Signs It’s Time To Make a Job Change

Change is good, right? Well then why are we all so scared of it?   For employees, change can feel uncomfortable, daunting, and uncertain. But there are times when change is necessary and it’s up to you to decide what is more frightening, staying where you are because it’s comfortable, or staying where you are because it’s comfortable!

Below are a few signs that it’s time for a change!

You get the Sunday night blues.

Here’s how it works: around 4pm on Sunday, sometimes even sooner, you get an uncontrollable sorrow about Monday morning that you just can’t shake. You feel anxious, irritable, and even sad. Although nobody loves saying goodbye to the weekend, there is a difference between wishing the weekend could go on just a bit longer, and devising ways to avoid Mondays at all costs because you dread your job so much! Believe it or not, I have been excited about Mondays for most of my career. I know, it sounds weird, after all why would anyone look forward to early mornings, traffic, and deadlines? And in case you are wondering, yes, I do have a life, a family, activities, friends, and am lucky enough to live in SoCal where every day is a perfect beach day. However, I absolutely love what I do for work, and Mondays let me get right back at it. However, I have experienced the Sunday night blues before and when they hit, that’s my alert that a change needs to happen!

You dread saying good morning to your co-workers and avoid the boss at all costs!

Your work family is often an extension of your real family. After all, you spend 8 + hours a day with them, why shouldn’t you naturally view them as people you are excited to see? You miss them when you’re not with them and you often share personal information with them. This closeness often helps high performing teams develop and leads to a deeper satisfaction at work. But when your excitement of catching up with the work family turns to dread and avoidance, it may be time to find a new work family. I love dealing with people, it’s what I do for a living after all, so to me relationships at work are crucial.  But I’m not going to lie, there have been times when I have attempted to avoid certain co-workers at all costs and would rather use the bathroom down the hall if it meant I didn’t have to risk passing them in the hallway and forcing pleasantries. When this happens, and continues for weeks on end, you got to go!

You have nothing else to learn and the promotions are never coming!

When you started your job, you absorbed the material like a sponge. You learned daily, practiced what you learned, and even took steps to up your game so you could move up the rankings. You liked what you were learning, it was both challenging and enriching and things just felt right. Although we all get to a point where we master a task and it becomes a strength, we should continue to feel challenged and the next level should be in clear view. If you’re not learning, you are not growing and when that stops happening, you should explore 2 things – either movement within your current company, or movement outside to a new position.  After nearly 20 years in recruiting, I make it a point the feel challenged and learn something new all the time. If I’m ever at a point where I feel I’m the complete master of my game and I’m bored, I make a change. Most companies have a well laid out career path, as do most employees, when the two don’t match anymore, you simply must move on.

Don’t ignore these signs. You work hard at what you do and should always feel inspired and rewarded in your work. When one or more of these signs start to creep into your career, recognize them and start to explore new opportunities, you’ll be glad you did! Happy Hunting!