Shine at Work®

69 | Is It Time To Find A New Job, Are You Just Having A Bad Day Or Hitting A Ceiling?

March 21, 2022 Season 4 Episode 69
Shine at Work®
69 | Is It Time To Find A New Job, Are You Just Having A Bad Day Or Hitting A Ceiling?
Show Notes Transcript

In this week's episode, we focus on when you know if you need to make a job change or not.  No job is perfect, we all know this, but is this a good time to reflect on why you are feeling this way.  There are a lot of different factors that can affect your engagement in your career.  There could be life things: you may have had a major life change, you need to be in a different city, you need to work remote, earn more money, etc.  It’s important to consider all of these things, but in this episode, we are going to focus on what in your career is impacting the rollercoaster of engagement.  Once you figure out the why, then you can figure out what can actually change.

In this episode, you will specifically learn:

  1. How to track your energy to see if you are just having a bad day or if this is affecting your engagement consistently.
  2. If there is a trend of frustration, disengagement and unhappiness, how to talk to your manager about it.
  3. How to identify if you have hit your ceiling in your current role (but like your company and team) and what next steps could look like.

Links mentioned:

Career Investigation Worksheet 

I’m Karen Weeks, the CEO & Chief Shine Officer (aka transformation coach) at KDW Coaching, the host of the Shine at Work podcast, award winning culture leader (currently leading the People team at Ordergroove), a speaker and published author. My purpose is to help career-oriented humans get unstuck so they can shine bright in business and in life.  And I know how that feels, I navigated a career from theatre & the arts to HR (with lots of twists and turns there) to expanding my career into coaching as well. I live in NYC with my husband and furry babies!

Connect with Me!

As always, please consider subscribing, leaving a rating and review and sharing this podcast and the whole series with others.  We do this podcast to help spread the word that everyone can get unstuck and find the thing that brings them joy in their careers.  If our guests can do it, you can too!  



Welcome to the Shine at Work Podcast! On this show, your co-hosts Karen and Dan will shine a light on your job search so you can land a role that lets you flex your strengths and progress your career in an environment you actually look forward to working in each day. From creating a stand-out resume, to confidently negotiating your salary, to finding your footing as a new manager, you can expect to hear actionable advice to help you shine your brightest in your role.

Karen D. Weeks is the CEO and Chief Career Coach of Shine at Work Coaching. She has over twenty years of HR experience, including as CPO at Ordergroove.

Dan Carr is a Shine at Work Career Coach with over a decade of recruiting experience helping high-growth startups expand with top talent.

Connect with Us!

