Various career decisions, from whether you jump at a challenging assignment, go back to school, pivot to a new field, or start your own company is fueled by your relationship with risk. But how do you know when you’re ready to leap of faith or when you should stay the current and safer course?
Forbes listed all the signs that you should consider taking chances on your career.
- You’re self-sabotaging out of boredom
Once the honeymoon phase (even for a job, yes!) is over, and along comes boredom, you will pay less and less attention to the details and finer points that made you great at your job and lose your edge. If you have a suspicion that you have been sabotaging what was once a positive and inspiring work environment, it’s a sign that you may be ready to leave the safety of your current job and move your career in a new direction.
2. You are wasting potential
There are points across any career where your rate of advancement slows; this is especially true the higher up the corporate ladder you climb. While you can have a fruitful work life and not get promoted, make sure you aren’t limiting yourself.
Start planning your exit toward a new goal before things get too bad. Risks don’t have to be flippant and abrupt. Use your gut instinct as an indicator that you are ready to seek a bigger, riskier opportunity, but don’t make a move until you’ve spent time gathering data, building a support system, and mitigating security concerns by developing a larger safety net. Going back to school is also part of your exit preparation as a skills upgrade will keep you current and ready for the next big thing in your career.
3. Your life is in flux anyway
Moments of transition in your personal life create a natural inflection point in your career. Transitions can uproot and change your self-concept, need for security, and overall home dynamics which creates a natural desire to reconfigure your work life as well. These transitions may include such events as major relocations, starting or ending life partnerships, parenting evolutions, empty nesting, recovering from a health challenge, losing a loved one, or simply realizing that you finally have enough saved to retire.
If you happen to find yourself in a time of transition, you may feel an increased pressure to re-evaluate everything else in your life including your career path. Don’t dismiss this as an emotional reaction. It is often the final push you have been needing to move closer toward the life you truly want.
Lastly, it’s time to leave a job when you have no more opportunity for outsized learning or impact. Prepare your exit strategy and we can’t emphasize enough the importance of upgrading your skills to meet the demand in today’s job market. Do a thorough research if your field of interest will remain prospectus in the next few years, otherwise, think of other possibilities which you can gain through training at a private career college that offers online learning that you can do while keeping your current job.