Top 17 Signs You're Due for a Career Change (And What to Do About It!)

Congratulations! You are taking the first step toward a happier work life. Apparently, the words "career change" resonate with you, or you wouldn't be reading this report. Look around your work space. Are you comfortable? What's missing? Take a minute to see how many of these 17 signs hang on your personal career credenza. Do you want to let them continue to hang there, or are you ready to update them with cheerier scenes of how you can work your passion to get the most from your work life? Circle each sign that applies to YOU. Be honest with yourself: 1) You feel tired when you get out of bed in the morning just anticipating the day ahead. 2) You get more and frequent headaches, stomach problems or other recurring physical ailments. 3) You steal time at work to surf Internet job boards dreaming about - what if? 4) You gossip about the young guy in the office who got the promotion you believed should have been yours. 5) You notice that your team doesn't listen to you as much as they used to. 6) You feel eyes watching you behind your back and hear words being said to your face that don't make any sense. 7) You see layoffs hit with no stopping in sight and fear that you'll be next. 8) You can't resist boss bashing with your fellow workers and then wonder later if what you said will get back to the wrong people - maybe even your boss. 9) You have a short-timer's calendar on your desk where you cross off each day that gets you closer to vacation or retirement. 10) You feel trapped like you're caught up in a snowball rolling down the hill with no way to stop it. 11) You really don't like your job anymore, but don't know how else to earn a living. 12) You envy your best friend who smiles a lot and talks about her career with excitement in her voice. 13) You escape to television watching or Internet surfing or video games on the weekend instead of doing fun things with your family and friends. 14) You think about revising your resume but don't want to take the time to do it or invest in a professional resume writer to do it for you. 15) You are eating more, exercising less, and cry a lot or punch holes in walls. 16) You feel lost, confused and don't know how to dig out of the hole you're in. 17) You run up credit card debt rationalizing you just need something new in your life to make you feel better or you buy a new car you really can't afford. What to Do About It How many signs did you circle? More than half? What are you tolerating to keep you from a fulfilling career? What do you need to do to embrace change? Are you ready to: 1) Face ownership of the problem? It's easy to get caught up in the blame game. However, everyone does have choices. They may not always be fun choices, but they are still choices. If work isn't what you want it to be, how can you make it so? It really boils down to two options: Learn to live with what you already have or figure out how to change. By choosing status quo, are you sacrificing opportunities that you will regret later? Or are you choosing to become passive and let changes happen to you that you don't want (like termination) because it's simpler than proactively moving forward on your own? 2) Make small behavior changes? Human nature tends to resist change. If you want to make changes, but not sure how to start, begin making small changes to get used to what the change process is all about. Little things like starting to walk 30 minutes per day or reducing daily television watching hours can help you reach mini-achievements to get you comfortable in adapting to change. Choosing to change can create excitement and hope. Making responsible changes can become empowering! 3) Decide what's most important? What are your critical work values? Are they present in your company's culture, or you do feel like you're a traitor to your authentic self? Only when your values are reflected in the environment in which you work can you expect your best work to be accomplished. What motivates you to work? Working alone or working as part of a team? Short-range assignments or long-term projects? How important are recognition, spirituality, or a child-friendly workplace to your desire to perform? Do you work for money or benefits or because it makes you feel good to contribute? Understand yourself; it will become clear what the ideal work is for you. 4) Create a plan and work it? Whatever you decide to do to manage your career change, results happen when you develop an action plan. The more specific your plan, the better it is. Write it down. Record your benchmarks. Track your progress. Reward yourself for any achievement no matter how small. What kind of rewards? Let's say you are conducting a job search by cold calling companies. (Not much fun, huh?) As a reward for making 10 consecutive calls, you might grab a cup of coffee and sit on the deck for 15 minutes enjoying the squirrels in the backyard, or take the dog for a 15-minute walk around the block. Then you should feel refreshed to resume your calls. 5) Get support? Look around your city for job clubs organized and run by churches or community centers for persons who are unemployed. These groups meet to discuss job search topics, share job leads and support each other in their individual job searches. Although a great support network, one should not rely solely on this, as networking in the "working" world is critical to attaining your next position. Hiring a qualified career coach or counselor can help you stay on track with your goals. A trained professional protects your interests and challenges you to do your best. Relying on family and friends is not always prudent for this purpose as they usually have their own agendas that influence their advice to you. A coach can point you in the right direction for information, resources and new ideas. Make friends with change and watch career opportunities begin to happen!