with, the more opportunities that are likely to come your way, whether it’s joining a different team or getting invited to share your input at different meetings.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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3. Take a Class

The more well-rounded an employee you are, the better you’re apt to feel about your career. So if things don’t seem to be going anywhere at your current job, furthering your skills could bring about new opportunities. One of the best ways to bust out of a slump is to take a class or pursue a certification that gives you more options if not immediately, then down the line. If anything, learning new things might also help you approach your current role differently, thus improving your outlook.

4. Make a Lateral Move

Maybe a promotion just isn’t available at your company, or you’re lacking a few key skills to move up to a higher level. But even if that’s the case, there’s no reason you can’t try dabbling in a new area of the business. A lateral move, in fact, might be just the welcome change your career is begging for. If you’re able to switch to another position, you’ll get to meet new people, do different things and grow your skills so that you are eventually able to climb that ladder, whether internally or elsewhere.

How to Make Your Career Change Dream Into Reality

5. Take a Brief Sabbatical

If you’re really struggling to get past your career slump and have seemingly exhausted all other options, you might consider taking some time off to refresh and recharge. Of course, most companies won’t pay for sabbaticals, so if you’re not in good shape financially, this won’t be an option. Similarly, not every company will agree to it. But if you have a healthy amount of savings and your employer is willing to be flexible, consider taking some time to pursue hobbies, travel or reconnect with family and friends. Then, when the time comes to return to your job, you’ll be in a better place mentally.

Your job should serve not just as a source of income but as a means of personal satisfaction. If that’s no longer the case, then it pays to work on breaking out of that slump. The sooner you do, the happier you’ll be on the whole.

 

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#CareerAdvice : #YourCareer – 6 Tricks for Surviving Work and #PersonalAdversity …Sometimes, Life is Difficult. But you Can Still Make it Better.

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Maybe your job isn’t great. Or, you hate your apartment. Those coworkers you have are so annoying. Or, you may be dealing with life challenges like illness, job loss, or sudden caretaking responsibilities that are getting in the way of some other things that you want to do.

Into each life, some annoyances, obstacles, and misfortune will fall. And while some self-help gurus will tell you to simply ditch what’s making you unhappy or holding you back, sometimes, it’s not that easy.

“Everybody has those constraints and situations that we don’t want to be in,” says licensed clinical social worker and resilience expert Linda Hoopes, PhD, author of Prosilience: Building Your Resilience for a Turbulent World.  You don’t want to get stuck there, but sometimes, you’re stuck with them for the time being.”

But there are things that you can do to make many situations better and cultivate greater resilience, even as you look for long-term solutions or resolutions, she says.

1. HONOR YOUR OPPONENT

It’s easy to ruminate about why you’re stuck in a bad situation, but challenges are where we learn, says performance coach Bob Litwin, author of Live the Best Story of Your Life: A World Champion’s Guide to Lasting Change. Litwin works with professionals in high-pressure jobs, such as talent agents and hedge fund managers. And sometimes, having a difficult boss or set of circumstances can be a gift.

“Adversity is the ultimate great teacher,” he says. As an elite tennis player, he says his toughest opponents were the ones who made him better. While the difficult situation may seem “just awful,” sometimes they “bounce you in a better direction and teach you how you’re going to be in that situation,” he says. Simply understanding that you have an opportunity to learn from your challenges can give them some previously unseen value, he says.

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. BREAK IT DOWN

Many big challenges are really a series of smaller challenges that can seem overwhelming. When you break down the individual components of a situation, they’re easier to address, Hoopes says. For example, a “crappy” job may break down into unpleasant interactions with coworkers and long hours that affect family time. Break down the individual components of what’s making you unhappy, and they’ll be easier to address, she says. Prioritize those that are draining your energy most, she adds.

Related: Why adversity can be the best thing for your career

3. CHANGE WHAT YOU CAN

Even within a bad situation, you can make small changes to improve it and turn it into motivation to make bigger changes, Hoopes says. You can look for opportunities to learn new skills, even in a job you hate. If you’re managing caretaking responsibilities, you might be able to enlist help from others to get some time for yourself. Think creatively about your situation and how you might be able to make small changes to improve it, she says.

In addition, stop beating your head against the wall trying to change things that you can’t, says Paul G. Schempp, PhD, a research professor at the department of kinesiology at the University of Georgia. “We see this with highly successful athletes. Often, people who are less successful focus on things like injuries or ‘The crowd doesn’t like me,’ or ‘I’m not getting enough playing time,’ so they start on this downward spiral, because all they see is the negative things,” he says.

When you start letting go of things over which you have no control and focusing on the things you can improve through small changes, it’s easier to get out of that trap, he says.

Related: How to stay motivated when your company is going through a crisis

4. CHANGE YOUR STORY

When you’re dealing with obstacles or adversity, change the story you’re telling yourself, Litwin says. The way you think about or explain your situation is your story—and most stories have flexibility about them.

