Oh No, Feeling Stuck in Your Job in 2017?

• Sonya Buck
• January 13, 2017
• Newsletter Article

Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut and can’t leave your job? Find out tips for your new career search.

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You’re back at work and New Year celebrations seem like a lifetime ago.
 

Unfortunately, that feeling from last year may have returned and you feel like you are stuck in a rut, but unable to leave your job.
 

There could be many reasons why you feel you can’t leave including:

• Feeling trapped by our monetary commitments or just becoming accustomed to a certain lifestyle. You could consider a sea or tree change to lessen the financial burden and take on a job in a regional area, with the added benefit of improved lifestyle. Many country areas offer fantastic agricultural job opportunities and have great schools, not to mention the lower cost of housing.
   
• If you feel your skills are holding you back, you could enrol in part time study. To accelerate the process, you could might undertake an intensive course taken while on annual leave.
   
• Being in one job for a long time can sometimes be perceived negatively on our resume, but there are ways to overcome this. Ensure you list the different roles and skills acquired over the period of your employment and include any training courses you have undertaken. List the different roles separately, as if you were working for different employers.
   
• Sometimes you get so comfortable in the one role with the same team and employer you find it difficult to move on, as you feel you may move to a worse situation. Think about the best and worst case scenarios if you go to another company.
   

If you are happy in your type or work or industry, you can start the job search for something related. If you would like to leave, but are unsure what you want to do next, you’ll need to go through a little soul searching. What excites you? What are you good at? Talk to other people in that industry or role. What do you need to get there – additional study, volunteering or finding a mentor? Make sure if you are changing profession or industry there will be jobs in that field when you finish your study.
 

Tip: If you are feeling have just had enough and are very keen to leave, you’ll feel more confident if you secure your new role before quitting the last. For one thing, hanging in with your current employer takes away the urgency to get a new job, enabling you to be more selective when choosing your next role.
 

I have a friend who worked in the same job and company for many years believing she couldn’t do anything else. Once she left a dark cloud seemed to lift from her and she is now incredibly happy and so pleased she finally made the break.
 

The New Year offers the opportunity to start afresh and considering ‘where to from here’ now might give you the motivation to move jobs and get out of that rut.