15 Things To Do If You Feel Stuck In Your Career

You might feel burnout, working with the people around you feels too difficult. There are thousands of different reasons why you might not feel happy and stay in your job.

But lots of people feel scared to change their job. And it leads to the feeling of being stuck. The average person spends over 90, 000 hours in his lifetime at what they work.

Do you want to spend so many hours on something you hate doing?

It’s not just about fear of the career change that makes you feel stuck, but not knowing what is coming and lack of confidence are some of the keys that play a huge role.

However, you can’t spend your lifetime doing work you don’t want to, and for that here are some important points that can help in feeling unstuck in your career.

Why Do People Stay In Job Even If They Feel Stuck?

Career planning is one of the tricky things. Doing it, again and again, makes you lose confidence. Also shifting to something you don’t know yet makes you feel uncomfortable.

There are hundreds of reasons people let themselves feel stuck, so they can avoid the transformation in their career.

For that here are some of the basic key points :

Fear Of Losing What They Have

The common feeling that humans tend to feel, not losing what you have right now for something you don’t have planned yet can be scary and make no sense.

Lots of people think that sticking for one year might help in getting the promotion or maybe they will get an increase in salary.

Also, money plays a roadblock for those who want to change their career. However, to deal with this, it’s important to understand the value of what you are receiving. For example, maybe the increase in payment is minimal or the promotion should have been received 3 years ago.

It also has the biggest reason for the scarcity mindset that makes you stick where you are.

How To Handle This – If you feel like your financial fears are the ones who are holding you. Consider the help of a financial adviser.

Also when you pick the job you feel like doing, you earn more than what you are doing now.

Fear Of The Unknown Future

Change is not the easiest thing, it’s hard and difficult. And the one who does have to go through a lot of things mentally, physically, and emotionally. Here it even includes financial.

People don’t want to walk into something more miserable than where they have. The fear of the unknown is another roadblock that keeps you away from taking the step.

How To Handle This – The basic thing that can help you in getting rid of the fear is planning.

That’s why start with the basic plan. Every career change requires a solid action plan. You can follow these points for that :

Establish what your career target is, your ideal job, and make sure you choose the job that is based on your expertise.
Develop the contribution stories that are relevant and should be based on your job. The dots should be connected between what you did and your job search marketing plan.
Share your stories to your profile on LinkedIn and resume. It will help in making you stand out so the recruiters can connect with your experience and pick you for the job.
Do not consider the shotgun method for approaching your job search. Make sure you are selective when you are applying, It should fit what you like.
Be disciplined as well as organized when you are doing the job search, so you can get better results. Keep your resume, and copy description to prepare for the job interviews.

Fear Of Damaging And Quitting Guilt

Guilt and damaging the current relationship is another strong reason people avoid career change.

That’s why the vast amount of professionals who do the jobs are underpaid. The fear of losing the place where you fit in can be hard and the deep need of being a part of the community can cause the fear.

Once you get fit into the work culture, you feel like you are a part of something and you are needed. It’s nice to want but also you need to see how important the job is for your future.

Also quitting is one of the leverages that keep people stuck to the job.

How To Handle This – It’s important for you to not sabotage your own self for something you are not responsible for.

Also, the problem is mostly faced by those who have limited cycles, mostly in the workplace. That’s you, you should look for the community outside of work.

When you build a relationship that does not require you to be in the job, it becomes easier to get in touch with them and you get the support system for yourself.

Fear Of Being Not Enough

People have tons of doubts about themselves. Not just that, even people around them keep reminding the doubts and risks that career transition involves.

You might be the most bright, smart, energetic person, but the thought of being not good enough or would anyone hire you are some thoughts that creep into.

Stuck in a job that makes you feel miserable and dead-end, where you are not able to use your strength. It sucks the life out of people.

That’s why it’s important to understand that having low morale when you do a career change is a common thing. So no, you should not be grateful for having whatever job you have. It’s a garbage talk that lowers your courage to get out from the job you feel stuck in.

