Circumstances: Recognizing the Signs You Need a Career Change
How do you know that you may be ready for a career break? Pamela Skillings, a successful entrepreneur, certified career coach, and the author of Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams
1. What gets people down about working in Corporate America?
Most of us have similar gripes about bad corporate jobs—including long hours, unfair treatment, political B.S., bureaucracy, and lack of flexibility. If you feel burned out because of heavy workloads and unrelenting demands, if you’re sick of feeling like a cog in a machine and yearn to do work that is more meaningful, you’re not alone.
In today's economic environment, corporate employees are more stressed out than ever before. Many have been overburdened with the work of their laid-off colleagues and are living in fear of the next round of cutbacks.
In other cases, people are simply in the wrong jobs—their careers kind of just happened to them like mine did for so long. And then there are those who basically like their corporate jobs, but feel like something is missing. They have some dream that they have been denying because they’re afraid it’s not realistic or they don’t know where to start.
2. What are the signs that it is time to escape?
Well, I spoke with one corporate escapee who made her decision after a senior manager threw a Lucite paperweight at her head. That’s a pretty good sign.
But for most of us, it’s a process. You have to diagnose what it is that’s making you unhappy. Are you just having a horrible week? Is there something you can do to make your current job more satisfying—like take on a new project, talk to your manager about flex time, or make more time for volunteering on weekends? Or do you really need to make a dramatic change for the sake of your mental health?
3. How can people get over the fears about leaving a job, even though they are unhappy in it?
Fear is a natural reaction when contemplating a major life change. It's a classic case of facing the fear and doing it anyway -- for the sake of your sanity. I’m not suggesting that anybody quit their job without doing some prep work to ease the financial transition. But if you’re truly unhappy, there is no better time than now to start thinking about an escape plan and doing some ground work.
If you are anxious about getting laid off, a recession may actually be the BEST time to get serious about your Career Plan B. If your company gives you an escape package (in other words, lays you off), you want to be ready to hit the ground running.
You can do most of your preparation while you’re still collecting a salary. Then, when the time is right and your safety net is in place, you can make your leap. Many of the people that I have interviewed and coached found their new careers after getting laid off during the last economic downturn. If they could succeed on their own with no preparation, imagine what you can do with a little bit of planning.
For more information on Pamela Skillings, visit her website Escape from Corporate America, where you can also read about Sherry Ott's "Daring Tales of Corporate Escape".
And read what Pamela has to say about the Benefits of Taking a Break Before Changing Jobs.
2 Responses to “Circumstances: Recognizing the Signs You Need a Career Change”
Other comments
9 Comments on "A Year in Paris"-
Leah on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:12 am
I really enjoyed reading your post. I am thirty-two soon and have itchy feet that are ready to try out foreign soils.
It is a fear of leaving the security of the day to day grind of paying the bills and living a safe and non-challenging way of life that has put me on hold for some time.
I hope (as it has I) your post will inspire others to go and follow their bliss – Leah 🙂 -
Patricia GW on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:54 am
Travel and experiencing a new culture really has put it into perspective, and filled that void with purpose (and joy).
In three weeks I’ll be moving to Paris myself for one month. I have the same feeling – the incredible surreal realization that I’m going to be living there…. it’s thrilling!!
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Abby on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 2:11 pm
Oh, Jenny! Escargot isn’t palatable — it’s delicious! I love your writing style; it’s so fun and energetic. Can you believe how far we’ve come? Everyone, Jenny and I were in the exact same industry and have known each other online and via work emails for years and years. But we’ve only met once, many, many years ago. And one of those jobs she was sleeping next to her BlackBerry for was one I’d just left. And now she’s 33 and living abroad, just like I was last year. Kindred spirits. Jenny, you’re a true inspiration — I can’t wait to see how your adventure unfolds!
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Debbie Beardsley on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 3:22 pm
Your life in Paris sounds ideal. It is nice to read about people who follow their dreams instead of wishing they had! Enjoy the rest of your journey.
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Terriaw on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 1:40 pm
Wow, fabulous and well said! I love your new outlook on like. After experiencing career burnout and feeling a little lost and purposeless lately, you have encouraged me. I look forward to seeing Paris someday!
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Jenny on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 6:50 pm
merci for all the sweet comments! @abby we are soooo kindred spirits! well except when it comes to our differing feelings on escargot…;) and congrats patricia on the move! thrilling indeed!
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shawna on Thu, 9th Jun 2011 1:32 am
you’ve reawakened my travel bug. must. return. to. france. (someday.) eat a croissant for me!
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Weekly Travel Blog Links — LandingStanding on Mon, 13th Jun 2011 6:16 am
[…] how badly I want to go to Paris… If only we could afford living there for an extended period of time during our travels! Any […]
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G. Michael Schneider on Sun, 19th Jun 2011 3:36 pm
I am a firm believer in living and working overseas, just as you described. However, many of us actually like our jobs and our homes and are simply looking to renew and refresh our lives, not change it. However, you can have the same type of cultural experience without having to reach into your own wallet and without having to quit your day job–by taking what I call a “working vacation.” My wife and I have done this 15 separate times, from Australia to Zimbabwe, Turket to Tibet, Mauritius to Mongolia. I describe how to do it in my blog otherguysdime.wordpress.com and via Twitter at @otherguysdime. Learn how to have fun without having to have burn any of your bridges behind you.
2009-11-24 15:23
No savings...boss is ignoring me...feel inadequate...dread coming in to the office...need a change...fearful...help!!!
2009-11-29 22:15
Hi Tania,
Sounds like you are in a frustrating situation. Try to remember that change IS possible even if it may take some time and planning. Don't let your boss make you feel inadequate or hopeless. Think about what steps you can take to start working toward the change that you want (whether that's a sabbatical, a career or job change, or a re-energizing vacation).