Warning Signs It's Time for a Career Change - Even If You Don't Know What's Next

Have you started to feel that niggle?

Perhaps you’ve been trying to push it out of your mind because there’s something, somewhere that’s making you feel less than satisfied with your career.

You might prefer to ignore it. It might not make sense.

After all, everything on paper looks just right, anyone from the outside looking in would see no issue.

? You are considered to be successful in your current career.

? You have worked hard for years to get where you are.

? You have a good salary and benefits.

? You have flexibility and a nice working environment

But there’s something that doesn’t feel right and that feeling won’t go away.

Despite everything ‘looking’ great, it’s not ‘feeling’ great.

Perhaps you’ve tried to ignore it. Everyone would think you were mad to question things when you’ve got it so good.

?Shouldn’t you be counting your lucky stars?

The truth is that sometimes, over time, enthusiasm fades, boredom creeps in and before you know it you've started mentally checking out despite your best efforts to resist.

If this sounds familiar (and even if you don’t want to admit it) you are not alone.

In fact, data suggests that over 50% of employees in the UK are unhappy and disengaged at work.

Work is work is work, it’s not all sunshine and roses all the time. Even if you’ve found your calling we all have good days and bad days.

How do you know if your unhappiness is a temporary blip that will pass or a clear sign that it’s time to make a major career change?

Here are 5 warning signs that it may be time to move on and make big changes:

1. Sunday night blues. You dread Mondays and it’s ruining your Sunday, sometimes it may even creep into Saturday and adversely affect your whole weekend that you’ve been looking forward to. If you find yourself longing for Friday week after week and wishing away the working week then take heed. The odd bad day is normal, weeks of misery and living for weekends and holidays is not.

2. Boredom. If you feel like you could do your job standing on your head and there’s nothing that you feel excited by anymore, it may be that you’ve exhausted the challenges that your job has to offer. Our brains crave new stimulation and working outside our comfort zones can be exhilarating and rewarding. When was the last time you felt slightly uncomfortable and felt you needed to step up to the challenge?

3. Plateau. Sometimes we simply outgrow our roles or the company. Do you see another opportunity to strive towards? If you don’t see any more room for growth and there are no development opportunities left then perhaps it’s time to seek new opportunities elsewhere.

?

4. Work vs Life Conflicts. As life changes so do our priorities. Perhaps when you started, you were willing to work long hours or be available 24/7. But over time our priorities change, perhaps you now seek more work-life balance, flexibility, or location independence. Does your career still align with what you want in the rest of your life?

?

5. Values Alignment. Like our priorities, our values also change over time. Even if you still like the work itself, maybe the company's priorities no longer align with your own. Or their policies go against your ethics. Do you still believe in the cause and does it align with your values?

And if you thought that was the hard part, it gets even trickier!

How do you know if it's time for a wholesale career change and not just a new job within the same field?

And whatever you decide is the answer to this question, there follows another:

What comes next?

The reality is, you may not know exactly what you want to do instead or how to get there. And that unknown can be terrifying!

That’s why so many people can feel stuck for years and choose to bury those feelings. Crack on, suck it up, get over it…..

But I would urge you to consider another path. It’s important to listen to your internal signals and acknowledge when you’ve outgrown your career. These feelings rarely just disappear and the nagging feels just lingers, gnawing away at you until you take action.

It means you're ready to start actively exploring your options, upskilling if needed, and mentally opening yourself up to new possibilities.

So don't ignore those warning signs too long. The longer you stay somewhere that doesn't light you up inside, the more your passion and purpose will diminish. Yes, you may need to live with uncertainty for a while. But in the long run, you owe it to yourself to build a career that makes you excited to get out of bed.

The first step is awareness and admitting there's a problem. Once you've done that, you can start taking small steps towards building your next chapter.

?Listen to your inner wisdom and be willing to take a leap of faith.

The rest will follow.