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Hello my friends welcome to the shine at work podcast. I'm your host Karen weeks. As a transformation career coach and culture and people leader. My goal is to help career oriented humans get unstuck, so that they can shine brighter in business and in life. I believe that you deserve a career that lights you up. Because spoiler alert, it also impacts how bright you shine in your life. This season. Each week, we will focus on a key skill that you need to shine at work, and inspirational stories on ways to navigate your career. Because I know what it feels like when your light is dim. I made a career change from theater to HR, and now expanded to coaching. And at times in my life, I had to take a look deep inside to see what was most important, what made me shine bright, and make adjustments along the way. It's possible. I did it, my guest did it, and I help others do it every day. I hope you walk away from each episode not just inspired, but with some actionable advice. And I hope that you find it so valuable that you subscribe to the podcast, leave a review and tell your friends because we all deserve to shine bright in our lives, specifically at work. Okay, let's jump in into this week's episode. Before we start today's episode, let me ask you a question. How are those New Year's resolutions going? If you're like me, and lots of other people, I know by the way, you start the year off strong in January with a great plan to hit your goals. You hire the trainer, you sign up for the class, you start journaling, you get up early, you bookmark some job sites, all of the things that we think are going to take us to that place we want to be in the new year, then life starts to get in the way is slip a little you get distracted, you miss one week, then you really start to miss some of those goals and you don't see the impact you wanted. And your motivation drops and drops and drops, which is natural, you're not seeing the impact because you aren't taking the steps to get there. I've been there. I've been there this year. And like I said, we are not alone. According to a psychological study, 64% of people abandon their resolutions after just one month. Personally, I have not gotten on the peloton as much as I wanted to. It's not because I don't want to I love doing it. But something isn't clicking, I've got a blocker, and I can't figure out what that is. So I actually work with my own wellness coach to figure out what is blocking me from hitting that goal. So you can do the same, you can also be part of that 36% That actually hit their goals. And I can be that person to help you. I work with people one on one to help them get unstuck and shine bright in their career in life. My unstuck framework helps people specifically unshackle yourself from your current mindset, I let go of the past and remove labels. Nail your new career target, identify where you want to go next, slay your skills. In other words, identifying your transferable skills. Talk to everyone. This is just networking one on one stuff that will go through so that you feel more comfortable reaching out to people, then we're going to unlock your new brand. So how do we position yourself through your resume through LinkedIn through telling your story for the thing that you're trying to achieve? Then you're going to crush your interviews, which is just a bunch of prep practice, and working through what kind of questions you might get and how to talk through some of the gaps that you might have. So that you can kick butt in your career, you're going to land the gig and set yourself up for success. So do you want to get unstuck sound like something that you might need a little help with. That's why I'm here. And the amazing thing is that it's not just about your career, it's actually about living the life that you want to live that's right for you in this moment. That's what this is all about. That by working together, you'll gain the tools that you need the support, you need the confidence you need to identify the right career path, and land a new job to shine bright both at work and in life. So if all this sounds good, and you're sitting there going, oh my gosh, I don't want to be part of the two thirds that doesn't hit their goals so soon in their career. You can email me directly at Karen at Karen de weeks.com. Or use any of the links in the podcast to connect with me through my website, on my Instagram or through LinkedIn. Let's connect to help you achieve your goals this year and shine at work. Now onto our regularly scheduled programming. Hello, my friends. Welcome back or welcome for the first time to this week's episode. Today we're going to focus on when you know if it's time to make a job change or not. And the reason why I want to talk about this is because it's very possible that there is an ebb and flow of how you feel about your current job. We all feel it. No job is perfect. No company's perfect. No team is perfect. Our lives may be impacting how we're feeling about our current job. But sometimes that is just a good moment to reflect on is something going on with this particular job that I need to change but I want Stay at this company, I want to stay with this team and I just need to do a little adjustments, or is it really time to find a new job, and it's time to really make that change? So there's a couple of different reasons why you may be feeling this way. First of all, like I said, Life is hard life has changes, the last two years have shown us this. So there may be outside factors that are impacting how we feel about our job. For those of you who know my shine, bright image, we are in the middle of our lives, but there are many different rays of sunshine that affect how we feel, financial relationships, health, do we feel like we have a sense of purpose, all of those things can impact each other? And career is one of those things? So not diminishing, that something else might be going on in your life? But is there something else going on in your life that may be impacting how you feel about your career? And will that change when that life thing changes? Or is that life thing actually impacting how you feel about your career and what you need out of your career, it could be you're just going through a really stressful time. And it's impacting just how you feel overall, which is, of course, affecting your engagement in your career. So you know, you'll work past it, and you'll sort of get on the other side, it could be that you've had a major life change. And it's actually totally changed how you think about what's important in your job, you might need more flexibility, you might be needing to earn more money, you might need to be in a different city, or you want to be virtual. So all of that might be also what's happening. So there are a lot of different