Signs you’re in the wrong job

Version 1.0 | Louise McGregor | changememe.com | @changememe | © creative commons

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Version 1.0 | Louise McGregor | changememe.com | @changememe | © creative commons

You never read anything in your field outside work1You’re a finance advisor but you can’t stay away from the specialist architecture bookshop and your Pinterest has 75 boards on home interiors.

If you’re a professional in a career you love you will, without really trying, pick up books, magazines, or follow blogs in your field. If you’re ambitious you’ll chase the latest news in your field each day.

Never reading anything in your field is a sign you’re not that into your job. mlakner

Version 1.0 | Louise McGregor | changememe.com | @changememe | © creative commons

You really don’t like the workenvironment2The mismatching office furniture and the sloping floor of the historic building you work in drive you crazy.

Animals and plants specialise to suit particular environments, transplanted they don’t do so well unless you can recreate something of the environment they are used to. People are the same, we function best in particular environments. Some like natural light, some like chaos, some like the certainty of the same desk every day.

garann

Version 1.0 | Louise McGregor | changememe.com | @changememe | © creative commons

You don’t like how people dress, your personal style is very different3Your style is all minimalist-scuptural, but your colleagues wear pinstripe suits.

It’s not that clothes themselves are so important, but the clothes say something about your personal brand, it’s the visual expression of your values.

If your personal style of clothing is very different from the company clothing standards, then your personal values might also be very different from the company values.

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You find ways to avoid doing what you were hired to do4A long dentist appointment in the middle of the work day sounds appealing.

Patterns of avoidance include stretching your lunch hour, leaving early, taking extra sick leave for minor complaints, or taking on un-related projects out of interest.

Sometimes it’s temporary but a long term pattern of avoidance is a sign that you’re just not that into your job.

damonabnormal

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You loathe questions about your job in social situations5You meet someone at a party who asks about your work and you mumble and change the subject.

As a professional you should be able to speak with pride about what you do, you should be able to say something interesting about it. If you shy away from these questions ask yourself why.

And if all you do at parties is talk about work you need to find some better parties to attend.

Renata Chebel SP:00

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You’re doing the same work as when you were hired… 6 years ago6Your job is the same, the responsibility level is the same, but you really thought you’d have moved up by now.

In most professional careers there’s an expectation that you’ll move up on a regular basis, if there’s been no change in your job in terms of the content of the job or the level or responsibility you need to look at why.

Of course if you’re a specialist then six years might be how long it takes for you to learn your job. Thomas Hawk

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You feel like a different person at work7Your work persona is so different from your real self that you can’t meet your real friends for lunch.

This is perhaps the hardest sign to read. We’ve got vested interests in staying where we are including our education, a network and a reputation.

Not seeing this sign means, sadly, that we won’t be able to reach our full potential.

Yet, this might be the clearest sign of all.shaun wong