“Even if somebody is saying, ‘My situation is much tougher than what you’re saying to me,’ I would say, ‘Okay, well, that’s good, because that story can be flipped too, which is, the tougher I am, the more focused I am at making changes of who I am in order to accomplish what I want.’ We know that plants, when they’re not given that much water, often become stronger because their roots have to work harder to find the water that’s there. That’s a better story about literally plants in dry soil, that they do amazing with very little,” Litwin says. Reframing the issuein this way can make a world of difference in how you view and respond to your circumstances.

A useful tool here is tracking your progress, Schempp says. When you focus on the small changes you’re making to improve things or move away from your challenges, you immediately shift to a place of taking control and making a difference. He refers to a Harvard University study about the “progress principle,” where acknowledging small wins was found to be a powerful motivator.

5. FIND YOUR CALMING PRACTICE

Even as you make changes, it’s important to understand how to calm yourself down when you’re feeling the stress of your challenges, Hoopes says. Whether it’s going for a run, spending some time in your garden, or finding a couple of hours to catch up on a favorite television show, take that time to push your personal “reset” button.

6. DON’T LET OBSTACLES DEFINE YOU

When you’re stuck in a tough time, it can be easy for your self-talk to be dominated by the situation. Remind yourself that your situation doesn’t define you, says counselor and coach Anahid Lisa Derbabian. “Begin to notice critical or discouraging thoughts or words, which can in subtle ways sabotage yourself and keep you stuck. In the moments when you realize that you are doing this, do not blame or shame yourself. Just allow yourself to shift into messaging, which is compassionate and helpful to you,” she says. If possible, ask for help from family or friends to help you recognize these patterns—and also to assist you in making changes or finding the resources you need to do so.

Most of all, use your situation as a source of motivation to make long-term changes that will help you find lasting solutions or ways to adapt to your situation, Hoopes says. “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][There is] a Buddhist saying, ‘Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.’ Life just has this stuff in it, and it’s just, ‘Okay, here I am in one of those zones. Now what am I going to do?’” she says.

Gwen Moran writes about business, money and assorted other topics for leading publications and websites. She was named a Small Business Influencer Awards Top 100 Champion in 2015, 2014, and 2012 and is the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans (Alpha, 2010), and several other books.

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FastCompany.com | August 10, 2018

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Your #Career : This is What it Took for Me to Quit a Job I Hated…This Writer had been Putting Off Leaving a Job She Didn’t Like. But One Particular Moment Compelled her to Take Action.

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It was my birthday. I’d come into the office earlier than usual to get a jump start on my workload so that I would be able to sneak out on time to meet a group of people for a celebratory dinner.

No one at the office knew it was my birthday, and that was perfectly fine. See, I didn’t exactly have the best relationship with my boss or colleagues. I worked for a small hedge fund where the atmosphere was perpetually tense and intense. Nobody really seemed to like one another, and because my goal was to earn a paycheck rather than make friends, that wasn’t bothersome to me. What irked me, however, was the fact that everyone at the office treated me like dirt even though I had a solid work ethic and generally went well above and beyond the call of duty to make other people more money.

In other words, I wasn’t expecting special treatment for it being my birthday. I just wanted the day to go smoothly (“smoothly” being a relative term at an office where fistfights weren’t unusual and foul language was the go-to means of communication).

It didn’t, though. And that’s why I decided that day to quit.

REACHING MY BREAKING POINT

What’s funny is that nothing particularly disturbing happened that day. Sure, people yelled at me, but that was par for the course. Rather, there were two related incidents that helped me realize I was done.

The first was when a colleague asked me to jump on a 6:00 p.m. conference call in his place because he had to leave unexpectedly. I politely explained that I had plans after work and had to leave by 5:30 myself–something I rarely did, but also something I was by no means obligated to clear with him or my boss. Rather than accept my answer and pursue an alternate solution, he proceeded to berate me for wanting to have a social life. Fine.

The next episode happened just moments later. I had finished up my work for the day and was gathering my belongings when another coworker looked up at the clock, saw what time it was, and asked, in the snidest tone possible, “Half day today?”

I left on time. I went to dinner reeling over the two incidents while my friends tried to distract me with just about every other topic imaginable. And the next day, I composed my resignation letter.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME TO QUIT

The funny thing is that I really should’ve resigned from that job years before I did. The environment was toxic, and while the work itself was interesting, it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my career. The only reason I stayed so long was that the pay was fantastic, and I was hesitant to give it up. But what made me finally throw in the towel was the fact that as I sat there at dinner that night, I couldn’t stop fuming over the events that had just transpired.

Then I realized that I’d been doing the same thing for months– letting an unpleasant work experience spill over into my personal life and mess with my general well-being. I could no longer let that happen, and so I resigned.

Of course, I did so respectfully. I gave my firm a month’s notice, which I was able to do in the absence of having another job lined up. In my official letter, I thanked my boss for taking me on and teaching me a lot, which he actually did. And I made sure to wrap up all major items I was working on before my last day to not leave anyone particularly in the lurch.

I also made sure I was prepared financially to kiss my paycheck goodbye. For months, I’d been adding to my emergency fund to allow myself the option to quit. I also looked into my health insurance options in advance, since I knew I’d need to secure coverage of my own. And I’m grateful I did those things, because they bought me the option to leave when I’d truly had enough.