things that could be impacting your engagement in your career. But assuming it's not life, things because that has a whole other thing, a whole other realm of things that could be happening, which I just sort of touched upon, and of course, is important to consider. But today, we're going to focus on when there, it's just within your career. So a couple of different scenarios we're going to go through are are you just having a bad day or a bad week? Or is this now a trend of frustration, disengagement unhappiness that needs to be considered? Maybe you've just sort of hit your ceiling in your current role, but you like your company in the team, but you just don't feel challenged or that you're learning as much as you wanted to? Or you're not sure what's next for you. Maybe you have sort of that seven year itch, or let's be honest, these days is probably more like two to three year itch. But maybe you have just kind of felt a little stagnant lately, and you're not feeling as innovative. If you're not feeling that you're making as much of an impact as you used to. You're just sort of like, is the grass greener somewhere else? Is there something else out there for me? And all of that leads to what needs to be different to consider staying, or can anything be different, and maybe it's time to go? My friend Lauren, who we talked to you later, the season again, calls this the love it are listed of jobs. So let's kind of dive into this a little bit more. One thing I often ask people who are feeling frustrated in their role is to track their energy over a few weeks to see the ebbs and flows of what's happening in those moments. If you find yourself unhappy, disengaged, frustrated, whatever sort of negative emotion you're feeling, let's say 75% of the time, it's time to make a change, or those of you who watch 30 Rock, to quote my mentor, Liz Lemon, that's a deal breaker. If you are unhappy that much of the time, there's something foundationally wrong in what your current job is for you. So you need to think about making a change. But if it's less than that, there's hope. And maybe you just need to talk to your manager about the scope of your role, or the projects that you're working on. And what can be changed to help in with that it's really important to focus on what was happening when you felt that way. What was the driving reason for the disengagement, the frustration, etc. I've had times in my career where I've loved the company, but I didn't like the work, or I tried something new. And it actually was not a good fit for me at all. It didn't fit my skill set. It didn't fit what I was trying to do with my career, or different times in my career, I felt like different tasks ate up so much of my time that I couldn't get to the things where I felt like I was having the most impact or using my strengths and skills the best way. It could also be quite honestly, that there are people in your organization that you struggle to work with. And that impacts how you feel about your work. So the reason why it's so important to figure out why you're feeling this way is because then you need to figure out what could actually change. So you need to first identify, is this something that's ongoing? Or did you really just have a bad day or a bad week? And then on the flip side, what was causing you to feel that way when you were feeling that way? Because even if you say you know something, it is more than 75% of the time I need to make a change. You need to know what needs to be different so that you don't find yourself in the same situation. Or if it is less than 75% of the time and you want to try to make it work with your current company. You need to be able to talk through what was driving those emotions so that you can work with your manager to try to ask actually affect change. Okay, so that's sort of the negative emotional side of things where you're feeling, disengaged, frustrated, all of the things, maybe you've just been in your role at your company for a while, and you feel like you're on a loop, the hamster wheel that I used to refer to in this podcast, maybe you feel like you've hit a ceiling, both for your career or for your learning. You know, you used to feel like every project was a challenge and something new. And now you feel like, Yep, I've done this before. I've seen this before, I know how this movie plays out, maybe you're not sure what other opportunities are available for you. While I tend to refer to promotion, it could be that you want to expand your role or move into a different team, and you just don't see that possibility, or you don't understand what that possibility is. Or maybe you just carry a lot of history with you. And you can't see all the new possibilities in front of you. We tried that it didn't work. Oh, that doesn't work out here. Because we can never get it to figure it out. Whatever that baggage is that you carry with you, which by the way is totally normal. None of this is judgmental. All of this is what people feel when they've been places for a while, as we were talking earlier about your career growth, if it is more focused about learning and growth? Are there new roles or products that you can take on that maybe you don't even know about? Or haven't thought about yet? Because you're so sort of in the cycle of your day to day role? Taking a step back even further? What is your definition of development at this moment in your career? Is it a promotion? Do you want to learn something new? Do you want to expand what you do in the company? You know, if you're a data analyst, instead of just churning out reports, do you actually want to think about the story they're telling and make recommendations and then maybe even try to implement some of those recommendations? Can you get new experiences in your current role? For example, if you want to be a leader, or you want to be a people manager, how can you start mentoring people, maybe you can train people that as they come on board, even if there's not a step to being a people manager. All of that has to be said maybe if you've been in your company for a while, you just need to take a breath and look at something with a fresh lens. Some companies even offer sabbaticals or paid time off outside of vacation time to give you a chance to refresh. You know, when you're at a company for a while, it's kind of like a relationship, right? Like you're past the honeymoon stage. And you want to stay committed, but you need to sort of take a breath and take some time apart, take a little bit of a break so that you can come back more engaged and more excited. So no matter why you're feeling this way, whether you are at a breaking point of disengagement and frustration, because it is more times than not that you feel that way. Whether it's because there's something going on in your life, and you are your work is impacted by