Have You Chosen the Wrong Career?

Unhappy at work? It might be more than the job—it might be the career path you’ve chosen. Here’s how to tell if you’ve made the wrong career move.

Your Heart’s Not in It

You hate almost every task assigned to you. You refuse to contribute any creative “juice” to the task. You don’t take ownership of it and your execution is perfunctory at best.  You let coworkers take the ball and run with it. Homeruns have been replaced by base runs. Teamwork is just work to you. The thrill, the passion just isn’t there. Instead, you daydream a lot about doing something else, something that quickens your pulse. If this sounds like you, you just might be on the wrong career track.

Venue vs. Values

The Mayo Clinic has pinned down several aggravating factors that make people consider changing careers. The “had it up to here” list of irksome working conditions includes conflicts with co-workers, being underpaid, disagreements with the boss, no chance for promotion, boring assignments, and tasks that fall beneath one’s educational level.  Many of these conditions may have nothing to do with your career choice but they may simply require a change in venue—new job. If these gripes continue for weeks and even months on end, it may be time to move on. If, on the other hand, you discover the same problems after you’ve changed jobs two or three times, it may be time to switch careers. There’s something inside you that’s bucking your career choice and creating conflicts with your co-workers, boss, assignments, something that’s holding you back from your full potential. In The Job for You, Anne Dranitsaris offers a quiz to help you determine the right career choice for your personality, skills and needs.

Soul Searching Can Help

This is best done on a Saturday when you’re away from work, coworkers, the boss, and any stressful assignments. Find a nice quiet place outside and ask yourself if this really is the right career choice for you. Project yourself doing what you’re doing in 3 years, 5 years and 10 years. Imagine working at a different company with different coworkers and boss, yet doing the same thing. See yourself being promoted but doing the same thing. If you feel uneasy about the prospect, it’s time for a career change. Another way to look at it is if you hate your job, your co-worker’s job, the job of your managers and senior executives, it’s time to move on.

Promotion vs. Prevention Focused

Heidi Grant Halvorson, associate director for the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School and co-author of Focus identifies two ways you can be motivated to reach your goals. She notes that some people view goals as opportunities for advancement, achievement and rewards. Others see goals as a means of security, a way to retain what they’ve worked so hard for. She adds that we’re motivated by both promotion and prevention, but tend to have a dominant motivational focus in work. In The Key to Choosing the Right Career, Halvorson provides specific examples of what promotion and prevention focused people need to feel fulfilled in their careers. You can also take her free FOCUS Diagnostic to see which career type you fall into.

Think you’ve chosen the wrong career path? There are ways to steer you in the right direction.

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