In a rut - or into your groove?

How do you go about making a change when you're struggling to face your job each day? Self-appraisal is your first step; appraisal of not only your skills, talents and strengths, but also your interests and values, say career experts.

Self-analysis is hard to do alone, says Jasbinder Singh, Business Psychologist from SQ Executive Management Consultancy.

"Talking it through with someone neutral and professional can help a breakthrough. Otherwise, you can get bogged down in a 'groundhog day' scenario."

A few lucky punters find their way independently, using self-help career manuals such as What Colour is Your Parachute? Yet one avid believer in the book found it sowed seeds for change but she still wanted to discuss her thoughts and the risks involved around changing careers with a career counsellor. She says a career counsellor can give real time feedback; a book cannot.

"Career counsellors have the experience to help you clarify, plan and make sense of it all," says Workplace Connections career counsellor Christine Nolan.

When Nolan has a client voice concern about loss of enjoyment in their work, she asks the following questions.

"What has changed? Is it the culture of the organisation, is it your role or is it you that has changed? Have your values changed? Have your priorities in life changed? Do you need more challenge? Do you need less? Are personal relationships affecting your situation?"

Quite often people feel locked into a choice made at a younger age or into a qualification that has cost a lot of time and money, says Nolan.

"You have to remember that our values system and needs change as we grow and mature. People don't necessarily stay in one role forever, and knowledge and skills can transfer."

Singh says people find their enjoyment returns when their skills, talents and strengths intersect with interests and values.

"People feel most happy and comfortable when using their 'signature' strengths. For example, if you happen to be creative, flexible and spontaneous but find yourself in a highly regulated, predictable environment with little scope to come up with solutions or think outside the square, you will experience disease and stress," she explains.

She suggests the following self-analysis exercise from her book Getting Your Groove Back as a way to gain some clarification.

"How would you rate (out of 10) your level of satisfaction with your current skill and knowledge levels? A rating of 6 or 7 is an indication that there is possibly some room for improvement.

"What is your rating out of 10 on the interest scale? Perhaps you are happy with your skills and values matching but need to find another industry or sector in which to apply yourself?

"What about your values rating? For example, there will be a clash if your values are about service, respect and wellbeing and you are working in a culture that is more about 'the numbers game'."

Values are very important but often people are not conscious of what their values are, says Singh. "A values mismatch can make a job intolerable after a while."

Chris Robson, career agent and director of Quantum Shift, says she helps clients define their values by getting them to list the five most important things in their lives. She then asks why each of the things is important.

"The reason it is important is the 'value'. For example, one important thing is my family and the value is 'family comes first'. A good way to clearly make a value statement is to begin the sentence with 'The world works best when...', followed by 'It is important that ...'."

She says life values are connected to work, so if, for example, one of your values is that family comes first then you'll struggle in a job where you have to work six days a week and don't see your family.

"Such a job would be unsustainable in the long run because it goes against a core value of yours. Another example might be that the world works best when everything you do has some fun in it. You wouldn't work in an environment where you were discouraged from having friendly relationships with colleagues."

Nolan says clarifying values is one of the most difficult parts of the process. "While people can usually work out their skills and interests etc, they more than likely need a career counsellor's help to identify their values and work out how those values fit with their work or personal life."

A final thought. In this uncertain economic climate, it is important to carefully weigh up your options within your organisation before leaving your job in despair/angst. There could be opportunities to move sideways or take on new projects to reignite your enthusiasm. While doing your analysis, it pays to keep positive at work. Management are more likely to support change if you're not already disengaged.

* Useful resources

Career Practitioner Association of New Zealand

What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles