What does career success look like to you? In these days of quiet quitting and The Great Resignation, more people than ever are rethinking their career choices. People who make this leap know that to be happy and fulfilled at work, sometimes you need to change direction and follow your own path.

In today’s post, I share thoughts on the limitations of the traditional career path. Plus, tips on how to recognize when you need to make a change, and how to achieve career success on your terms.

This post was originally published in June 2020 and updated in April 2023.

In my post Reflections on 30 years in the group retirement business, I provided six tips for success at work and in life. One of those tips was “It’s okay to change direction”.

The only way is not up

How you define career career success might be different than your parents, your boss, your friends, and even your partner. And your answer today might be different than it was five years ago or will be five years from now.

When I joined the workforce, the only way to get ahead was to take on a people leadership role. So, that’s the path I followed. There were a lot of things I liked about people leadership. On the other hand, there were things I didn’t enjoy as much. After over 15 years of people management, I came to an important realization. Being a boss wasn’t the thing that got me out of bed in the morning excited to go to work.

So, I did something bold, almost unheard of. I worked with my leader to make the move out of people leadership into an individual contributor role. It was the right move for me and one that I’ve never regretted.

Lessons I’ve learned

Looking back on my career path, there are a few key lessons I have learned along the way. Let’s take a look.

Limitations of the traditional career path

The general thinking has always been to work your way into higher roles with more responsibility. It’s what our parents told us. It’s what they teach in school.

Every new university grad comes into the workplace thinking they will be well on their way to running the place within five years. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to move up the ladder. Setting goals is an important part of life and having a vision of where you want to be isn’t a bad thing. Unless you let that goal get in the way of making the most of where you are right now.

The reality is, as you move up in an organization there is less room—and more competition—to take the next step. Companies are pyramid shaped, with one CEO at the top, a handful of senior vice-presidents, a few more assistant vice-presidents, and so on.

No matter how talented you are, you will reach a point in your career where you’ll have fewer options for upward movement. That’s when the real challenges start.

What to do if you feel stuck

You’ve been in your current job for a while and you’re feeling stuck. Maybe you applied for that promotion and didn’t get it. Maybe the opportunities just aren’t opening up as quickly as you’d like.

IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON!
You can have a rewarding career without reaching the top of the corporate ladder.

A very wise songwriter once said:

“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

Aerosmith, “Amazing”

Sometimes we get so focused on the destination, the next step, that we forget to enjoy the journey. If you’re feeling stuck, change your perspective and look for growth beyond the next rung on the ladder.

• Be open to all opportunities. If an upward move isn’t happening, consider a lateral move or even a step back if there’s learning to be had. Learn a different aspect of the business. Move to another location. You might be surprised at the results.
• Focus on building transferrable skills and experience. Ask to be considered for a new task, project or assignment. Then deliver. People will see you as someone who’s keen to learn. You’ll also gain new skills and knowledge.
• Put yourself out there. Volunteer to organize the summer picnic or holiday party. Get involved in committees or resource groups. It’s a great way to get noticed. The person working with you on an event just might be the hiring manager for the next job you apply for.
• Learn new skills by getting involved in a community organization. It’s a great way to build your network and gain valuable learning that you can use on the job.

Above all, keep in mind that you’re not stuck if you’re still moving. You might be moving forward, sideways or even backwards but you’re still moving.

Signs you might need to change direction

So, you’ve done all this stuff and you’re still feeling unfulfilled. Maybe you need to change direction. If you’re feeling some of the following symptoms, it might be time to act.

• The alarm goes off, and you repeatedly hit snooze because you don’t want to go to work.
• Every Sunday night, you can’t sleep because you’re dreading going to work on Monday.
• Things you used to be interested in just aren’t that exciting any more.
• You feel tired all the time.
• The latest new task your boss gave you isn’t a challenge. It’s just a different flavour of the same thing. 
• Nothing motivates you. 
• You feel envious of other people who seem to enjoy their work.
• The only positive thing about your job is the paycheque.
• You feel you have no real connection with your coworkers.
• Everything and everyone at work irritates you.

If you’re really unhappy, it’s best to act before someone else makes the decision for you. But how do you get started?

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Knowing yourself is the first step to career happiness

You may like your job, but it’s likely you will make several career changes in your life. Spending your whole career at a single company or in the same line of work is pretty rare these days. Experts on the future of work tell us that someone entering the workforce today should expect to change direction regularly during their career.

Even if you’re not looking to make an immediate change, knowing yourself is the best way to career fulfillment and happiness.

Four steps to career success on your terms

• Define your values. What really matters to you and why? Write them down. For me, there are four things I really value in a job. When I realized none of them directly related to people leadership, I knew I could make a change and still feel challenged and engaged:
  • Feeling like I am making a difference
  • Doing challenging and interesting work
  • Learning new things
  • Having fun
• Know what you have to offer. Do a realistic assessment of your skills. What are you good at? What do you need to work on? This is tough so find a friend or co-worker to help you. Just make sure it’s someone who will be honest with you and not just tell you what you want to hear.
• Do your homework. Research jobs that are interesting to you. Find out what you need to get a foot in the door in that line of work. Talk to people working in that field to find out what things are really like.
• Fill the gaps. If you’re missing some skills that you need for the job you really want, learn them. Take a course. Research and teach yourself. Volunteer. With such a variety of remote learning options available, the opportunities are endless.

Do what’s right for you!

After you decide to make a change, don’t worry about what others will think or say. Do what’s right for you. People will gossip. That’s the unfortunate nature of the world we live in. When I made the move out of people leadership, there was chatter and raised eyebrows. I knew it was the right move for me so I didn’t mind. The good news about gossip is—it doesn’t last long. People quickly find something else to move on to.

There’s a good chance you’ll be glad you made the change

Changing jobs is a risk, but a 2021 study by Pew Research showed most workers who changed jobs made more money, had a better sense of work-life balance, had more flexibility, and better opportunities for advancement.

I am lucky to work for a company that is big enough that I could change direction without having to leave behind the things I really enjoyed about my job. That said, when making the decision I had to consider that I could be closing the door to future opportunities for advancement. For me, that was a tradeoff I was willing to make at that stage of my career.

More than 10 years later, I can honestly say I have never looked back. Every time I get a new leader, I have the same conversation about why people leadership isn’t the right path for me. Ultimately, I believe people deserve to be led by people who want to be leaders.

Don’t forget to enjoy the journey!

To sum up, don’t be so focused on the destination that you miss the fun and learning along the journey. If you’re really unhappy, start taking steps toward making a change. But do it your way!

Have you made a career change? Tell me how it worked out for you.