The desire to strive for greater heights spurs you to tick your career goals. As you smash your targets, you set new ones for yourself. But you may not feel that way lately. The excitement you once felt is missing, and you feel stuck in one spot. You are probably experiencing career stagnation.
Don’t panic. Many people experience career stagnation at some point. It’s up to you to determine how it plays out. You can either let it take a toll on you or turn the tables around for the better.
What Is Career Stagnation?
Career stagnation is a lack of engagement in one’s work, which usually affects their career growth and development. Many people have been caught up in a career that has stalled out.
It affects productivity in the workplace when appropriate actions aren’t taken and leaves you second-guessing yourself.
Signs You Are Experiencing Career Stagnation
Are there parts of your job that you don’t like? Perhaps it has to do with working with annoying clients or the pressure of meeting strict deadlines. But there are also parts of your job that you cherish.
If you are no longer excited about the things that you normally love about your career, it’s a sign that your career has drifted into stagnation. Let’s check out the telltale signs.
1. A Lack of Challenge
Challenges at the workplace are growth opportunities. When your tasks become so easy that you don’t have to push yourself to deliver, it’s only a matter of time before the job gets boring.
If you are bored in your career, you have probably outgrown it, or you are being underutilized. In either case, you’ll be complacent because nothing is exciting to do.
2. Static Earnings
Your earnings are meant to increase as you progress on your career journey. The financial rewards you get for your hard work are an energy booster. Sometimes, you are surprised at how much work you accomplish when you focus on the financial benefits ahead.
When your earnings and other financial rewards aren’t increasing, it begins to feel like you are not moving forward. It gets even worse if your mates are doing better than you financially. Don’t hesitate to ask for a pay raise if you are convinced that you deserve one.
3. A Lack of Promotion
So, you’ve been in the same position for some time, and you haven’t been promoted despite the value you offer t the organization. People who joined the company after you are getting a promotion and a raise too.
This is a clear indication that you’re stuck at a place while everyone moves on to a bigger title. Now is the time to figure out why it’s happening to you, to remedy the situation.
4. A Lack of Engagement
The organization hired you because of the value you would bring to the table with your skill set. But a few years down the line, you realize you are not maximizing your skills.
This can leave you frustrated with the thought that you’re in a dead-end job.
5. No Scope for Learning
Learning and implementing a new skill-set at your workplace is a part of the progress you make in your career. However, many workers are stuck in companies with little or no opportunity for growth.
If your current position doesn’t offer an opportunity for learning, you’ll become outdated and no longer a resource for your organization. What more? It’s easier to get sidelined in an evolving job market that places much value on skill-sets.
6. Your Organization Is Suffering Loss
An individual’s career can get stuck if the organization they’re working with is experiencing losses that are sending them downhill. At this point, it will be wiser to move on and start looking for opportunities elsewhere.
And that’s because there’s no guarantee that things will look up anytime soon. The more you stay put, the more uninspired you’ll feel.
5 Ways to Overcome Career Stagnation
It’s time to shake things up and grow in your career. Having identified the signs that your career is stagnating, there are several measures you can take to get out of this professional rut. Here are some ways to help you.
1. Have a Clear Career Goal
One of the reasons individuals don’t detect stagnation in their career early enough is the absence of a clear career goal. Many people get asked the question: Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? But they don’t have an answer, and that’s because there’s no career goal in the picture. They only want to go with the tide.
Setting career goals helps you to monitor your progress. State what you intend to accomplish in your career and an action plan for it. This will help you track your performance and career growth while keeping stagnation at bay.
2. Look for New Challenges
It’s easier to crawl into a career rut when you lose all enthusiasm for your role, and it becomes monotonous. You can walk up to your manager or project lead and ask for a new challenge.
Don’t be afraid to ask for a new role or a responsibility that’ll help you improve on your current skills. You can equally propose a new idea or take up a new project. You’ll be surprised to see your new roles stretching you in new and exciting ways. This will create opportunities for growth while you go on to enjoy your job the most.
3. Be Abreast of Industry Changes
Each year, we get to see technological advancement and improvement in various industries. Individuals who aren’t aware of the changes in their industry will find it difficult to cope in their profession.
No matter your position in your workplace, always stay abreast of new updates to help you know when to update your skills to remain relevant in your industry.
4. Update Your Skills
Skill acquisition is a part of an effective personal development plan, an integral part of career growth. Updating your skills is necessary to match the competition in your chosen career. You might have started with a basic certificate in the banking or IT sector. To be on top of your game, you need to acquire relevant skills and certifications that’ll help you climb up the ladder.
Improving your professional skills is one of the ways to adapt to industry changes and overcome career stagnation. It opens you up to newer opportunities in the workplace and job market.
5. Do Some Networking
Networking with people in the same sector as you opens you up to opportunities in your career. When you rub minds with amazing people in your line of work, you learn and become privy to information you wouldn’t have known otherwise.
If your current organization is going downhill, and you need to move on to another workplace, your network will come in handy. You can seek out positions that have the potential for career growth.
Turning Career Stagnation Around for the Better
If you’re feeling stuck in your career, you owe it to yourself to shake things up and make a change. The feeling of stagnation could be a watershed moment in your career, as it helps you to put things in perspective.
Your next action could shoot you way up the career ladder or take you to a different path that resonates more with you. You wouldn’t have had the opportunity for it if you didn’t feel stagnated in the first place.
