The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime which equates to about a third of our lives* so it’s important that we aim for job satisfaction from our careers.

At some point during your career, you may find that you suffer a ‘mid-career crisis’ where you feel stuck in a rut and find it hard to see a way out. In most cases, rather than a knee-jerk reaction such as a jump to another similar job which could be a quick, but potentially a temporary,fix, the problem requires some self-reflection, looking inward and working out what is actually making you feel this way in order to find a sustainable, long term solution.

Of course, this can be the tricky bit. Drilling down to establish the root cause of these feelings requires a raised level of self-awareness to identify your authentic self which many people find difficult and this is where career coaching can help.

How do I know if I am stuck in a career rut?

You might not be sure if you’re in a rut or perhaps just having a bad week which is making you feel uninspired at work. A recent Forbes article gives 10 clear signs that you ‘re stuck in a career rut and these can include:

·       feeling disengaged from your work

·       feeling that your career is not progressing or you are unappreciated

·       your family and friends start noticing how much you talk about hating your job and you start dreading going to work

·       You may find that your health could even be suffering through stress or anxiety

If you identify with several of these signs, it might be time to start reflecting on what you are looking for from your career and perhaps speaking to a career coach.

How will a career coach help me?

The best way to encourage self-reflection, is to ask the right questions and a good career coach won’t offer advice straight off the bat. Instead, they will ask compelling questions which will help you to realise what it is about your role or career path that makes you feel dissatisfied at work. From this, they can help you work out a way forward to improve your situation and reach greater fulfilment at work.

Questions which can help you start to think about how to get out of your career rut and start moving forward often include:

1. What are your life and work values? Are your life values in harmony with the values of your workplace?

2. When were you happiest in your work?

3. If you could do anything, what would that be?

4. What would make you feel empowered?

5. When was the last time you didn’t feel stuck?

6. What is your biggest challenge at the moment?

7. Where did you expect to be at this point?

You may find that you can begin to answer these questions for yourself which can be helpful. As part of this process you might opt to consider to get the help of an experienced career consultant to facilitate this process of review and self-reflection. By working together with your consultant, from the raw data of your responses new insights can emerge to guide you through paving a way forward.

If you’re feeling stuck or uninspired at work and think that some career coaching could be helpful, get in touch with Careers in Depth today and find out how we can help you get yourself back on the path to a satisfying future.

* GettysburgCollege Research 2007

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