With the arrival of September, I don’t know about you, but there seems to be a collective gearing up.
The phone is ringing again and I know I have a busy few months ahead of me. I have returned from the summer break, energised and ready to rock and roll. (Helped definitely by the imminent publish date of ‘How to make partner and still have a life‘.
This feeling of ‘back to school’, then made me think about, what happens if you have arrived in September, refreshed after the summer break but still lacking the drive and motivation to get things going again. Perhaps there is a more deep-seated reason – your career ambition has disappeared. (Which, it does from time to time!)
In this blog post are 9 signs that your career ambition may be lacking – and the questions you need to ask yourself or others to determine whether this is the case:
1. Unsure of what you want out of your career
Ask: Do you know where you want your career to be in 3-5 years time?
2. Bored in your current role
Ask: Are you excited by the thought of the work ahead in your role?
3. Know that you are working for the wrong firm
Ask: Do you see this firm as a good fit for you and the firm?
4. Know that you are in the wrong profession
Ask: Do you like being a HR generalist, HR Business partner, L&D manager, ER manager etc? (Delete as appropriate)
5. Not prepared to make sacrifices to progress your career
Ask: What do you perceive you will have to give up to progress your career at this firm? Are you prepared to do this?
6. Do not understand what it takes to get ahead in your firm
Ask: Do you know what you need to do to get to the next stage in your career at your firm?
7. Do not know how to get noticed for the right reasons
Ask: How strong is your profile with senior members of your firm?
8. Reluctant to speak up to others about what you want for your career
Ask: How many people know about what you want and need to help you progress your career?
9. You are stuck in a career comfort zone, and not prepared to take a risk to get out of it
Ask: How long have you been in this current role with similar responsibilities? (If it is over 2 years, then you have a potential problem.)
Heather Townsend is director of career coaching consultancy, Excedia Group.
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One Response
Great Points
Some fantastic points mentioned here Heather. I think comfort and content are major contributers to an individuals diminishing career ambitions. There’s a lot of people out there who are in positions very similar to some of the points you mentioned and unfortunately, there unwilling to recognise such situations.
Great read @NathanPearsonWH