5 Signs IT'S time for a CAREER CHANGE

Let's have a quick check!

On a scale of 1 to 10,

• How happy are you with your job?

• How fulfilling do you feel?

• How well does your job fit into your life? 

What are your scores? What do they mean to you?

I don’t have model answers to interpret that. YOU DO!

HOW EXTERNAL SUCCESS fails us?

Recently, I watched a variety show produced by a YouTube channel in Hong Kong called Trial & Error 試當真.

The program recreated Squid Game by incorporating some childhood games that many multi-generational Hong Kong people hold shared joyful memories. 

While the program is hilarious, touching, and a resounding success (2 parts total over 6 million views as of writing), it’s their final production to end their 5-year journey as they decided to shut down the channel. 

According to Neo Yau, one of the founders, he said it’s because of the culture built up over the past 5 years that made it hard to keep going. 

It has been DRAINING everyone due to a lack of rules, accumulated conflicts between colleagues, and creative direction.

It is a story about how INTERNAL MISALIGNMENT costs a company (indeed costing the people working in the company) even if it APPEARS to be SUCCESSFUL externally: 

It is also a story about us, individuals, why sometimes it’s good to quit something that no longer works for us. Even if it might be a tough decision to make, it is for the better.

5 SIGNS of MISALIGNMENT

1. Signs of emotional and creative burnout

If you experience persistent energy draining in what you are doing or who you are working with, that’s a time to pause, reflect, and restart, rather than push harder.

2. Losing sense of fulfillment

When you start to feel the lack of satisfaction with your achievements, there could be something missing from what excites you, whether it’s about your personal purpose or the company culture.

3. Feeling disconnected from your colleagues

When you sense that most colleagues are making choices that violate your beliefs and values, it indicates that the environment and culture may not be suitable for you and not healthy for your well-being

4. Blurring boundaries between work and life

If you check your calendar, photos, and messages, you can see what you have paid attention to. When you see no clear boundary between when you spend time working and living your life, that shows you are setting yourself up for an unbalanced life.

5. Financial rewards become the only driver 

When the only thing you feel happy about is the financial rewards, while you don’t enjoy what you are doing, that’s a clear sign of misalignment. You get to ask yourself whether you are selling your soul. What's the price? Is it worth it? And for how long?

How many SIGNS do you find? 

The more signs you notice, the stronger the signal that you might be selling your soul to your job, for whatever reason.

Sometimes, it can be simply the familiarity bias that makes us think it's safer to keep the status quo, even though it’s hugely uncomfortable. Be aware!

WHAT KIND OF SUCCESS ARE YOU AFTER?

Knowing when to quit is crucial because success is unsustainable if we are not happy or fulfilled inside.

If you are not happy with the situation they are in, consider quitting in various ways. It could be changing departments, finding time balance again, or quitting a company. 

There are many possibilities to transform your situation so that you don’t need to sell your soul to a job, whether you work for others or for yourself like the founders of Trial and Error.

Are you looking for a change professionally? If you are struggling to sort it out by yourself, contact me and I'd love to help.