NO ONE DESERVES TO BE MISERABLE AT WORK

Why am I sharing this story now? It’s simple: I still have many friends who are utterly miserable at their jobs.

Now obviously, not working isn’t an option, since we all have bills to pay. But it pains me to see so many people I know unhappy day in, day out. So if there’s one takeaway here, it’s this: I was dissatisfied at my job long before I quit, but what drove me over the edge was realizing that I couldn’t shake those bad feelings from work even after leaving the office. That wasn’t acceptable to me, and it shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.

If you’ve been unhappy with your job to the point where it’s impacted your overall well-being, it’s time to start planning your escape. I’m not saying quit on a whim, because frankly, you should really have a backup plan. Rather, I’m suggesting you figure out what it’ll take to allow you to quit your job, whether it’s more savings and/or a series of leads, and find a way to escape that bad situation. And who knows? It just might end up being the best thing you ever do for your career.

 

FastCompany.com | May 21, 2018 | BY MAURIE BACKMAN—THE MOTLEY FOOL 4 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : How To Tell The Difference Between A Career Pivot And A Distraction…When you’re Unhappy at Work, Quitting for Something Else can be Tempting. But here’s How to Tell If you’re Chasing a Rabbit or Heading Down the Right Path.

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Rather than look for a new job, Chon put her energy into volunteering at Dawg Squad, a Los Angeles rescue organization, taking head shots of dogs to help them get adopted. The photos became so popular that pet owners asked Chon to photograph their dogs, and eventually ad agencies sought out her work, too.

Chon soon realized that her side hustle wasn’t just a distraction from her full-time job, but an opportunity for a purpose-driven career pivot into pet photography. “I realized I was at a crossroads when I started have to turn down opportunities because I had a day job,” Chon says. “I started to think, What would happen if I could put 100% of my attention into this side business?”

BE INTENTIONAL

What makes Chon’s experience a successful pivot is she deliberately moved toward something, not away from something, says Alison Cardy, career coach and author of Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career.  When you only focus on moving away from something, such as a job you don’t like or career that doesn’t satisfy you, you’re more likely to jump into something that is familiar and feels secure, such as going back to school or starting a business, and that can be a big distraction, Cardy says.

It’s important to take time to understand what you want from your career, and to consider whether you know what you want to do, or if you’re feeling stymied. “If you know what you want, by all means, go for it,” Cardy says. “But if you’re feeling stuck or confused, that is a good signal that it would be helpful to bring in some support.” But, she says, if you seek assistance from a career coach, be sure he or she specializes in helping people figure out what they want to do, not the just how to navigate the nuts and bolts of a job search, because if you don’t know where you are going, all that information won’t be helpful.

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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APPLY REVERSE ENGINEERING

We often confuse passion and purpose, says Melissa Bradley, managing director of Project 500. “You might be passionate about something, but will it get you to your goal?” she asks. And what exactly is your goal? Rather than using an activity to determine your goal, Bradley recommends using metrics to define what will change externally when you reach your goal. Bradley started her career working with low-income families in Washington, D.C., and transitioned into policy work but found she couldn’t make as large of an impact on bringing equity and equality to people of color. “Policy work was a distraction,” she admits, noting she is back to working directly with community members. She helps them receive the training and support they need to advance their businesses and improve their communities.

STAY LASER FOCUSED

Distractions are all around us, and it’s easy to follow a job opportunity that looks or sounds good down a rabbit trail, even when it’s not the right fit for us, says Robb Holman, founder and CEO of Holman International and author of Lead the Way. “You want to make the best career decision that is the most efficient and effective use of your time,” he says. Before pursuing a new opportunity, he recommends asking these five questions:

1. Does it help me achieve my priorities?
2. How much time and effort will this take?
3. Will it help me to gain new skills or improve existing skills?
4. Will this opportunity evolve into something I truly want to do?
5. What is the short-term and long-term payoff?

If your answers to these questions aren’t all positive, it might be best to let that opportunity pass, he says.

DISTRACTIONS AREN’T ALL BAD

Don’t discount every distraction, warns Tracey Adams, PhD, founder of ThriveOn Seminars. “Career development isn’t linear anymore,” she says. “You don’t move up, you move to different organizations.” If you’re unsure about your next career move, Adams recommends asking yourself what brought you joy to do as a child.

For instance, when Nerea Gibson, a molecular biologist working in the biotech industry, found she couldn’t get into a PhD program, she went back to an early interest, fashion design, and started designing wallets and bags as a respite from everything else in her life. Gibson decided to leave her full-time job when she realized she was putting equal amounts of energy into her design work as her full-time job. “The passion, design, and potential were too great for me to ignore,” Gibson says. She started her company Aeren Waters last year and was invited to present her designs at London Fashion Week last fall.

We can label distractions as bad, or we can label them as getting more information about who we are today, says Adams.

 

 

FastCompany.com | March 27, 2018 | BY LISA RABASCA ROEPE 4 MINUTE READ