How To Deal With This – You should have an impact inventory with you. It’s a list of things you did and career contributions through your job. Also, it includes the positive differences that occurred, it may be in the team, client, company, or even a small project.

Regardless of how small the impact was, It should be added to the list. If you received any accolades, then mention this to your list.

This works as a system that helps you in recognizing how and why you stand out.

Fear Of Choosing Wrong Path Again

Career Clarity is not simple, it’s common for most of people to feel confused and being uncertain about what kind of job is suitable for them

People keep changing their options during their early decisions or primary college days. If you are not doing what you planned in your college, well you are not alone.

Well at some point, people get enough attitude with their job, And they choose one thing and decide to stick with it even if they have no idea what to do.

This leads to the situation you are in, and the fear of getting into the same situation after doing so much can be terrifying.

How To Deal With This – To avoid a situation similar to this, you need to analyze the situation first.

If you are not aware of the root problems and what causes them in the first place, the chances of getting on the wrong path and feeling stuck are always there.

Here are some points that you need to consider for choosing the next path.

Is your boss causing dissatisfaction with your current job? Or it was colleagues? know what makes you feel stuck, How you react, and deal with the situation.
Make a list of things that you did for your job frequently. Now separate those tasks which make you feel happy and energetic from what makes your drain.
What did you do when you were young to make a living? What dreams did you have and why did you keep them aside?
Are there any trends, industries, or jobs that make you feel excited or you gladly volunteer if you have the chance?
Now make the list of skills as well as credentials you have.

What Are The Steps That You Need To Take Before You Move Forward?

The answer of how you get from feeling stuck in your career, well you need to understand the right approach to get out of that situation.

Here are the three steps that you need to follow :

Step 1: Declutter Everything

You feel stuck when the true emotions of what you are experiencing are hiding under the surface.

The first thing you should be doing to get unstuck here is to understand the cause. And for that, you need to do decluttering.

For example, if you are feeling scared of changing industries because you believe you fail?

Or are you waiting for the promotion which causes you to be stuck? Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed because everything’s changing and the unfamiliar things are not clear for you.

Remember it’s easy to say that you are feeling stuck because here you don’t have to do anything.

But to solve the issue, you need to dig deeper and ask the hard question. It will help you in getting clarity and addressing the problems that are causing you to be stuck in your career.

Step 2: Take Decision

Once you know what are the root problems and the true lingering fears. You have to make the decision now.

Well, you get clarity by taking action not thinking about it. So if you are waiting to wake up someday and find that you are not feeling unstuck, the magic is not going to happen on its own.

For that, you are going to make some important decisions in your life as well as your career.

If you are feeling stuck because you don’t know what to do and it scares you. Then go to the bottom of your feelings, you always have the answers to questions, It’s just a matter of time. And you need to follow the right direction to find those answers.

As for waiting to be promoted, give yourself time. How long are you going to wait for the promotion? Put yourself on a deadline. If you don’t get the promotion within 6 months, you will start looking for another option.

This gives you clarity and you know what your next step will be.

Step 3: Stay Calm and Trust The Process

Your actions result in feedback and it results in clarity. And you boost the office from that.

So once you make the smart decision, it will help you in improving the clarity and with more clarity, you gain confidence in your actions.

That’s why it’s important for you to trust the process. There is no doubt that switching careers or changing jobs can drain you emotionally. So try to calm yourself and be confident in what actions you are taking.

Also, remember that nothing will change overnight. Trust the baby steps and you feel things are getting better gradually.

How To Get Free From Your Situation And Get Ahead?

Once you know the key factors that are holding you back, it makes it easier to find the solution.

You now require to stop feeling stuck and move ahead to find the job you want to do.

Here are listed ways that can help you in doing that.

Get Some Time For Yourself First

Right now you might be going through different kinds of feelings, it can be frustration, unhappiness, etc.

