The truth of modern working life is that not everyone is doing exactly what they desire to do, but rather they do what they need to for the money. While it’s good to continually reorient yourself based on your natural skillset and focus, we go where we’re needed, and sometimes that just means getting employed to pay the bills.

It’s no great shame to find yourself in a situation like this, it’s just part of being a responsible adult. However, it’s also true that sometimes, you might really intend on a career path, achieve a position within it, only to realize it’s not for you.

In such circumstances, what do you do? It’s not always clear. In this post though, we’ll discuss how to pivot your approach and feel motivated by the renewed sense of direction. Without further ado, please consider:

Dig Into Your Current Unhappiness

Wherever matters of emotion are concerned, it’s important to sit down and figure out exactly what’s making you feel this way about the role before you make any changes. Sometimes it’s the company culture causing the issue, and other times it’s the daily tasks you’re asked to perform which feel spurious and aren’t in line with how the job is meant to be done. It’s easy to believe the entire career path is a mistake, but isolating the exact problem can help you see if a different employer might solve it for you.

To have even more clarity about this, we suggestt you write down the exact moments in the day where you feel the most drained or frustrated to see if you find any patterns. If you now find that the core team you’re working with are the problem, then looking for a total change is likely the right move for you to make. It’s better to have this clarity now so you don’t end up in a similar role that makes you feel the exact same way six months down the line.

Check Your Financial Options

You might dream about handing in a notice, but before that it’s wise to look at the bank account and see how many months of expenses you can deal with. It’s a harsh reality that bills don’t stop just because you’re unhappy at work, which means having a safety net is going to be pretty essential to give you the time to find something better. It’s usually advised to have at least three to six months of living costs saved up if you plan to leave without another job lined up.

If you do have that buffer, it should remove some of the panic from the job search and let you wait for the right opportunity to come along. It’s hard to make good long-term decisions when you’re worried about paying the rent next week,, so don’t put yourself in such a position.

Look At Transferable Skills

You likely have more skills than you think you do, and believe it or not, most of them can be used in completely different fields. It’s pretty common to think that because you learned something in one context that it can only be used there, but project management or communication are valuable everywhere. If you can, take the time to list out everything you do in a day and then strip away the industry relevance you’re using it for at the moment to see the skill underneath.

You’ll likely find that you’re qualified for roles you hadn’t ever considered before and a hiring manager might think that too. For some, it’s a confidence booster to realize you aren’t starting from zero but are bringing a wealth of experience to a new table, and that might give you the confidence to look elsewhere.

Read Up On New Industries

Ultimately, if you think you need a change, doing some homework is necessary to understand the landscape. It’s a poor idea to leap from one bad situation into another because you didn’t know what the day-to-day reality looked like and then end up thinking of another change later. We’d suggest you read industry-specific blogs or look at SaaS job guides if tech is an area of interest for you.

Perhaps in your reading you’ll realize that actually, this industry isn’t right for you either. It’s fine to take a bit of time to understand all that. It’s also a good way to find out if the problems you have now are present in that new industry too. Find that out now before you leave a job and start a new one, at least.

Speak To A Career Counselor

Sometimes could be that you’re too close to the problem to see the solution, and in such circumstances, getting an outside perspective could help you clear the fog. A professional counselor is a good step here, and might help you look at your history to suggest paths that might not have occurred to you on your own. It’s often assumed that these services are only for students, but they’re incredibly valuable for mid-career changes too and they can talk to anyone.

In some cases, they can help you reframe your experience in a way that appeals to recruiters in a new field. It can’t hurt, even if it just provides a small bit of food for thought.

Start Low Stakes Networking

If you have an idea of the new direction you’re thinking through, starting to build connections in a new field is likely going to help. In that circumstance, it’s less intimidating to just ask someone for a virtual coffee to ask them about what they do and what they like about their industry, and most people are happy to talk about themselves and their work if they’re approached politely.

It’s also possible that one of these conversations eventually leads to a recommendation, but that shouldn’t be the only goal when you start out. Just think about slowly expanding your circle so that when you’re ready to apply, you aren’t a complete stranger to the world you’re trying to enter.

With this advice, we hope you can find a path forward even if a career isn’t really for you.

Photo by MART  PRODUCTION: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-wearing-black-backpack-carrying-books-7251091/