Think back to your sixteen-year-old self. You’re impressionable, naïve, unsure of exactly who you are and have years of growth and change ahead of you. Looking back at yourself at this tender age, it’s clear how much life experience, personal knowledge and self-awareness you have gained since then. At sixteen, most of us have no idea what drives us and fulfils us and are probably still developing our values, interests and skills. Yet, at this young age, we need to begin making decisions about our careers that will affect the rest of our lives.

At sixteen we start choosing subjects at school that will help lead us into the tertiary studies and eventually into the career paths we decide on. With little self-awareness and a range of external influences, many young people choose careers for the wrong reasons.

After choosing our career path so early on in life, it seems almost inevitable that some of us would need to change career paths once we have gained a better sense of self.

One of the most crucial factors in career fulfilment is authenticity. In order to be happy and satisfied in your career, to feel confident in your work and achieve success, you need to have authenticity in the workplace. If your authentic self no longer aligns with the career you chose years ago, it’s most likely time to think about a career change.

If you can relate to any of the above and if the thought of changing careers has already crossed your mind, this may already be enough of a sign for changing direction. However, if you aren’t sure it’s the right time or best thing to do, here are three sure-fire signs to look out for that indicate it’s time for a career change.

1.     You feel uninspired and unmotivated at work

Experiencing an ongoing lack of inspiration and motivation at work is a tell-tale indication of unhappiness in a career. It’s an obvious sign that you have little desire to be doing what you are doing and that your daily responsibilities are not bringing you any fulfilment. In this situation, you might be experiencing some of the following challenges:

-      Procrastination on daily tasks and work responsibilities

-      Feeling like you don’t have the energy to carry out what is expected of you

-      Resistance towards work, even when there are new projects or challenges introduced

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2.    You’re bored and feel a general sense of dissatisfaction

Even if you’re incredibly good at what you do, if you’re in the wrong career you may find your work extremely boring and unsatisfying. Throughout our lives, work takes up an immense amount of our time – spending this amount of time feeling bored or dissatisfied will lead to a very unhappy life. 

If you’re feeling bored and dissatisfied, you may be experiencing some of the following:

-      Dreading Monday mornings and difficulty getting yourself to work every day

-      Mediocre performance and an apathetic attitude towards your responsibilities

-      Difficulty concentrating and completing work in reasonable time

3.    Your values, interests and skills no longer align with your work

There are many possible reasons that you may find yourself in this situation. Perhaps you have grown and changed over the years or maybe you chose your career for the wrong reasons. Regardless of the reason, if you find yourself in this scenario, you are likely to be very unhappy at work. Your values, interests and passions are what drive you and energise you and it’s important to be aware of it and incorporate it into your career. If your career isn’t in line with your values and passions, you might be facing some of the following issues:

-      You feel poorly about the work you do and don’t take pride in it

-      You are jealous of friend’s and other people’s careers

-      You daydream of doing other things and imagine yourself doing something else

If you’ve noticed any of the above signs, it’s probably time to think seriously about making a career change. It’s never too late to change direction and the challenges associated with it are often a lot more easily overcome than you imagine.

Our experienced career consultants can help you figure out if a career change is the right move for you and assist you on the journey towards your new path. We believe everyone deserves the right to a meaningful career. We'd love to work with you to help you fulfil your true potential. Get in touch and let’s chat about your current situation.