Ten Signs Its Time To Get A New Job

It’s not easy to land your dream job, and you’ve got to start somewhere. We’ve all been in the same position — getting the coffee and bagel order in the morning, filing, copying, and answering more phone calls than you ever thought possible. But, as you begin your career with an internship or entry level position, you welcome these daily challenges in the hopes that it will lead to something bigger and better in the field that you love.

Unfortunately, while paying your dues, you may realize that the top of that industry is not where you really want to be. Here are some signs that your labors have turned useless and that it’s time to look elsewhere for the perfect career that you have daydreamed about for so long.

1. Your Mondays Ruin Your Sundays - Is your job so daunting that you wake up Sunday morning already dreading Monday morning? If so, get out now — you shouldn’t be involved with anything that makes you that unhappy in and outside of the office.

2. You Don’t Respect Your Superiors – While you may not always like them, you should always have respect for your superiors — they represent where you would like to be one day. If you don’t, then the pay-off for all your hard work may not be what you wanted. Try focusing your efforts elsewhere.

3. Lack of Satisfaction or Accomplishment – After hours and hours of work, you should be proud of yourself for a job well-done. Even for the most trivial of tasks, if you’re happy knowing that you contributed in some way to your company, your job is worth sticking to. But if you are continually having “What does it all mean?” moments and never finding satisfaction or feeling accomplished in any of your tasks, then maybe a two-weeks notice is in order.

4. Boredom – By boredom, we don’t mean you’re sick and tired of making copies everyday — that’s a task no one enjoys. What we mean is you’ve become bored with the industry: you look at what your superiors are doing and don’t find any interest in it and the job descriptions for positions above you sound dull as dirt. No one deserves a boring path through life, so veer off and find some excitement.

5. Misery Loves Company – You tend to be the company you keep, so if you’re attracted to a more miserable crowd, then you should get out before you become permanently bitter and cynical.

6. Giving Less Than Your Best – We all know what we are capable of, and sometimes, when we don’t care about a project that we’re working on, we work well below our potential. Putting minimal effort towards your job shows that you lack passion towards your current career. If you don’t care, it’s not worth it.

7. No Way Up or Out – If you find that there is no upward mobility in your job or that the positions above you seem less than attractive, then why stay? Your hard work now should eventually pay off and lead to a better job later.

8. Conflicting Ideals – Try to pick a career that is relevant to your ideals. If you find that your job conflicts with your principles, save yourself the sleepless nights and restart your career search.

9. You Really Have No Idea What You Are Doing - If you sit through daily meetings constantly confused about what everyone is talking about and absolutely cannot grasp the concepts, then you’re clearly on the wrong career path. Find a job in something that you actually understand and, more importantly, are excited to learn about.

10. Your Life Has Taken a Turn For the Worse – If your animosity towards your job is affecting your personal life, end this career now. Your job should not be a source of anxiety on a daily basis, nor should it force you to take frustrations out on the people you love. If all of your problems stem from your job, let it go and enjoy a happier existence.