Feeling stuck in your career? 5 steps to move forward
Many of us have been taught to define our career growth based on the work we’ve done in the past. To advance, we need to take that next promotion, stay the course and hope that there’s enough rungs on the ladder. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’ve been working with a client who’s been in the field of public engagement. She has steadily advanced in her role, and even changed sectors. But now, 10+ years into her career, she finds herself dreading the “public” part of her job. The energy she once had for evening meetings with groups of passionate stakeholders has shifted elsewhere – to her kids and to her passion projects. She tells me she’s ready for a change but feels stuck on what she feels “qualified” to do other than public engagement.
She’s doing what so many of us do, which is allow our resumes to define our future. Certainly our past work experience and education inform our path forward; but we are not bound by it. The beautiful part of being mid-career is the opportunity to reframe everything we’ve done so far and reimagine our future career.
The Pause
What’s the first step to getting unstuck? Simply acknowledging that we feel stuck. It sounds easy, but for many high-achieving people who want to make meaningful change in the world, admitting we’re not in the fulfilling job we expected – let alone one we prepared for and invested in – can be a deeply humbling and, frankly, scary experience.
It’s so tempting to skip the pause and jump straight into updating your old resume and scouring LinkedIn for new jobs; I’ve worked with many people who do just that, only to find themselves in a new job, with the same frustrations.
Consciously acknowledging that your career is negatively impacting your life and that you desire – and deserve – a change is a huge first step. If you can stay with this uncomfortable feeling and pause to take a breath, be still and quiet the hamster wheel of worries and fears, then you set yourself up for reimagining what comes next.
Putting the pause into practice means creating dedicated time (on the calendar!) and space, which might be taking yourself outside of your normal environment and dedicating at least 30 minutes to do some meditative writing and exploring. This process allows you to tap into what feels authentic to you and to disconnect with all of the other noise.
Now, grab your favorite writing tool (digital or analog) and spend the next 30 mins answering these questions:
What do you want to do more of?
One of the first places to start is to get a sense of where you find joy or energy in your work, and also what takes it away. Essentially, what do you want to do more of and what do you want to do less of?
You can do a quick self-analysis to see what comes up for you, or you can use our energy management guide to assess your energy over several workdays to better understand what kind of work gives you energy and what kind of work-related activities deplete it.
Take our energy management assessment
What does your ideal workday (or week) look like?
Pandemic working conditions changed how, when, where and with what technology we do our work. Some of these changes have been good, others not so good. But now that we’ve had the opportunity to work differently, it’s time to self-assess: what do you really want your workday or work week to look like?
How much time would you spend in front of a computer vs. in-person?
How much time do you want to be collaborating vs. creating on your own?
Do you want or need time to do other things, including being with your loved ones or just being creative?
What impact do you want to have?
Once you’re on a hamster wheel, it’s hard to get off. We’re doing the work but unless we’re clear on the impact that we want to have, we can mindlessly move further away from it, leaving us feeling disempowered or unengaged in our day-to-day jobs.
As we advance, we need to be intentional about making a mental shift to define what we want to be working towards.
So, it’s time to take stock. You’ve had a lot of experiences and now it’s time to check in with yourself: how would you define the impact you want to have in your career? Or, how can your work support the life you want to lead?
Getting support in defining your path
So commonly, we’re defined by a box we put ourselves in. It’s hard for us to see all of our achievements and successes. Beginning to think functionally and outside of the resume box, starts with building our own career narrative.
If it feels hard, ask for help. We don’t go through life alone, and we shouldn’t expect to go through our careers alone. Find a trusted listening partner – it could be a friend, colleague or a career coach. Share your experience and accomplishments and allow them to share back with you what they hear, and to ask you questions to dig deeper.
We also do this in Make Your 40 Hours Count because we’ve seen how group coaching with like-minded peers can help individuals get out of their head (or their worries and fears) and verbalize or make sense of their accomplishments and aspirations.
Remember: people want to be able to help, and it’s easier to uncover key a-ha insights when you’re in conversation with others, rather than simply a conversation with your head.
Affirmation
I’m investing in my career as an act of radical self care. I am committed to a meaningful career that serves myself, my family and my community.
Need outside support to help assess what you want in your next career? Let’s talk!