But the first thing that you need to do is to understand why it happened. And for that you need some time for yourself, so you can think and identify the reasons.

Prioritize the time, so you know what made you feel this way. Make sure the time is not interrupted by anyone, so you can focus and find out the reasons.

Start Growing Your Network Early

Don’t wait for the moment when you feel stuck, it’s important that you have a network and to grow you need to start as early as possible.

According to author Adam Grant, he says that there are more than 58% higher chances you have to get a new job through weak ties as compared to a strong one.

The strong ties are those who are in your circle immediately and you do the interaction more often.

And the weak ties are those who are your friends or friends. They move in different types of circles, know more people and have better connections. They likely introduce more opportunities to you.

That’s why you need to do networking even if you don’t want a career change. It’s good because when the time comes, the network will help you and support the decisions.

Be Around Those Who Inspires You

It’s important that you have people around you who help you in making your game better.

For example, if you want to be healthy and stay fit. It will be easier for you to hang out with those who like doing the exercises. They keep you motivated when it’s needed and you get more opportunities for yourself.

So when you want to get a promotion, you need to change your career and set up a business. Whatever you want to do, make sure you are around people who can be helpful.

Work On Your Brand

People talk about you when you are not there, it’s important and that’s how you boost the personal brand.

It’s important that you focus on how you get what you want people to talk about you when you are not in the room.

However, a personal brand is about pretending what you are not, it can help you when you feel stuck.

It puts the real you outside what world. It’s important that you know what to do to get your personal brand effective.

Be Accountable With What You Are

The best thing you can do here is to be accountable, it helps you in achieving what your goals are.

For example, if you want to be promoted, move to the sector, or start a business, regardless of what ambitions you have, you are required to tell people and colleagues. Share it with people, and be accountable for the work.

Get Out The Comfort Circle

Well, your comfort zone can be the safest place. But to make things change, you need to step out of that zone.

Instead of being stuck and being unhappy, you can step outside and address what fears you. It also helps you in boosting your confidence when dealing with issues.

Align Your Values With Your Company

Most of the people get suffocation because they are not feeling the values are aligned with the company.

It can be difficult to work and achieve the company goals when you don’t think it aligns with yours.

Figure out what you want and what’s important. What your feelings are about ethics and social personality etc.

Do The Building The Resilience

Resilience is an ability that helps in tackling setbacks and difficult issues. It gives you the energy to bounce back, keep going and regroup.

Getting the understanding when you are in career selection or choosing a different path as well as achieving the results, will require resilience.

Also, it builds the capacity for how you will deal with the expected things and how to respond.

Learn How To Embrace Even If You Fail

There is a reason why failure is a part of everyone’s life. No matter whom you take as an example, everyone has their fair share of failure.

Truth is, nobody knows how things will turn out for them. So whatever you do for the first time, it always has the chance of failing. That’s why you need to learn how to embrace the outcomes, pick yourself up and start it again.

With every failure, you get a better price, understanding, and clarity of what kind of actions you need to take for becoming successful.

Use Your Free Time For Finding What You Like

To know what you like, you can use your free time. It can be the nights or weekends.

Utilize the time for knowing what exactly drives you, and what makes you happy.

Not knowing what you prefer will lead to the same situation. So if you want to avoid getting stuck, you need to find the answers first.

Instead of watching tv or streaming shows, give yourself time and observe what you like to do and what not.

You can start anytime, even right now. But the key point here is to understand the importance and keep moving forward.

Find The Patterns From Your Past Experience

To know what caused the problem the first time, you need to find the pattern. Think about what accomplishments you did that you enjoyed.

What kind of work or task did you do that caused you dissatisfaction? Look for the roles and contributions you did that don’t turn out that well.

Also, see if there was any phase where you were happy doing the work. And if so, what changed from then to now?

Maybe it’s not the job you are dissatisfied with but the industry itself. Or maybe you are pursuing wrong things that are not right for you.

Think about the situations and find the patterns that can help you notice if something started to occur next time