Stagnation in career is a state where the person is glued to a set position, away from the opportunities of escalation on professional grounds. Getting complacent around a job that makes you ‘feel comfortable’ can happen quite unconsciously. The amenities and the compensation benefits that come with the job could have stopped you from looking any further. Years down the lane, you might suddenly realize you are fairly frustrated doing a job that you don’t like or got bored of, that does not take you anywhere in your career.
So, what are the signs to watch out for at the onset of a career stagnation?
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Boredom at Work
If your current job does not challenge you and does not require most of the skills you possess, then it is time to consider a change. The only benefit that your current job can offer you then, is a stable pay which is also questionable if there is a layoff or if your organization preferred fresh talents who can work better and more, and also replace your role at a lesser cost to the company. Keep yourself constantly updated with the changes in the job market and the kind of skill sets that recruiters are looking for.
No Scope for Learning
For any kind of progress at work, learning and implementing new skills is a mandate. If your current job does not give you the scope to learn and grow, then you are going to be outdated and you are no more a resource for the organization nor a favorable choice for recruiters. What employers seek are highly-driven employees who can learn and grow with the organization. The demand is so much so that, skilled professionals who can validate their resourcefulness through constant self-learning and by being certified with professional courses, can have their scales high up in their careers.
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No Rise in Salary
After all the hard work and the time at work, if your efforts aren’t receiving the right credits, then it is a sign of having stayed at the same job for too long. Having the same role and doing the same job with little to no increase in pay, reduces motivation and makes you feel stagnant
Overloaded with Work
Sometimes, it might be that you are overloaded and unnoticed at work. This means, you are at the wrong place, and at a wrong role. Reliable employees are assets to organizations, and organizations value them.
Therefore, in circumstances like this, it is time to venture out for more career opportunities. If you find a better-suited opportunity but wish to stay in the organization, you could still negotiate with the offer at hand, or, take the offer elsewhere and return to the current organization in the future.
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Organization Going Downhill
If your current organization has recently suffered some losses and is going downhill, it is good to stay alert on new career prospects and save yourself from the effects of a possible recession. In such a case, it would be wiser to make the move and find opportunities elsewhere, than waiting to be sacked.
Lacking Skills
Some causes of career stagnation are internal. Here is what I mean. There comes a point when you realize upon self-analysis that you could perform better by acquiring additional skills and that the cause for career stagnation is not always external. If you can make the time required to take professional courses and if it suits your budget, then it would be a wiser decision to invest on your growth.
5 tips to overcome career stagnation
As no phase is permanent in life, this phase will also fade if a person works on the following lines.
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Remain Inspired
One of the best ways of getting out of career stagnation is being ready for any work assigned, the desire to improve by taking up challenges and remaining. Communicating with the people who can mentor you towards advancement works well, if, we are ready to labor upon the advices, instead of just receiving them passively.
Take a Break
Sometimes, this we feel overwhelmed in our career. At one point in life, our strictly maintained usual schedule starts frustrating us and hence, a fatigue envelops all around. To come out of this state a break for refreshment is a necessary step. An outing opens our brain and body, making space for self-evaluation.
Plan for the Future
One cannot think of fighting career stagnation if he does not have a goal for future. The onset of a new scheme for growth demands an accurate mapping of our future and how one wants to see oneself in it. Knowing your tastes, interests, qualification etc. are the ways through which the path to future turns precise and achievable.
Developing professional skills is necessary to become better than your colleagues. Skill based knowledge is profitable than theoretical knowledge when it comes to professional fronts. A person who has something different from the crowd, rises faster. Therefore, a special skill or program-based knowledge can break the phase of career stagnation.
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Create a Change
To fight stagnation in your career bringing a change is necessary. It can be a change in job, change of field or any other significant reshaping is the need of the hour. Assessing the available choices according to the opportunity of growth in each is the way to channel the future in a responsible manner.
In conclusion, feeling stagnated in your career is a feeling that might come in one way or the other. When they come, don’t feel bad because they are normal. Taking one, two or three of the steps above, will definitely take you out of that feeling
My name is Chigozie Japhet. I am a content writer, and a brand strategist. I like writing, reading, researching and watching football, especially my team, Man United. i believe in working hard, and also in relaxation as all work without play, makes Chigozie a dull boy.
