It is important to regularly evaluate your career health – even when you are happy in your role. It can re-energize and reboot your motivation to understand what you want. Career satisfaction should be important to everyone as most of us spend around 40+ hours a week working. Who wants to spend their whole day hating their job and only looking forward to the drive home? Not me! Here are 14 signs you need to change your job: 

  

Sunday Night Dread 

It’s Friday and the weekend is here, this is the best part of your whole week! Sunday evening arrives and you realise you have work in the morning. The fear starts to set in and you’re trying to talk yourself out of calling in sick. This is a clear sign of unhappiness! It’s time to change jobs or think of how you can change your current role into something you would look forward to. What makes your role so distressing? Management, tight deadlines… etc. the list can go on but you need a change! 

 

High Attrition Rates In Your Company 

If this is not common in your industry, you should really look at your company and think “what is going wrong?”. People are not happy for a reason and you need to know why! Therefore, exit interviews are something every HR department should consider. To ensure they understand their business’ culture and why staff are not sticking around.  

  

Lack Of Professional Development 

If your career objectives are to improve, learn and progress which are not being fulfilled in your current role or if there is a lack of a structured training programme you will want to look for an employer who will invest in you. 

  

Recruiters or Head-hunters Are After You 

When you’re contacted by a recruiter, there are new jobs in the market that your skills set are matching. Even if you don’t feel like changing roles it is always good to look at the job description to compare your current contract - you may even realise you’re underpaid!  

Having a look at job roles could show you new opportunities to use skills you can’t use in your current job. Although, note all employers feel loyalty is an important quality in employees, ensure you are not floating from one job to another. You need to stay at your job long enough to gain experience and to be considered a quality candidate for recruitment. No one wants an employee who will leave after a month! 

Learn more about why working with a specialist recruiter could benefit you  

  

Are You Constantly Making Excuses? 

“I’ll put up with this for a few months and then look for a new role”, “I’ll never get my dream job” and “I don’t have time to look for another job”. If these are some of the excuses you tell yourself, it’s time to start searching for a job. When colleagues aren’t listening to your ideas or you’re feeling undervalued, these can be easy to brush off for ‘a few months’. However, it can take months to change jobs, start as early as possible to see what opportunities are available. 

Read: Ultimate job search guide to Northern Ireland 

  

Work Is Affecting Your Health 

Your work-related stress is affecting your health, either physically or mentally, a job should not knock years off your life. If you’re constantly negative and unhappy, you should already know it’s time to change jobs. One tip I would recommend is informing management why you are leaving so the same problem does not affect other employees in your company. It’s time for that company to make some changes. 

  

Your Workload Has Increased 

Often workloads can increase and even cut time in your personal life. If this is only temporary to meet a big deadline, don’t worry about it. On the other hand, if it’s a permanent change and you have not been compensated in other ways, be it money or promotion. It’s time to make a complaint or change jobs! 

  

You Are Ready for Something New 

Sometimes you just know you are ready for a change of scenery. Listen to your gut, the earlier you realise you need a change, the faster you can make it happen! This can increase your motivation and improve your attitude in your work. 

  

Broken Promises 

When a company promises additional responsibility, a pay raise or other benefits but does not follow through it can be difficult to challenge this in work. While you still want your promises, you don’t want to poke the hornet’s nest. It could be time to change jobs! If your company can’t be loyal to you, why should you be loyal to them? 

  

Personal Changes 

You can’t predict what will happen tomorrow, never mind in a year. You may want less of a commute time, the option for home-working, realise you want a change of scenery or reduced hours. Do what is right for you and your personal circumstances. It can be easy to fall into a difficult work situation where you are pushing yourself too hard to please others.   

  

Company Instability 

If your company is going through an unstable time with redundancies, reduced benefits or a lack of sales? These are all signs that a company is under pressure. Talk to management to find out what is going on to check the safety of your job in the company. This could be time to start searching for a job, especially if you have a family support on your wage. Protect yourself and start searching. 

  

Company culture 

Company politics can often create a difficult culture to work in. Does your company respect and care for its staff? Your culture can help retain your employees. Staff benefits, clear communication, approachable management and team bonding activities are all features of good work culture. If your company is lacking these features, I can see why you’re unhappy! It’s time for your next career move. 

  

Lack of Career Advancement 

Often people reach a ceiling with their current employer where they see no room to grow – their Line Manager may have been there forever with no sign of leaving or may have been a peer who has been promoted above them.  

  

Line Manager 

One of the leading causes in why people start to consider new opportunities.  Either they feel they are being poorly managed, overlooked or not given a voice or input to what could make their role and the company better.  Remember people don’t tend to leave their companies – they leave their managers. 

  

Changing your job can feel daunting. Especially when you realise the difficulties of trying to search for a job around your current employer. You don’t want to show signs of disloyalty, but you know your attitude is changing. If this sounds like you, why not upload your CV in confidence to find out what opportunities are available in your industry. Our recruiters can contact you at a convenient time to discuss your next move.  

Top Tip: Review your job’s health twice a year to maintain your job satisfaction.