Why there is a career crisis and how to overcome it
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
Understand the causes of the problem, and then it will be much easier to solve it.
Surely everyone at least once asked himself the question: “Is this what I do?” Someone thinks about it not seriously - only when fatigue rolls over. And someone goes headlong into this problem and becomes more and more convinced that his work is not at all what he really wants.
And in this case, it is extremely important not to dig into your thoughts, but to look for a way out of the situation. Otherwise, this will inevitably lead to professional or emotional burnout, from which it will be difficult to get out without the help of a specialist.
What causes a career crisis
Before solving the problem, you need to find out why the work has ceased to be fun. The reasons may be different - we have collected the most frequent of them.
Unmet expectations
Employers often promise applicants are golden mountains, but in practice these promises can be greatly exaggerated. And if at first the employee is ready to adapt to the proposed conditions, after a while, discontent will still come out.
Moreover, this may concern both the choice of the employer and the profession as a whole. At first, the lesson seems interesting, and then suddenly the understanding comes that there is no more desire to do this. And the reason often lies in the fact that our expectations did not coincide with the real state of affairs.
Lack of development
Stagnation in a career often leads to the fact that we cease to receive satisfaction from work. According to the data research, 25% of employees are ready to quit due to lack of career prospects and 20% due to lack of professional growth.
If there is no goal, then there is no incentive to do something. Therefore, the transformation of work into habitual routine without prerequisites for development is the right path to a career crisis.
Crises associated with psychological cycles
Our perception of the world is closely connected with psychological processes, which often do not depend on us. For example, there is a well-known midlife crisis, which can also affect the attitude to work.
But there are other cycles that are directly related to our professional activities. So, after 2-3 years of work in one place, the so-called crisis of the third year occurs.
The effect of the completed task is to blame for everything: it seems that everything planned is clear, the processes are established and everything goes on as usual. And this is a very dangerous condition that can turn even your favorite work into a routine.
Attention is increasingly switched to external factors that are not directly related to professional activities. For example, a person may begin to worry too much about how he is treated management and colleagues. As a result, focusing on negative details can lead to a loss of interest in work and even push to leaving for another company, in which the employee, as it seems to him, will be more appreciated and offered the best conditions.
But in a new place, things may not be so rosy.
Changing personal values
The desire to find a new job can be a logical consequence of changing your interests, priorities and values. After all, we all become different over time. And not everyone is lucky enough to choose a single field of activity and enjoy working in it all their lives.
According to one research, 40% of Russians do not work in the specialty they received at the university, and this is not surprising. For example, upon admission to university It may seem that the profession of an accountant is ideal for you. After training, you will find a place and, perhaps, everything will suit you for the first few years.
But during this time, you can change and find new interests - for example, become more active, want to do more creative work. And in the end, decide on a radical change in profession.
This is absolutely normal. Do not be afraid of such changes and worry about the wrong choice when entering a university. Only real practice will help to make the final decision.
global changes
The last few years have taught us to quickly change and adapt to new realities. Someone had to change jobs in the office to remote work, someone was forced to look for a new place due to the company leaving the market. And it is impossible to prepare for such force majeure circumstances in advance.
If your career crisis is related to external events that you cannot influence, then the exit may to be only one - to make new plans, which, among other things, may include a job change and even professions.
How to overcome a career crisis
If you have identified the reason that led you to think about changing jobs, it's time to start solving the problem. And far from always we are talking about some kind of global changes - sometimes small, but precisely adjusted steps are enough.
Prepare for potential change
Try to switch your negative emotions into a constructive channel. Think not about what you don't like, but about what you would like.
Make a list of specific desires - list all the important points in it. For example, level salaries, a list of desired tasks, and so on. It will make it much easier to find a solution with it.
Accept the situation and set yourself up for decisive action. You must realize the need for change: without it, it will be difficult to take concrete steps.
Analyze the situation and make a decision
Answer (preferably in writing) a few questions about your work, this will help determine:
- What do you like about your current job.
- What does not like and causes inconvenience.
- How to multiply what you like.
- How to change what you don't like.
Analyze your answers and compare them with the wish list you made earlier. It may well be that you only need to take a few steps to get the job you hated to enjoy again. If the matter is the lack of development, you need to learn new things, not be afraid to take risks and try yourself in different directions.
Development is not only moving up the career ladder, but also professional growth. Therefore, even if you have reached ceiling in a career, you can find opportunities to conquer new heights.
For example, without even changing jobs, you can start a new project in the same company or engage in mentoring. This will help get rid of the feeling of stagnation and look at the usual area of \u200b\u200bactivity from a new angle.
Get support
If in the end you still decide that global changes are inevitable, then be sure to enlist the support of family, friends or even colleagues. The fact is that it is sometimes difficult to decide on a serious step alone.
Discuss the situation with loved ones, talk about your views and listen to what they think about it. At the same time, do not ignore the arguments against: they are also useful, as they help to identify risks and think through the solution of possible problems in advance.
If you still decide to do without global changes, it will still be useful to share your ideas with loved ones. Public voicing of intentions is good in itself motivator.
Make a clear plan
To get started, it's important to make a list of goals and a detailed plan to achieve them. Ideally, everything should look the same as in a quality time management system: a plan for the day, week, month, quarter and year.
And the more you describe these points, the easier it will be to start implementing them. After all, vaguely formulated tasks, as a rule, we prefer to postpone for later.
Self-development should be an important part of your plan. Get new professional skills, explore market trends, increase your personal efficiency - all this will help you achieve serious success on the path to change and give you confidence in your forces.
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Text worked on: author Anastasia Borovskaya, editor Natalya Murakhtanova, proofreader Elena Gritsun