Have you been thinking about making a career change for awhile, but continue staying stuck in analysis paralysis? Most of our clients would say that they had been considering hiring someone to help for months, if not years – so by the time they’re actually reaching out, it has often been a long time coming.
If you find yourself on the fence about whether to hire a career coach, here are 8 signs that it’s time:
- You have a recurring case of the Sunday Scaries. Everyone has days where they’re extra tired and would rather pull the covers back over their head when their alarm goes off, especially on a Monday morning. However, if you have been experiencing the true dread and anxiety of heading back into another week of work at a job you hate, to the point where you can’t even fully relax or enjoy a Sunday, something needs to change.
- Stress, burnout, or unhappiness with your job is starting to have a significant negative impact on your health, relationships, and other areas of your life. We all feel stressed sometimes. We all have to do tasks or maintain responsibilities we’d rather ignore. Dealing with varying levels of unhappiness is part of the human experience. And yet, when we reach a point when the stress or misery you experience at work on a daily basis are having physical or true emotional consequences, it’s time to create a shift.
- Your friends and family have tried letting you know. If the close people in your life have been dropping less-than-subtle hints that you need a different job, it might be time to listen. One of my clients told me that she was always so stressed out because of her job and her wake-up call was noticing that every gift she got one Christmas was in some way related to relaxation (a massage, candles, a robe, a de-stress journal, etc.). She got the hint. Many of our clients say one of the things they value about our work is that they’ve spent a lot of time complaining, processing, or just venting to the close people in their lives. And not only has that not gotten them anywhere, it starts to strain the relationship. Having an objective person to hold and guide the process removes stress from the people who love us and allows them to simply support the work you’re doing.
- Your self esteem has taken a hit. When people start feeling undervalued, unmotivated, unstimulated, bored or stagnant over a long period of time, a downward spiral of negative thinking or sense of self can start to take over, then permeate other areas of life. We want to be proactive and catch it before people start creating untrue limiting beliefs that impact the chance for forward movement.
- You’ve had ideas about how great another type of role would be, but you don’t know where to start. Sometimes clients have had moments of inspiration or excitement about a career idea, but the thoughts or potential roadblocks or even various possibilities feel too jumbled to hold in their minds. Which also causes them to stay stuck. A career advisor can help you untangle and make sense of the options and help you navigate a thoughtful, practical plan of action.
- You have a toxic work environment, boss or colleagues. Again, things that can start to affect other areas of our lives. Things don’t evolve healthfully in toxic environments. If you know this to be true in your situation, a career consultant can help you get out.
- You want to move up in your current organization. Hiring a career advisor doesn’t always mean that you’ll be changing jobs. It might also lead to creating a strategy around seeking a promotion or shifting into a different role within your current company that is a better fit.
- You were recently laid off OR you’re aware that layoffs are coming and you want to be proactive. We have several clients who have been laid off for one reason or another. But we also have clients who could see the proverbial writing on the wall at their organization and want to get ahead of things. I had a client recently in this position who had a sense for several months that things weren’t thriving in the startup where she worked. When she was let go due to budget cuts, we were already almost through with our Discovery process and had a good sense of options for her. She was so thankful she had listened to her intuition and gotten started when she did.
If any of these relate to your situation, consider reaching out to hire a professional who can help. The investment in yourself and your future will be worth it.
We strive to equip clients with the knowledge, support, and customized tools needed to gain forward momentum. 
