Feeling Your Career Is Heading to a Dead End? 6 Ways to Get Your Career on a New Path

Does work no longer offer the challenges it once did? Do you feel as if you do your daily tasks by rote?  Are opportunities for promotion scarce – or nonexistent?

If you’re feeling as if your career is stuck in a rut, don’t despair. Here are six ways to get out of the drudgery of routine and back onto the road to your goals:

1. Look for new projects. Sometimes, all it takes to “shake up” a stalled career is a change of project or goal. Start asking supervisors and co-workers if you can lend a hand on a project that could benefit from your skills, but that isn’t entirely within your “comfort zone.”
2. Reach out to other departments. Offering your capabilities in other departments or focus areas can help you learn new things, expand your network, and put a stalled career onto a new path. Talk to your supervisor about opportunities to connect with other departments in order to increase your skill set and make yourself indispensable.
3. Consider becoming a specialist. If the traditional path “upward” into management doesn’t appeal to you, consider a path “outward” into a specialist role. Specialists are often more highly compensated, and they become the “resident expert” in a particular area, gaining additional prestige as well.
4. Examine temporary or contract opportunities. Temporary or contract work allows you to focus on specific projects, expand your professional network, and “test drive” an employer before accepting a long-term position – and you get paid for doing it. A short-term change of scenery and responsibilities can go a long way toward putting you back on your career path.
5. Find out who else is hiring. What other companies hire people with your skill set and experience, and in what capacity? Do people who work in those roles move upward to greater responsibilities in the same company, or do they tend to leave as well? Use job boards, LinkedIn and other resources to see what else is out there. You might find the position and company of your dreams!
6. Work with your recruiter. Don’t hesitate to call an experienced staffing firm in your industry and ask for advice on restarting a stalled career. Your recruiter knows the industry and the employers. They can help you find the position and company that best fit your work style and career goals.

At FootBridge Energy Services, our recruiters specialize in matching qualified professionals with great employers in the energy industry. Contact us today to learn more about our job opportunities in the energy sector.