Advice Centre

Careers can be a funny thing, they really can. 

For some of us, career progression and development is a simple and straight-forward thing. We determine, whilst in high school or college, an end goal we absolutely must attain. It could be to become a barrister, or to present a research finding before an assembly of the world's most renowned neuroscientists. 

If you're lucky enough to discover this end goal you're passionately invested in at a young age, the remainder of your carer and indeed your life's work can become very clear - you earn the qualifications, the experience and the reputation to attain it. Quite often,  these career paths are already well established; the route to your destination already pre-defined. You must follow the markers, laid by those who did it before you. 

However, what of the rest of us? What of the vast majority who perhaps don't uncover that one passion whilst we're still in education? What of those of us who might have several interests at college; who might be talented or apt at a few different things but never find that one end goal which grabs us and drives us forward into adult life? 

What of those of us who end up treading a career path we perhaps never intended? Or this of us who find our interests change into our twenties and thirties? What of this of us who end up deciding we need to make a change? A change in career, location, even our whole life? 

These changes can be scary and yet then can often end up being the best thing that happens to us. Here are the signs that it might be time to consider a change of career yourself. 

What Are the Signs You Should Change Jobs? 

1. The first and most immediate sign is sleep. 

Restlessness, poor sleeping and, at worst, insomnia are all signs of a trouble mind. Whilst this could also be coming from factors in your personal life, if your personal life is sound and you're still sleeping less than you should, the presence of work could well be the cause. This lack of sleep can quickly compound the effect, causing you to be tense and strained at work - in turn causing people to become tense and strained with you and making things that much worse. 

2. You're unmotivated by company goals 

Alike personal goals, company goals are a healthy thing. Whether is a big as doubling your turnover or as small as completing a high-value piece of work by the week-end deadline, if you find yourself completely uninterested by the value of hitting a vital company goal, it might be time to consider a change. 

This can happen gradually. If you've been at the same place for several years and have found your enthusiasm for the company's success gradually dwindling, it might be a sign it's time. A happy worker takes pride and pleasure and the progression of their company. 

3. You find the quiet days the worst. 

Typically, it's a hectic days you should be happy to be over. 

Whilst there can be a thrill to handling hefty workload, busy, stressful days are typically a weight on the ind and the softer, easier days are ones where we can relax and have a little more fun. 

Unless, of course, you're unhappy where you are. In that instance, the quiet, easy days can become the more tiresome, when you no longer have the distraction of hectic work loads. If you find yourself counting the hours during a quiet day and distracting yourself on the web, that could also be a sign it's time to change. 

4. Taking pride in your work  

This is a big one. Only you can know your true standard. Only you can know the quality you can attain when you set your mind to a task and only you can really know when you've produced something that is far below your standard - especially when it's because of lack of effort. 

It's understandable, if not entirely ideal, for you to lack enthusiasm for a task here and there. However, if you find yourself tossing out the bare minimum on a weekly basis, it's indicative of a severe miscontent at your current position of work. 

Here's the thing: life's too short for us not to take pride on our work. It's one of the ways we all can make a difference and take value in our lives. If we're in a position where we don't want to do that, we're missing out on an important aspect of a quality, motivated life. 

5. Perhaps the most obvious sign though are your co-workers

Co-Workers are the biggest indicators of happiness at your job - not in how they act around you but in how you respond to them.

Unless you are lucky enough to work in the perfect environment for you with a group of people you really love, co-workers are going to get on your nerves from time to time, just by being them. This is human nature. All but the most perfect personality fits are going to begin to grate on us every so often when we spend the amount of time we do with the same people every day. 

It could be office gossip or lad banter. It could be one particular person whom you have a strong difference of opinion with. These common and mild frustrations occur to most people every week. On those occasions, a happy, content person at work will detach, get lost in work or place an earphone in and by the time they come in tomorrow, it'll be forgotten about and you'll find  you get on well with that same person on this new day. That's what a happy worker does. 

It's when you come in to work with a pre-emptive dread of a co-worker who can get on your nerves you need to start taking note. Not only are you unfairly expecting them to do it, you've lost any desire to do your job. If it begins to happen frequently, then you should consider changing careers. 

Co-workers are just people. People who are who they are and have their own lives. They aren't responsible for your happiness and they often have no idea they're affecting you. Generally, a happy human is at least reassured by the routine of another person being themselves at work. If you begin to resent it, think about your future. 

Getting the Ball Rolling and Taking the Plunge