Feeling Stuck in Your Career Change? You May Be Stalled Instead

When clients first reach out to me, 'stuck' is often how they describe their situation. Understandable - it sure feels that way.

In August, I wrote about how hard it can be for high achievers to admit they're unhappy in their careers (here). Then in September, I wrote about identity, because even contemplating a career change gets stalled by the question, "Who am I if I'm not doing this?" (Here).

Notice, I said stalled, not stuck.

Chances are you've been

• Thinking about what comes next for a while.

• Unhappy in your current job, or you just got out of one.

• Laid off, re-orged - poof - the job disappeared, and you're trying to figure out what you actually want to do next instead of grabbing the next thing that comes along.

•  Maybe you started exploring a career change months ago and then...

If this is you (or someone you know/love/care about), you aren't necessarily stuck.

Stuck means there really is nowhere to go. Nowhere.

But stalled? Stalled means you started moving, but something happened along the way.

• You got overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

• You lost confidence.

• You realized you didn’t actually know what you were looking for.

• You told yourself you should network, then avoided networking because the thought of it made you shrink inside your skin.

OR

• You applied for jobs because that felt like doing something, even though you weren’t particularly excited about any of them.

• You searched job boards until every position looked eerily the same.

• You started researching careers and ended up with 47 browser tabs and no idea what to do next.

So you stopped.  

Then stopping started to feel like failure.

Ouch, that inner critic is harsh.

I encourage you to question interpreting being stalled as a lack of motivation, discipline, or confidence.

• You may need a different way to explore.

• A way to get out of the endless loop of think → research → doubt → do nothing → feel bad about doing nothing.

There is still movement available.

Sometimes the first step is simply finding a better way to begin again.

Judy Garfinkel helps you envision possibilities and clarify "what's next." Her expertise in building confidence and resilience supports the development needed during career and job transitions, especially now! She is a PCC-credentialed coach and certified as a Trauma-Informed, Whole Person, and Life Purpose & Career Coach. Judy crafts bespoke resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and bios that open doors for her clients. And...her career onstage gives her unique tools to help you shine in interviews.

More...Judy is President Emerita of the International Coaching Federation - Connecticut Chapter, where she led a 10-person board and 250+ member coaches, and is currently a member of the Culture & Belonging Committee. When she's not coaching, Judy is either reading or dancing. (If only there were a way to do both simultaneously!)