Self Improvement

Are you ready to break free from the golden handcuffs? Do you find yourself staring out of your window, dreaming of a life in Tahiti? Instead of advising you to submit your resignation and become that poet, potter, or pianist, the following points will challenge you to remain at your current job and find fulfillment by making four necessary steps.

First, seek out additional mentors at your job to help you strategize new solutions to the major problems you have at work. As a first year associate at a mid-size firm, I took assignments from the employment, securities, products liability, and general commercial litigation groups. Although I enjoyed working more in the employment and products liability areas, I did not know if or even how I could receive more work from these groups. I also did not know how to jump ahead of two senior associates who received the most work in these areas. I discussed this issue with my assigned mentor, a female mentor, other partners, and the head of the ligation department. Yet I had overlooked the head of the products liability team who was a quiet guy that I rarely saw. After I turned in my resignation, he invited me to lunch to discuss having 50% of my billable hours come from his group. This solution was great but a little too late. I had accepted an offer from a smaller firm, making less money. Networking inside and outside the job is key to job satisfaction and promotion.

Second, review your monthly bills, bank and investment statements, and your employer's benefits package and compare them with your long-term financial goals and foreseeable and unforeseeable obstacles throughout life. Often, we focus on our present financial situation and decide we are ready for a career change simply because we have six months of salary saved. However, we seldom consider aging parents, their finances, and whether there is an expectation or desire to take care of them. We fail to contemplate the possibility of having a disabled child or getting into a car accident that could leave us severely injured and unable to work. Going through the "what-ifs" and giving yourself a financial health screening will provide a realistic picture of your ability to change careers. It will also help you appreciate the benefits of our current job, such as the 100% employer match to your 401(k) or tuition reimbursement.

Third, make an appointment with a therapist, life coach, or spiritual advisor. Sometimes you cannot change your circumstances, but you can change your attitude towards your circumstances. Discussing your unhappiness with a trained professional will uncover deep seated emotions that may not even be linked to your job. Instead of quitting your job, your solution may be to break-up with a significant other or create some distance between you and your nagging mother. Also, discovering your purpose in life and analyzing the pros and cons of your current job and the new career will help you emotionally prepare for whatever you decide.

Finally, if you have already completed these steps and are at the end of your rope, start making connections or even working in the line of work that you desire before you resign. Working a "side hustle" has become the new strategy to earning more money during this economic crisis. Additionally, it can jump start a new career. Instead of having dinner with a group of friends, invite someone you know to dinner who is doing what you want to do. I found a childhood friend on Facebook who was a freelance writer and invited her to lunch. Not only did we have a great time reconnecting, but she also gave me some great advice on how to break into a new career. If you don't have time to make those connections, then you may have the money to pay someone to do what you do not have time to do. If you want to own a business, pay someone to create your website or even your business plan. Use websites like http://www.vistaprint.com to order business cards, t-shirts, pens, and portfolios for an inexpensive price. Often seeing your vision in print will help you make the necessary steps to turn your dream into reality.

Feeling unfulfilled at work can lead to many problems. Yet before quitting your job, consider ways you can improve your current status by changing the people you work with or the type of work you are assigned within the company. Use your networks to build relationships inside and outside of your workplace and seek advice on the best way to handle your frustrations. Lastly, prepare yourself financially, emotionally, and mentally to be able to stick it out or make career changes successfully. Although many people say that you should be happy just to have a job in this economy, it is possible to have a job that makes you happy.

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R. Victoria Turner