the outside forces of your life. Whether that is because you feel like you've hit a ceiling, and you're trying to figure out what your next step could look like. Because you just feel it's kind of stale in your role. Or it's because you've been there for a while, and you are sort of feeling like you're on the hamster wheel or Groundhog Day. And you're not sure how you can refresh and reinvigorate what you do. I really encourage you to talk to your manager about any of the reasons you're feeling this way. And when you talk to them, bring a couple of possible solutions to the table. Don't just complain. That's when managers get frustrated when they feel like someone is coming to them. And they're just complaining. Now I realize you may not have any ideas, if you had ideas, you would be trying to think through those actual ideas, but admit that you want to work with them on this situation, so that you can come up with ways to work around this. So it's okay to say, Hey, I just feel like I'm not having the impact I was hoping to have or I feel like I always get stuck in this part of my job. And I never get to this other stuff. In my work. I realized that work has to be done. But I wanted to see if we could brainstorm on ways to help change that balance. So I'm able to do more work in the field that I'm interested in versus not just the admin tasks that I know I have to do. But how can we maybe carve out a little more space for some of the other work, that kind of conversation will lead to a better outcome? I don't have the answers. But I'm talking about in a way that solution oriented, I'm being honest that I'm feeling stuck, that I'm feeling disengaged, that I'm not feeling as impactful as I want to feel, but I want it to be different, but I need help. By the way, that's assuming you want to work it out. And that's a really important caveat. If you don't, and you think it's time to move on, that's okay, too. I'm a big believer that it's healthy for people to move on from a company when it makes sense. My whole HR career, I have talked to people and said, I want you to be here for as long as possible. And as long as it makes sense for you and you're excited and we're excited. If we've come to the end of that journey. That's okay, let's just talk about it. Because the last thing you want to do is stay longer than you should and you get negative or you hurt your relationships or your personal brand, with a company with a team that you've worked so hard to build and you have such strong history with. I always say as an HR person, I would much rather help you through a transition than either a you just opinion Quit one day and give me two weeks notice I had no idea was coming, or be you hang on too long. And I actually am having other conversations with you because you've got negative your performances Dept, none of us want that situation. So be honest with yourself, and then figure out how in why and when. And if it makes sense, to be honest with your manager, I get it. Sometimes that's tricky based on your company, based on your culture, based on the relationship you have with your manager. Maybe you could talk to someone in HR first, whatever it is good to share from my own experience and the companies I've worked with, that I've helped several people unhealthier transitions out of an organization, because their goals no longer match what the company could offer. And that's okay. And by them staying positive, professional, and open about what's important to them, to try to come to a solution if it makes sense. And if not being supportive of your team while working on that transition. That's all I can ask for as an HR person. And that's all a company can ask for. And it'll be healthier for you as you take that next step to be walking away from the company with that kind of mental attitude. Again, I realize that's not easy, but it is when possible, the best way to handle that. So hopefully, all of these tips can help you decide if it's really time to make a change to something new. Or if you just need to reengage at your current company. As always, I have worksheets for this. This specific worksheet helps people identify their satisfaction level with the different parts of their job, what they like what needs to change to help you identify if it's time to find a new job, or if you can give this one a facelift and get reengaged. And I've worked with several people who are trying to make this decision in their careers. Should I stay? Or should I go? And by the way, now you have that song in your head, you're welcome. I also help them think about what needs to be different if they do stay? Or what do they need to look for in a new job? And how to talk to their managers about this. We talk about it more at a high level first, what are some of your career goals? And how are you not achieving those in your current role? Like I said earlier, how often are you feeling negative and disengaged? What would need to change in order to change that attitude towards your current job team, company manager, etc? And then what does that path forward look like? There's lots of people I work with that day. And they just need help figuring out what's going to happen next, how to talk to people about this, what's important to them. So yes, I work with a lot of career changers, of course, and this podcast often is about career changers. But I really want you to also hear about the reengagement and where you work today. And I can help you with all of it and help you figure out what is the right next step for you. Because no matter your answer, it's important to do the work and reflect on what is right for you. Because you my friends deserve to love what you do. Have it meet your goals, and have you feel great about the work that you're doing so that you can shine your brightest both at work and in life. Thank you so much for listening to the shine at work podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Leaving a review takes just a few minutes and truly helps other people find the podcast. If you want to learn more about how I work with people to help transform their careers, and shine brightly in their lives. Let's connect. I work with amazing humans one on one to help them make a career change, go for that promotion, set career goals and build a plan for success for a new job. I also lead group programs for new managers that are navigating this huge change in their careers and entrepreneurs who are building their teams for the first time. If any of that sounds like it could be helpful for you. You can email me directly at Karen@karendweeks.com or message me through Instagram LinkedIn or my website. I just want to give a final shout out as always to astronaut go home for our music and NAVA studios for making the podcast come to life. Until next time, remember that you can and deserve to shine at work