As Frank Sinatra once said “regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention”, but over 75% of us would start a new career if we could, are you one of them?
During our lifetime, we spend approximately 99,117 hours at work*, so shouldn’t it be something we enjoy doing? Many of us will fall into a job by accident, either because we don’t know what we want to do, or just take a job to pay the bills, but then we end up stuck in a rut and unable to get out of it. These are our top career regrets.
- Changing jobs and not liking it.
- Staying in a job for too long.
- Not going for a promotion.
- Deciding what to do later in life.
So how can you avoid those feeling of regrets? Well firstly, you should know that you are never stuck, there’s always a way of making a change of some kind!
If you’ve recently taken on a new job and you’re not enjoying it, try and work out what it is you don’t like – is it the job itself? The company? The people? If you’ve just got a case of “newbie nerves”, then this will pass as you become more confident in the role.
It might be worth having a chat with your line manager and expressing your concerns, they might be able to provide you with a “buddy” to help you settle in.
If you get to the stage where you just know it’s not right for you, then look for another job. By creating a Dalmatian BeSpotted profile, you can create a free tailor-made CV, or you can apply for jobs using your Dalmatian profile, we’ll even send you suggestions based on your skillset, location and salary requirements.
If your issue is that you’ve realised that you’ve left a job you really did like, then it’s always worth a quick phone call to your old boss to see if they’ve managed to fill your old job. If they have, then make sure they’re aware you’d like to come back if something becomes available.
If you feel like you’ve been in the same job for too long, it’s probably that it’s no longer providing you with a challenge. If that’s the case, then speak to your boss about taking on a project or undergoing some training. The next time there’s a chance of promotion, then go for it! If you like the company that you work for, there’s nothing wrong with staying there, but make sure that the job is still stimulating you.
It’s never too late to make a change, so if you’ve only just decided what it is that you want to do, then go for it! If it’s a total career change, then find out what you need to do to make it happen. It might not necessarily mean completely re-training, it might mean doing an additional qualification, which you might be able to do at night school or online. Our blog looks at transferrable skills and how you can make them work in a new career.
There’s nothing worse than the feeling of being stuck in a rut, so if you are thinking of making a career change, then sign up to Dalmatian today. It’s totally free to use and your data is completely private. You can use it to apply for a job that’s being advertised on Dalmatian or create a free tailor-made CV at the touch of a button!
*survey conducted by the Government
Talk Dalmatian 