Is Your Career Helping You Grow?

By Lauren | February 22, 2016 | 0 Comment

Some people are okay with settling—they’re okay with spending years in a job without being promoted, or challenged. Some people want to just go to work and go home, and don’t care whether or not they are learning or growing in their career. That’s okay for some people, but in this day-in-age, it’s rare to not want more from your work—I mean, we spend most of our lives in our jobs, so why not raise our expectations?

So how do you know whether you’re a standstill and should move on, or you’re just in a temporary rut? Ask yourself these questions:

When was the last time you learned something new in your role?

When you start a new job, there is more than likely going to be a big learning curve, and naturally there will be a lot to learn along the way, but if you ask yourself when the last time you learned something new in your role was, and you can’t think of an answer—maybe it’s time to take a look at what you’re doing.

Now this doesn’t mean you should go in and give your two weeks notice, but maybe you should figure out what things you’d like to learn and how you could learn them in your organization and role. If you still don’t feel like your role will help you grow or gain those skills to take you to the next level—you should find a place that does.

Are there opportunities?

Whether it’s an opportunity to take on a new project, be challenged in a positive way, learn a new skill, or be promoted to a higher or different role, ask yourself whether those opportunities exist for you. If they do, talk to your manager about your wants to take advantage of these opportunities. By seeking out and taking on new opportunities, you’ll have a goal to work towards, and be continuing to grow within your position (or a new one).

If you look at your organization and your role and realize you’ve taken everything there is to learn, and there aren’t opportunities available to learn more, there’s a good chance you’ve grown out of your position and need a new place that you can be challenged.

If you stay, what do you hope to accomplish within the next month’s/years?

You’re going to want to get certain things out of certain jobs, and if you look ahead to your future and what you hope to accomplish within your role in the short-term and long-term, and can’t come up with an answer, it’s probably time to move on.

To be fair, sometimes you just need to speak to someone else (like your manager) to help realize the potential you have in your current role, but other times, if it’s hard to see yourself growing and accomplishing the things you want to in your current role—maybe it’s time to find a new opportunity.

Gone are the days that people land a job and stay in it their entire life, so don’t feel guilty when you start to feel like you’ve outgrown your position or company and want to take the next step in your career. In order to remain competitive in our workforce, you have to continue to grow, gain new experiences, and have these things to add to your resume—employers understand this, so don’t be afraid to speak up, ask questions, and take a critical look at your current job and what it’s doing for YOU.

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