One of the most common causes of employee turnover is dissatisfaction with one’s current position, while another is the desire for a change in environment. You need to be able to tell if you are in a dead-end job or not if you want to move up in your chosen field.

You may wonder what the signs are that you’re in a job going nowhere. Your paycheck will reveal the solution. You can assume that you aren’t content with your current situation if you’re struggling to make ends meet. However, if your salary is satisfactory, you should feel free from your existing position.

There’s a good chance you’ll never be promoted if you’ve been at the same job for a long time without getting any higher.

Not that you should give up, though! You should instead focus on strategies to make yourself unique in the marketplace. You never know when a new door will open that will lead to a promotion in your work that you have been looking for.

But if you’re determined to get away, consider the following options.

1. Get Your Resume Ready

You might think that you have nothing to lose by updating your resume, but there are real consequences to neglecting your resume. For example, if you have not kept your resume up-to-date since college, chances are that potential employers won’t even bother to look at it. And if they do, they probably won’t see anything impressive.

If you’ve been out of work for a while, you may be scrambling to find something to show prospective employers. But if you’ve worked for several months, you should feel free to develop a resume completely different from what you did before. Instead, focus on making sure that everything on your resume is accurate and relevant to the position you’re applying for.

2. Take Responsibility

You might think you don’t have much power over where you end up working, but you do. You have to accept it and start taking ownership of your career.

While you may not have control over how things work within your organization, there are plenty of ways you can affect your future. For example, you could seek new opportunities, improve your skills, or even move into a different role altogether.

The key here isn’t to blame others for where you are now; rather, it’s about accepting the reality of your situation and planning to take action. If you want to make changes, you must prepare for the next step.

3. Take Stretch Assignments

Stretch assignments are projects that require you to learn new skills. They take place outside of school or work. For example, one could be learning how to code through online classes. Another could be learning how to cook in a given period of time.

You don’t necessarily need permission from your boss to do it. Many times bosses encourage employees to volunteer for these kinds of assignments because they know that doing so helps build confidence, improve communication skills, and increase productivity.

The idea behind stretch assignments is simple: they help people grow professionally. And there is evidence proving that stretch assignments are powerful tools for personal growth.

4. Learn New Skills

Do you know what happens when you apply for jobs without being prepared? You get rejected. And you probably go into a tailspin wondering why you didn’t get hired. But there’s another way to think about it: If you’ve been applying to jobs where you haven’t had much experience, you might miss out on some opportunities because you haven’t learned enough skills.

In fact, according to a career expert, working and learning are no longer those discrete, separate worlds. Instead, most successful folks are the ones that take lifelong learning seriously throughout their careers and take it.

So how does one learn new skills? Well, there are many ways. For example, you could enroll in online courses offered by Coursera, edX, or Khan Academy. Or you could join a local Toastmasters club. Or you could even start a blog.

But whatever method you choose, the key is consistency. So, rather than cramming everything into one week, commit yourself to do something every day for a month. Then try again for a second month. This process will help you build momentum and develop a habit of taking action, leading to success.

5. Look for the Lessons

According to a hiring manager, every job she interviewed people about had some lessons to impart. Whether it was learning how to work well under pressure, managing difficult coworkers, or even just getting over her fear of public speaking, each interviewee came away with something to take into their next gig.

For instance, one woman said her most recent job taught her how to manage time effectively. Another person learned how to deal with difficult customers. And another discovered how to make herself stand out among her peers.

While the lessons weren’t always easy to hear — especially if they involved dealing with a boss who didn’t listen to feedback or working in a hostile environment — they were important enough to remember.

6. Connect With Your Network

The adage “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know” applies to networking just as much to find jobs. While we’re always looking for opportunities to improve our skillset, some people are better suited to helping us find work than others. In fact, according to LinkedIn data, employees who connect with colleagues outside their current organizations are twice as likely to receive referrals from those contacts.

So how do you go about building relationships with people outside your immediate circle? Here are some tips for connecting with your network:

1. Keep in Touch. Now might be a good time to reconnect if you last got in touch with your friends and acquaintances in college. Even if you don’t see each other often, sending a quick email once every few months will keep everyone updated on what’s happening in your life. This could mean sharing news about a promotion, wedding, birth, graduation, or anything else that makes you proud.

2. Reach Out. When you hear about a position opening up at a colleague’s company, reach out immediately. Offer to introduce yourself and let them know why you’d like to apply for the role. Be sure to mention something specific about the position that interests you — perhaps something that happened during your previous tenure at the firm.

3. Ask For Referrals. Once you’ve built a relationship with someone outside your organization, ask if they know anyone interested in hearing about your background and experience. You can also ask if they have any advice on promoting yourself. It may seem odd, but asking for advice is a great way to start your career journey.

4. Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to build connections with your community. There are many ways to volunteer, including mentoring young children, tutoring students, volunteering at local non-profits, and even serving food at soup kitchens. The more you put in, the more you’ll get back.

7. Leave on a high note

Once you’ve found a new job, take advantage of all the opportunities it gives you by leaving on a high note. Send thank-you notes to your former employer and coworkers, send flowers to your spouse or significant other, and leave a thoughtful message on your coworkers’ voicemail.

These small gestures will show your former employer and colleagues that you appreciate your time together. They’ll appreciate that you took care of business while you worked together. And when you look for your next opportunity, they’ll have a positive impression of you, making it easier to land that next gig.

Conclusion

If you’re unhappy with your current job situation, don’t worry, there is a way out. By following the tips in this blog post, you’ll be on your way to finding a new and improved job in no time. And if you need help creating a resume that will get you noticed by potential employers, contact our team of expert resume writers.

Our expert resume writers can help you craft the perfect document to get your foot in the door of your dream company—or maybe even start your own business.

The first step is acknowledging that you’re unhappy with where you are—that’s okay! Use this as motivation to change instead of letting it drag you down. You deserve to be happy in your career, so don’t settle for anything less.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you take that next big step.