5 Reasons Your Career Is Stalled and How to Get Unstuck
What do you do when you realize it’s been a hot minute since you’ve had a big win in your professional life? Let’s diagnose the problem so you can get busy solving it.
There are moments in our professional lives that give us those delightful shocks of bliss: landing the job, proposing the winning idea, getting the promotion, being publicly recognized … the list goes on.
Those are the moments that deliver endorphins, that keep us going and growing.
But what happens when you look around one day and realize it’s been a hot minute since you’ve been graced with such a moment? Work has been fine; you’ve heard no complaints. But every day is starting to feel the same.
There are moments in our professional lives that give us delightful shocks of bliss. But what happens when you look around one day and realize it’s been a hot minute since you’ve been graced with such a moment?
What do you do if you realize your career may be stalled? And how can you put yourself back on the path to something more?
Before you assume your best days are behind you and it’s all downhill from here, let’s talk about what might be causing this stall. Then, we can figure out how you might break on through to the other side.
1. It’s time to move sideways, not up
When I first entered the workforce, I remember getting advice from people ahead of me on how to climb that corporate ladder. It was up or out.
But a few years into my career, I stumbled onto the idea of a career lattice. Imagine a shape more like a snowflake than a ladder. It represents the idea that careers could—and in many cases should—move in all directions.
When the time to climb arrives, you’ll be carrying more tools in your professional toolbox.
At different seasons in our lives, we may need different things. Sometimes explosive upward growth is it. But sometimes it’s about taking a left or a right and learning new and valuable things, instead. It’s about expanding our knowledge before we take the next step up. Then, when the time to climb arrives, we’ll be carrying more tools in our professional toolbox.
When I worked full-time in human resources, there were essentially two brands of HR professionals. The specialists managed programs. Think talent management, leadership development, and even company-wide compensation. The generalists partnered with and advised individual business units.
My climb had always been up the specialist ladder. I knew that world was a better fit for me. But I came to a point in my career whee I realized that if I was going to keep climbing, I needed some generalist experience. Spending time advising business leaders would only help me design better programming in the future.
The last move I made in my full-time career was this lateral one. For me, it became the springboard into consulting. I felt rounded out and ready.
This business I run today would be considered a specialist one, but my generalist experience absolutely informs the practicality of the solutions I build for my clients.
So now ask yourself: What’s a move I could take laterally that would round out my portfolio of skills and experience and ready me for the next step up?
2. Your personal brand needs some love
Early in your career, you were known as the hard-working, creative superstar who would roll up their sleeves and solve any challenge. But is this still the narrative that follows you? When’s the last time you checked in on how people are experiencing you?
When I spoke with personal branding expert Dorie Clark, she talked of the importance of not just crafting but staying vigilant about the state of your personal brand, the way you’re thought of by those around you.
Make sure your colleagues and professional contacts experience you as the person deserving of that next great move. Optics matter.
Have you been doing great work, but finding that the accolades and opportunities for growth don’t seem to be following? Dorie would advise you to consider a personal branding refresh.
Here are some strategies she might suggest:
- Be a recognized expert. Ask around to find out how people are thinking of you. Are you just a great worker all around, or are you the go-to on something critical? Strive for the latter.
- Recapture your creativity. In the pursuit of doing great work, have you tried anything interesting, or are you just playing it safe? Push yourself out of the box.
- Play more offense. Have you been waiting for the next great move to find you? It might be time for you to let the world know you’re on the hunt.
Make sure your colleagues and professional contacts experience you as the person deserving of that next great move. Optics matter.
3. Your network has stopped working for you
You know what they say: It’s all about who you know. The question here is, have you been paying attention to your network?
Think back to when you started this job. As an ambitious professional, chances are, you leaned into networking around the company like … well, like it was your job. We start new jobs with energy and enthusiasm. We want to learn, drink it in, meet everyone and learn about what they do.
We start new jobs with energy and enthusiasm. And then we start to settle in.
And then we start to settle in. People we reached out to in the early days have forgotten us, or in many cases have moved on themselves.
Having advocates and sponsors at work absolutely matters, people senior to you who will raise your name when they’re discussing a big opportunity.
So ask yourself: When is the last time I was intentional about doing some internal outreach?
Start booking those virtual coffees today.
4. It’s time to bulk up your resume
When you finished school and landed the job, you had everything they were looking for.
But time has passed, and you’ve taken on more. Maybe you’ve had a promotion or two along the way.
It’s possible you’ve hit your ceiling. For the qualifications you have, you’re at the top of your game. So, it may be time to consider adding a qualification.
Amidst the pandemic, I’ve seen friends add coaching certifications, accounting credentials, and advisory licenses to their resumes. I’ve watched people learn coding, web design, and more.
If something about your resume has stopped compelling people, then spruce it up and make them listen!
5. It’s time to move on
Sometimes it’s not you, it’s them.
You’re impressive, you’re hard-working, and you know this company like the back of your hand. Sometimes that last bit about knowing your role and company inside and out is the problem. Companies are looking for fresh blood. They want new perspectives, fresh eyes on old ways of doing things.
Consider all you’ve learned, seen, and achieved at your organization. When you put it all in the blender, what’s the story that emerges?
This isn’t a criticism of you. It just may mean that for the outcome you want, you need to explore options outside of your company.
Maybe it’s your moment to be someone else’s fresh eyes.
Consider all you’ve learned, seen, and achieved at your organization. When you put it all in the blender, what’s the story that emerges?
How will you show up for another organization with exactly the wisdom and perspective they need in the moment?
And there you have it! Don’t let a career stall get you down. Diagnose the problem so you can get busy solving it.
About the Author
Rachel Cooke is a leadership and workplace expert who holds her M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Founder of Lead Above Noise, she has been named a top 100 Leadership Speaker by Inc. Magazine and has been featured in Fast Company, The Huffington Post, and many more.
