Career Advice

I Want A New Job Or Career: But I Don't Know What I Want To Do...

We should really start out by saying 'congratulations' on having the courage to consider a change in your job or career. Only 1 in 10 people actually make it as far as investigating the possibilities. Most give up before they even do any research, so well done for taking the first tentative steps!

The simple fact is: Many of us leave school or college and after trying a few different jobs, simply fall into the career that we stay in for many years, often decades. It's no wonder that we get stuck in a rut.


How many of us actually sat down and planned where we wanted to be now?

...Not many of us, that's for sure! Typical school-level career advice tends to be along the lines of "Go to college or university and get more education" for most of us. Not a lot of help really.

Take a look through this list and see how many of the following statements apply to you:

I'm stuck in rut. I'm bored of my job but don't really know what else I could do.

I feel undervalued. I know I'm better and worth more than this.

I don't earn enough. I have too much month left over at the end of my money.

I have no feeling of accomplishment or contribution at work. Every day is the same.

I work long hours for a boss and company that hardly recognises me.

I get that sinking feeling every Sunday night, knowing that I'm back to work on Monday.

I just know that next week's going to be exactly the same as this week.

If, like most people, the majority are true for you, then it's probably time to seriously consider an alternative. The first thing you should know is that you're really not alone. It's currently estimated that 35% of all adults in the UK are unhappy with their job and want to do something else.

The whole purpose of the following section is to help you ask the right questions about making a change. Since you probably haven't sat down with a career advisor since school, let's get the old grey-matter working and start by breaking down the factors we need to consider.

And let's keep these 2 rules in mind at all times:

1. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, and expect a different result.
2. If you want to change some things in your life, then you need to change some things in your life!

Next: New Career Questions