What to Do When Your Career's at a Standstill?
So, you feel like your career is at a standstill. You feel like you're not growing, like you're stuck, like you're not going anywhere. Or a situation has become intolerable, filled with irritating work-force, dangerous working conditions, or petty What do you do?
The easiest thing to do in such a situation is the worst, and that's to do nothing. Doing nothing entails staying at the same position, not applying for a better one, not learning anything new, and basically waiting to die. And of course, being in such a situation is a little like death, of course, because you're not growing. And anything that's not growing is dying. Your career -- in such a place -- is dying.
Another reaction is bailing out. Jumping. Getting the hell out of there. You can spot such persons a block away. Got a bad evaluation? Resign. Fed up with co-workers? Quit. And while you're at it, tell them off. Yell at them. Tell your supervisor what you really think of her.
Both reactions are dumb. The second one looks even dumber than the first, but that's probably only because the individual's more open about it.
The first action (or more accurately, inaction) is dumb because nothing's going to happen. Don't get me wrong: if you're happy with where you are, and you're happy with your career, there's nothing wrong with staying where you are. But if you are not happy, if you are somehow, on some level dissatisfied with your career life as it is, then doing nothing is stupid. Not to mention pointless. Because -- to use the cliched statement -- "if you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got."
The second action is likewise stupid. Blowing up, telling off co-workers, resigning in haste -- all of these are actions just guaranteed to give you a bad reputation, make people angry at you, and get you a bad reference for your next career move. None of these do you want. The only time when it's appropriate to leave a situation without (at least) a 2 week notice (maybe more, depending on your position, your facility, and local customs) is when a situation is really bad, bad enough that your continued working there places your nursing license in jeopardy.
And those situations are not that common. More often, when we are tempted to leave in anger, the reality is that we are indeed partly to blame in the situation. The reality is that a bad evaluation may be telling us something about our work, or maybe even about ourselves.
The answer? Planning. Take some time, at least a few hours, and more likely, a day, to think about where you really want to be with your life, where you really want to be with your career. And after you've figured that out, start planning on how to get to where you want to be on both counts.
I've recommended the book before, but it's a good one, and bears recommending again: Alan Lakein's How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. Read it (after you read my book, of course : ) and follow his advice.
The easiest thing to do in such a situation is the worst, and that's to do nothing. Doing nothing entails staying at the same position, not applying for a better one, not learning anything new, and basically waiting to die. And of course, being in such a situation is a little like death, of course, because you're not growing. And anything that's not growing is dying. Your career -- in such a place -- is dying.
Another reaction is bailing out. Jumping. Getting the hell out of there. You can spot such persons a block away. Got a bad evaluation? Resign. Fed up with co-workers? Quit. And while you're at it, tell them off. Yell at them. Tell your supervisor what you really think of her.
Both reactions are dumb. The second one looks even dumber than the first, but that's probably only because the individual's more open about it.
The first action (or more accurately, inaction) is dumb because nothing's going to happen. Don't get me wrong: if you're happy with where you are, and you're happy with your career, there's nothing wrong with staying where you are. But if you are not happy, if you are somehow, on some level dissatisfied with your career life as it is, then doing nothing is stupid. Not to mention pointless. Because -- to use the cliched statement -- "if you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got."
The second action is likewise stupid. Blowing up, telling off co-workers, resigning in haste -- all of these are actions just guaranteed to give you a bad reputation, make people angry at you, and get you a bad reference for your next career move. None of these do you want. The only time when it's appropriate to leave a situation without (at least) a 2 week notice (maybe more, depending on your position, your facility, and local customs) is when a situation is really bad, bad enough that your continued working there places your nursing license in jeopardy.
And those situations are not that common. More often, when we are tempted to leave in anger, the reality is that we are indeed partly to blame in the situation. The reality is that a bad evaluation may be telling us something about our work, or maybe even about ourselves.
The answer? Planning. Take some time, at least a few hours, and more likely, a day, to think about where you really want to be with your life, where you really want to be with your career. And after you've figured that out, start planning on how to get to where you want to be on both counts.
I've recommended the book before, but it's a good one, and bears recommending again: Alan Lakein's How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. Read it (after you read my book, of course : ) and follow his advice.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home