Many of my coaching clients are looking to improve something in their careers.
Some of them like their jobs and they just want to take it up a notch, some of them will tell my plainly at the first coaching session: “My job sucks; I want your help to get better at finding a better one, so I can get the hell out of there”.
My experience is that in the careers of many people, there is a big gap between the kind of job they want and the kind they have. Those big dreams they had somewhere in adolescence simply aren’t turning into reality.
If this is your case, I want to take the time and explain from my perspective why this is happening to you. In my communication coaching, I see certain causes manifest over and over gain. Here they are:
1. You Have No Clue What You Want
Unless you’re one lucky SOB, it’s practically impossible to have an extraordinary job if you don’t know what you want. When you don’t know what you want, you’re like a ship adrift being taken left and right be the wind of the moment. This is exactly what happens to numerous people.
I’m not going to say “try harder to figure out what you want”, that would be pretentious. I will say this though: “Try better!” Asking yourself “What do I want?” is usually not enough to get an unambiguous answer. Take a good personality test, get a 360 degrees feedback, ask yourself more specific questions or work with a coach.
2. You’re Head over Heals in Debt
Here’s a very ‘smart’ career move I repeatedly see people doing: You end up in a job where you earn a decent salary and immediately, you take a huge loan in order to buy a big house, a car, a second car, a huge fucking plasma TV and so on.
However, a few years later, once you get over the excitement of the money you’re making, you realize that you actually hate the job you’re in, it offers you no satisfaction it itself, and you want to change your professional field. The only problem is that you’re so far up in debt that you can’t afford the initial financial drop implied by a career change. Really smart Sherlock!
3. You Do Not Take Risks
Getting to a job you find truly fulfilling involves some bold moves. I’m talking about moves such as: quitting a job, asking for a raise, negotiating hard, saying no to a tempting offer, taking on new responsibilities, failing, exposing yourself to uncertainty or putting your foot in the door.
I find that most people are not willing to take the risks associated with these moves. They want to play it safe and make it big at the same time. Well, if this applies to you, I have some disappointing news: life doesn’t work that way. You need to take some risks if you want to get anywhere.
4. You Don’t Know How to Promote Yourself
This is something I keep saying ever since I started working as a communication coach: your professional skills are basically worth nothing if you don’t know how to sell yourself with high impact. It’s a skill required with your boss, your clients and potential future employers.
Promoting yourself is one of the critical people skills for career success. Many people discover this the hard way: by hitting a wall prematurely in their careers which prevents them from moving forward. The sooner you start consciously developing the people skill of promoting yourself, the better it will be for your career and your life.
Each one of these for reasons can be broken down into smaller ones. For example, some people have problems selling themselves at interviews, some at promoting themselves through networking. I’ll leave it to you to discover the nuances of your context.
I firmly believe that we now live in the best world we as human beings have ever lived. There are more opportunities than ever for you to have a prosperous and exciting career. It all starts with taking control of your own steering wheel.
Image courtesy of rashdanothman
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I have an observation regarding 2&3 it always comes down to money, and the problem in the jobmarket is that they offer no money for most of the jobs, at least in my field.
I was at a few interviews and the money offered is less than 50% of what i get now and it’s on long term, it’s not about a short initial income drop, it’s about long term. And comparing the market with 5 years ago , there are several companies that offer less for an experienced worker that were offering 5 years ago for a fresh student.
Regarding 3. you may afford determined period income drop, but only if you know that there is hope for bigger incomes on long term – well in the current situation there is none.
And regarding 2. what can you say about people who don’t own a house, a car not even a gadget, still they can’t afford the income drop because they have kids and a rent to pay.
It’s not just about spending more than you have, it’s more about not being payed at the value of your work. When the money you earn does not cover you basic needs (and even a home is a long term basic need) that means that the work is underpayed not the sheeple spending too much. 50 years ago from an average salary grandpa reaised two kids kept his wife at home, payed rent, gathered money and took a short term loan for buying an old house and building a new one in its place in 10 years. The fact that today this is not possible from an average salary in because either all goods including homes price is overestimated or because the sheeple is underpaid – which is a more plausible conclusion.
Ela, you’re making up excuses.
The fact that in one country, the salaries in a certain field are small doesn’t mean that it’s the same in every country. Work in another country is now more accessible than ever.
Also, you can sometimes find a professional filed that will be just fulfilling as the one you’re aiming for right now, but provides a much better pay range. Trust me: there is a way.
When I had a job, the trap for me was #1…I didn’t know what I wanted. Actually, I didn’t know what I wanted in a job because I didn’t really want a job. I wanted to make a living independently, but that involved a lot of risks. I didn’t suddenly get up the courage to follow my dreams, but I was lucky enough to get a push from the Universe. That push was unemployment. I was laid off work and put in a situation where I had no choice but to rethink my life. For that, I am grateful. No more sucky job!
Hey Nea,
Yup, that’s where it starts. Knowing what you want. I often encourage my clients to explore and experiment in order to find out what they like. It’s not like it’s gonna happen out of the blue.
That’s an interesting view on unemployment 🙂
I just been informed that my position has been eliminated. I’m so confused since I know, and my manager who eliminated my position, mention several times that I’m doing great job. – I am tired for looking and applying for job.