Career Blog: Do You Need a Career Change or just a New Job?

There are a lot of reasons why people are unhappy in their jobs.  Clients come to me as a Boston career counselor because they feel stuck, exhausted, unmotivated, frustrated or bored.  In order to help them fix their individual situations, it's important to first determine where the dissatisfaction comes from.  Sometimes it's not a whole career change that's necessary; sometimes it's just a matter of moving to a different company or simply a different department at their current company.  If you're feeling unhappy at work and need to make some sort of change, consider the follow aspects.

1. Job Tasks.  This is what most people think of as your job and your career as a whole.  What do you DO all day?  Do you write, teach, analyze, develop relationships, solve problems, operate machines or sell products?  If you're frustrated, bored or otherwise dissatisfied with the actual tasks you need to complete in your job each day, you might need to change careers.

2. Culture and Values.  Does your company promote a product which you think is a waste of a client's time?  Do they force you to work more hours than you're comfortable with?  Do you have to spend 4 hours every day commuting?  Does your company discourage creativity and individual thought?  These are all questions of company culture and values.  It's important to note that by company values, I don't necessarily mean what the official value statement is on the company website (although that can sometimes be helpful to note), but how do you feel working there?  Do you feel appreciated?  Do they respect your values?  Generally speaking, if this is the problem, you may only need to change jobs, not careers.  There are of course exceptions like certain industries where working 80 hours a week is considered the norm.

3. Boss, Management, Coworkers: People.  The right people can make you love a job you might otherwise hate and unfortunately, the wrong people can do just the opposite.  Do you respect and admire the people you work with?  Does your boss support you and set clear expectations?  Do you feel like you waste all your time playing political games?  If the source of your unhappiness is people, perhaps changing your company would solve the problem.

4. Room for Advancement.  Does your company have opportunities for you to train and advance in your career?  Do you feel like you have room to be promoted?  And what about your personal career goals and growth?  Does your company help and support you?  If not, perhaps it's time to find a new company.

5. Personal Strengths.  Does your job really let you use your talents and personal strengths, or do you succeed despite the fact that you don't get to do what you're really good at?  If you feel like you aren't getting to showcase what makes you great, it might be time for a career change.