So, Your Job Sucks: Time to Change Careers?

This is a tough decision for anyone, and you may have been thinking about it for a while.

The answer is, maybe. But before you decide if it’s time to change careers or even just time to quit your job, let’s run through a quick checklist. Are any of these happening to you?

• Your job frequently and predictably turns you into a giant stress ball.
• Outside of work, you’re a fairly well-adjusted, happy person – but at work, you’re worried, your confidence is shot, your anxiety is through the roof… sometimes it feels like you become a completely different person there, and not in a good way.
• You’re tired all the time. It feels like you can’t even enjoy your downtime anymore, because all you want to do is just, well, nothing, due to sheer exhaustion.
• Every time you try for a promotion, or a raise, or even try to move to a different part of the company or get a different role – you’re turned down or told to wait. This has been going on for so long, you’re starting to suspect that this may be a dead-end situation.
• You find yourself daydreaming about various ways that you would quit your job, and how incredible it would feel if you didn’t have to work there anymore.

If you have any of these symptoms, I have some bad news. This tends to get worse over time rather than better. And instead of re-adjusting to a new (worse) normal, we tend to eventually protect ourselves and leave the terrible work situation. It’s better to plan for that in advance rather than reach your breaking point without a plan for changing careers.

I speak from experience, having done precisely that in the past.

Don’t repeat my mistakes. Be ready for the moment when it’s time to change careers:

1. Keep an eye on your own values and your employer’s values to make sure they’re aligned (if they aren’t, it will cause you pain)
2. If you’re too stressed or overwhelmed to think about what else you might do besides your current job, take some time off to recharge and think about it. If your mind isn’t clear, you won’t be able to get yourself out of this situation and into a better one.
3. Be sure to keep considering what you really want long-term, because someday is always happening right now.

Rachel Gaddis

I’m a career transition coach who focuses on helping ADHD women over 40, particularly women who’ve been recently diagnosed. As a career transition coach who was diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD at age 44, I understand the profound impact such a diagnosis can have on one’s professional and personal life. Using co-active coaching methodology, I help my clients align their professional paths with their core values and innate strengths. My approach is profoundly influenced by my personal experiences – including a late ADHD diagnosis, overcoming breast cancer, embracing my 50s, and executing a major career shift.