Call it what you will…
A career treadmill, a hamster wheel, a rut, a daily chore…
If you are stuck in a career that is bringing you few rewards, you shouldn’t go through the motions of drudgery and displeasure forever. Life is too short, after all.
Life is supposed to be lived, enjoyed, and embraced for all that it can give you. And this extends to the job you do every day. If you feel as if your job is slowly killing you (hopefully not in the literal sense), then you need to take action.
It can begin with a quick Google search. Thinking about your interests and passions in life, search for those careers that match your life’s pleasures. Google search jobs that are befitting of your personality too, and perhaps take a test that will give you an idea of the roles you will be well suited to.
Consider going back to school. You might be glad that the days of academia are far behind you, but continuing your education might be something you consider to break out of your career rut. It might be something as simple as the occasional day course, as you might be able to take new steps in your career if these will earn you a promotion. Or you might need to take an advanced learning course, perhaps to move higher within your career, or to move into that career path that you may have discovered after researching online. Just take a look at some of the jobs you could achieve with an MBA at the University of Maryland, for example.
Build your core of transferable skills. The greater your resume, the greater your chances of moving into a better job. So, while you’re in your current job role, focus on building those skills that could be transferred into a new career. We are thinking of communication, IT, and team building, as just a few of the transferable job skills that you might want to concentrate on when looking for training and experiential opportunities at work. When you have developed in such key areas, you might find it easier to find a better job when you’re negotiating a path away from your current position.
Reach out to others. Do you have any friends or family members in job roles that you are interested in? If so, ask them for advice, and perhaps ask them to open a few doors for you into the companies they work for. You should also knock on a few doors yourself, perhaps by introducing yourself to potential future employers when you know the kind of company you want to work for. A little bit of enthusiasm and proactivity can’t harm your chances. So, don’t be a wallflower. Find those people who could help you progress to a new role, and speak to them.
Find The Inspiration To Move Forward
It’s also important that you are looking for the inspiration that you need to move forward with your career. Some people are stuck on the career treadmill because they simply don’t feel like putting in any real effort to do anything about this. Instead of allowing this to happen, we recommend that you find an inspirational figure in the field that you are interested in such as Caitlin Brodie so that you can use this as a way to motivate yourself to do more. Sometimes all it takes is a goal to get us moving!
Sure, you might have to start again on the career ladder when redirecting your life, but if you have a fulfilling career ahead of you, this might be a small price to pay for happiness. So, don’t stay on that treadmill forever. Stop spinning around on the hamster wheel. Do something rather than nothing, as you might one day have a career that brings more value to your life.
