10 Ways To Shake Up Your Career When You’re Feeling Stuck

We always feel like we should be on track. We look to others and feel like they all have their lives figured out, and that we should too. But that’s just one way to make yourself feel really bad. Because in reality, nobody ever really has their lives figured out – especially not in their twenties. It’s natural for you to question yourself, to wonder if you’re on the right path, and to feel like you’re accomplishing anything in life. These kind of feelings have the power to change our lives. However, more often than not we tend to let them break up down. Instead, we need to use moments like this to take action. And one of the best ways you can do that is by shaking up your career.

We’re a long time working. For most of us, we’ll spend around 50 years of our lives working – sometimes less, sometimes more. And that can be a lot. We spend most of our days at work, and for the bulk of our lives, we can say they revolve around our careers. So it’s safe to say that you deserve to be happy in your career! So when you’re not, when you feel stuck, or you just know that you’re not on the right path in life, it’s time to make a change. And yes, it’s going to be all about your career. Whether you need a break, what to make a complete change, or just need a few pointers to feel a bit more excited about what you’re doing, here are ten tips to help you out.

#1: Set Some Goals

So the first thing that might help you to shake things up here is to set yourself some goals. When you don’t really know where you’re going with your career, you can get bored. It can also make you feel very uncertain about your career and life in general. But when you set career goals, you finally have that sense of direction. You may even find that you are on the right path, you do love what you’re doing, and now you know where you’re going too.

#2: Aim For A Promotion

Next, you might want to set your sights on a promotion. When you feel like you’re not being challenged, you may need something more exciting to work for. Stepping up is a great thing to do in your career, but promotions don’t come easy. You’ll need to plan for it, work for it, and prove yourself. But the process of doing this can be a lot of fun. So enjoy it!

#3: Change Direction

From here, if your career goals show that you need a change, or you’re limited with your promotional options, a change of direction could help. For this, you may need to up your education with something like a nursing MBA in order to progress, or you may want to learn a new skill. Changing direction isn’t always about changing jobs. It just means that you’re moving into a slightly different field, and improved knowledge and skills can help with this.

#4: Retrain To Do Something New

At the same time, you may also want to do something entirely new. So rather than training to move on in your chosen field, you may want to retrain completely. This may give you the challenge, excitement, and satisfaction that you’re currently lacking.

#5: Start Your Own Thing On The Side

Maybe you’re not happy doing what you’re doing, and you know that no kind of traditional career change will do? Then it’s definitely time to start your own thing on the side. Your job can totally pay the bills while you enjoy pursuing your passion on the side for awhile.

#6: Take That Break

Or maybe you’re just tired. You know that you’re having issues with your career as it stands and the stress is getting to you. So just take a break. Whether you want to quit your job to go traveling, or whether you just need some time to yourself before you figure out what you’re going to do next, it can really help you to release that feeling of being stuck and find some direction with your career.

#7: Change Companies

If you do love your job and the role that you have, but you feel like you can’t progress or you just don’t feel at home, then make a change. Sometimes, changing companies is all it takes for you to feel unstuck. By moving to a company that is more in line with your skills and vision, then you’re going to feel more job satisfaction. Moving industries but still doing the same job is also another option here.

#8: Change Countries

For something a little more extreme, why not change countries? Finding work overseas can often be difficult, but if your company has an office overseas, then it may seem like a no-brainer. Whether you stay in your current company or get a new job, you may find that moving overseas is exactly what you need from your career and your life right now.

#9: Launch Your Own Business

Next, you could then think about starting your own business. If you’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial streak in you, and you know that you want to be your own boss someday, why not do it now? Technically, you could try the side thing first, just to see if it’s what you want, but if you are adamant, then go all in and launch your business. Put the prep work in and the run with it. It could be the best career decision you ever make.

#10: Do Something Completely Different

Finally, maybe you just need to do something completely different. People change, priorities change – and when they do, we need to adapt. You may not be on the right path anymore. So completely changing your job, your industry, and what you do may be what it takes to make you feel like you’re back on track again.


6 Comments

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    Working Girl

    March 25, 2018

    An excellent article Daniela. It took me until well into my thirties to figure out what I wanted to do! It’s a scary process but well worth it.

    Reply
    • Avatar

      Daniela Bucatele

      March 25, 2018

      So glad you found your calling – well done you!

      Reply
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      Thomas

      March 27, 2018

      Working Girl, it took me until my forties to get it right – and I can honestly say it was well worth the wait!

      Reply
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        Daniela Bucatele

        March 28, 2018

        Having worked with many types of businesses over the years, I can tell you both that you aren’t alone. I have had some clients start new careers in their late fifties!

        Reply
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    Thomas

    March 26, 2018

    Agree with number 4. Sometimes it takes a few years to realize just what you would rather be doing.

    Reply
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      Daniela Bucatele

      March 26, 2018

      Exactly Thomas. We don’t all have it worked out as soon as we leave college. Most of us only find out through work and change.

      Reply

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