Stuck does not necessarily mean you need to move to a new job. You may need more learning, clarity on how you can progress, a different workload or a place where your contribution is valued. The first step is to identify what is missing before choosing a solution.
A good career decision combines your priorities with information about the available choices. This process will help you transition from being generally unhappy to a small number of practical tests without assuming that you can leave your income or responsibilities behind.
Identify what ‘stuck’ means to you
Select which best describes your situation: I am not learning; I do not have a role that fits my skills; I do not have a role that is consistent with my values; I do not have a role that can be sustained; I do not have clarity around progression; or I do not know what I want. There may be more than one of these.
If the problem was resolved what would be different? Would I have more time to engage in analysis? Would I have more decision authority? Would I have more predictable hours? The specifics can assist in evaluating a choice beyond the title of the role.
Describe a typical work week
Over a week identify the primary activities in your role and the energy they require. Note whether you would like to have more or less of these activities. Also note the conditions. For example, the same task may feel enjoyable with a clearly defined objective and frustrating when objectives keep shifting.
Focus on trends rather than treating one bad day as the whole picture. You might enjoy the content and dislike the role, or enjoy the role but need a different team environment. Keep your personal notes free of confidential employer or customer information.
Identify strengths through specific examples
Identify three times when you have created a valuable outcome. Describe specifically what you did. It might be that you managed an ambiguous task, explained a complex piece of information or identified a risk early. Identify both the skill and the evidence of the skill.
Ask a colleague that you trust, ‘When have you seen me at my most effective?’ Use this as another view but do not use it as a final conclusion. You can transfer skills across industries but you will need to explain them in a way that a potential employer can understand.
Prioritise and identify constraints
List three priorities that are most important to you in the next step. These might include income stability, meaningful work, learning, flexibility, management experience or location. Next list any constraints you have. These might include time, qualifications, savings or caring responsibilities.
Constraints are part of a career decision but they do not indicate lack of ambition. A transition that allows you to continue earning money while you learn may be a better option than an immediate move. Consider what is important now and what might be possible in the future.
Create a short list of options
Include an option within the current role, an option within the current organisation and an option outside of the current organisation. Within your current role you may take ownership of a small project that involves an underutilised skill. Within the current organisation there may be a role that provides greater clarity around learning. Outside of the current organisation there might be a related role in a different sector.
Avoid comparing the current role that you know well with an imagined new role that features only its best aspects. Include the routine activities, entry requirements and trade-offs for each of the options.
Replace guesswork with small experiments
For each possible option, identify the least expensive yet useful way to gain information. This may involve speaking to someone who does the work, attending an introduction to the role, reading a number of job descriptions or completing a small relevant task. Ask about typical work days as well as the highlights of the role.
Specific questions you can ask include: ‘What takes most of your time?’, ‘What surprised you about the role?’ and ‘Which skills are hard to gain on the job?’ You should not share information about employers or any other sensitive information. You should not expect a new connection to offer you a job.
Consistently assess opportunities
Create a simple table with your priorities across the top and the options down the side. List compromises, unknowns and evidence. You may add a number to assist with your thinking but it will not remove any uncertainty or choose your values for you.
Obtain information on practical requirements directly from relevant employers or providers. Work authorisation, employment conditions and recognition of qualifications can vary from country to country. A certification advertised across the globe may not meet the requirements for a regulated position in a specific country.
Have a targeted conversation about your current role
If a change within your current role appears promising, discuss a specific change with your manager. Describe the work you would like to develop, its value and the resources you would need. Also ask what progression depends on and when it could be reviewed.
A manageable way to approach this is by reading how to ask for more responsibility. Having a clear answer, including a limitation, provides you with more information than a vague promise to ‘see how things go’.
Select a decision date and a next action
You do not need to have a five-year plan. Select a single action that you will take this week and select a date on which you will evaluate your learning. Also identify what evidence would make you continue, change or stop an experiment.
If you are exhausted, allow time and support for recovery as part of the plan. Not every situation of being stuck can be addressed by adding another course or project. Persistent distress may warrant appropriate professional support.
Use your selected path to create a professional development plan that includes one goal, one practical action and a review date.
