How to Know if Your Current Career Isn't Right For You
One of the most frustrating situations you can have in your professional life is to have a job that doesn’t match your expectations. We all have had negative feelings about our job once in a while, but it’s not okay to have a constant lethargic feeling.
The most difficult decision to make is whether to leave your job or not. Sometimes we don’t have the courage to leave for one reason or another. Whether it is because we have a stable income or because we don’t want to become a job hopper, it’s just not simple to quit a job.
However, there are some signs that can warn you when it’s time to say goodbye to your current company. Here are some of them:
Company culture doesn’t suit you
When you’re looking for a new job you usually focus on things like salary or career development, taking the company’s culture for granted. However, this factor could be more important than you may think. If you’re working for a company with a negative corporate culture, you may feel unhappy.
This usually happens when the company’s values don’t match yours. You can ignore it for a while, but it will surely affect you at some point. For instance, if you’re working as a project manager in a company that doesn’t value your efforts, then you may rethink whether you should work at that company.
You just don’t feel motivated
Motivation is the fuel of a successful career. If you’re evaluating your career satisfaction, motivation is the main factor. We often lose our motivation for several reasons, from mistreatment, low salary, or stress. It’s important to identify the reason why you’re feeling this way because you’ll know if it’s something you can solve or if you should just leave.
First, talk to your boss and let him know what causes the demotivation. This way, you can both discuss the terms and see if there’s a solution to your problem. If you don’t get to a positive term, then consider taking a different career path.
Passion is over
Passion is much related to motivation. However, while motivation is related to incentives such as salaries or other benefits, passion is more related to the excitement you have with activities you enjoy. If you’re unable to find the passion for your current job it means you don’t enjoy it or it doesn’t make you happy.
Don’t underestimate your feelings. Although you will always have good and bad days, it’s not okay to feel overly negative most of the time at work. If you ever feel that way, passion is over, and there’s no reason to stay at a job you don’t enjoy.
Your current boss makes your life a terror
One of the most tedious situations that could happen to you in your career is to have a bad boss. They’re insulting, set unrealistic milestones, or they’re simply aggressive people. The worst part is that he’s your boss, and if you don’t have another superior to talk to, everything he does whether it is fair or not will be it. There would be no one to defend you.
If you ever feel mistreated by your boss, it’s not a good place for you to work. Don’t stay in a toxic environment regardless of the salary or the benefits. Eventually, these types of situations will affect your health.
You don’t feel valued
An early sign of a mismatch at work is to start feeling you’re not valuable for the company. This appears when you are excluded from projects and they don’t take your opinion into account. It hurts and it also leads to dissatisfaction with your career. Has this ever happened to you?
If so, don’t take things for granted. Talk to your boss and let him know you’d like to actively collaborate with the company and ask him how you can contribute. If they continue to exclude you, it is a clear sign that you must quit your job.
Your efforts are never enough
There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling your efforts are never enough. Maybe you’re working to hit a big milestone like improving your social media management metrics, but even though you put all your time and effort, it’s never enough for your boss. When this happens, you’re usually very excited about hitting the goal, but it is very frustrating to feel limited by your boss.
One of the reasons why this happens is because your boss sets unrealistic milestones. It is unfair for you to continue putting all your effort into a job that doesn’t value your performance.
Your job is affecting your health
If you have weeks or even months with stress and anxiety caused by your current job, you need to reconsider the decision of staying at that company. Stress could significantly affect your mental and physical health. There are many consequences of having stress and if you want to take care of your health you should spot the reasons that are causing your stress.
If it’s somehow related to your job, maybe try to rest for a couple of days to see if your health condition improves. If you continue to feel anxiety or stress due to your job environment, don’t put your work above your health. This is a major reason to leave your job.
You feel mistreated
You should never tolerate mistreatment regardless of the situation. This is a very common situation for why people leave their jobs. In fact, a recent survey revealed that it is one of the main reasons why developers switch their jobs.
Conclusion
We all have good and bad days at work, that shouldn’t be a reason to quit. In fact, those bad days should motivate you to be better. However, when negativity and lack of motivation represent the bulk of your job, then it’s time to consider taking a different career path.
Written by Artur Meyster
Artur Meyster is the CTO of Career Karma (YC W19), an online marketplace that matches career switchers with coding bootcamps. He is also the host of the Breaking Into Startups podcast, which features people with non-traditional backgrounds who broke into tech.
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