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Is Your Career Stale

Are you working on your year-end evaluation? It’s a great time to reflect on your career and where you stand.

How can you tell if it’s the right time to change your employer or double-down in your current situation to focus efforts toward a promotion? Take a moment to self-evaluate your status to better position yourself for what’s next.

Here are five signs that you may be in a career rut:

• 1. No change in your work responsibilities or position status for the last three to four years
• 2. No succession plan created to groom your replacement so you can advance
• 3. Lack of initiative and lots of complacency
• 4. Wrong sense of urgency, no plan for the future
• 5. Your performance review has been at or below “meets company’s standards”. That’s a big red flag.

If you answer yes to two or more items above then you might need to seriously consider a dramatic change and follow these corrective actions:

• – Identify your new protégée. Pick someone with less experience and take them under your wing to coach and teach them the ropes to assume your current position.
• – Ask your manager for more responsibilities and new challenges to help get you out of a rut.
• – Assume responsibilities and lead by becoming the subject matter expert (SME) in your department.
• – Identify at least three goals and find a mentor to help you achieve those objectives.

If it’s time to change your job, company or your career

To research new opportunities use third party websites such as Glassdoor to gain an insight into your target companies. 196,000+ employers will be at your disposal to get the inside scoop as to the culture, employee satisfaction, work environment, etc.

You’ll be able to identify the employers who hire individuals such as yourself with the same type of degree and experience. By aligning your core beliefs with the ones of the company you target, you’ll find yourself fully engaged in building an environment you are proud to be a member of.

What advice or comment do you have for fellow readers who have been facing “stale” challenges in the work environment?

Jay Perreault has been recruiting top talent since 2000, and is currently the Recruiting Manager for the Talent Acquisition Directorate, National Security Programs at AECOM. Check out Jay’s web site DCTechRecruiter.com or follow him on Twitter @DCTechRecruiter.

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