Many people face a mid-career crisis at some point in their career. A major part of a person’s satisfaction in life is their career. Gen Xers – especially those born in the mid-to-late 70s – are starting to question their careers.
If you feel like you’re in a career crisis, the following tips can help.
4 Tips When You’re Facing a Career Crisis
1. Identifying a Mid-Career Crisis
Do you feel stuck? Is it your work environment, or really just a mid-career slump? Before you go and make radical changes to your career, it’s important to know how to properly identify a career crisis.
Give yourself a few days and see how you feel. If you still feel stuck in your career, feel like you’ve hit your growth ceiling in your career or that you’ve run out of opportunities at your employer, you may be having a true mid-career crisis.
Oftentimes, a person that is in this stage of their career will feel:
- Burned out
- Exhausted by everyday tasks
- Unsatisfied at work
- A lack of enthusiasm
- Impatient, angry and defensive at work
- Disinterested and incompetent
If you’re confident that what you’re experiencing is a mid-career crisis, the next few points will help you get back on track.
Addressing the issue head-on is your best opportunity to get over this slump.
2. Jot Down Your Favorite Activities
Sit down and think about your favorite activities. If you don’t want to switch careers, think of potential specialties or aspects of the job that you like. Ideally, you’ll write down a variety of activities that you like doing.
These can be activities related to your career, or they can be related to your hobbies and passions.
In either of these cases, there is a career that fits into your favorite activities, whether it’s related to your current career or not.
3. Write Down Your Goals
What are your goals? When you know your goals, you’ll be able to decide what steps to take to reach them. Your goals maybe related to;
- Finances
- Retirement
- Career
Perhaps you want to be the VP of your company, or you want to get a promotion. Write down your goals and how you can reach them. Sometimes, the drive to reach your goals is enough to reinvigorate your career.
4. Don’t Make Any Drastic Decisions
Taking time to understand your feelings is important. Quitting your job tomorrow may not be the wisest decision for you or your career. It's better to have a job lined up so that you can transition from your current position to a new one.
Give yourself a few days or weeks to really think over what you’re feeling and the next steps that you’ll take.
Sometimes, you’ll need to learn new skills, go back to school or even earn certifications in a field to change careers. You need to consider all of these factors before deciding to leave your old career behind you.
If you feel like you should brush up on your education or want to beef up your resume, going back to school for an undergrad or grad degree may be a good choice for you. You may even qualify for Pell grants or these other 5 popular education grants that you should know about.
Sometimes, the career that we choose simply isn’t the one for us for the long-term. Changing careers may bring you the life satisfaction and happiness that you deserve.