2015 Year of Change, or Same Old, Same Old - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

2015 Year of Change, or Same Old, Same Old - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career As you are reading this post 2014 is history; 2015 has taken center stage. Where will the New Year take you? Where will you take the New Year? If you find yourself in a job that you’ve come to loathe, will you continue to labor on in “stable misery” for yet another year? Or, will 2015 be the year you finally step out of your comfort zone and seek out your dream job? The choice, as always, is yours and yours alone. (Unless, of course, your employer late some Friday afternoon makes that choice for you!) But which choice is the right one for you? How can you realistically determine if perhaps it’s finally time to move on in your career, finally time to eschew the old and aggressively seek out the new? In this post I address a few key indicators that can help you make an informed decision regarding your career from this point on. There hasn’t been a better time since 2007 to explore new career opportunities if . . . You are CURRENTLY EMPLOYED, and essentially satisfied with your current position, but are always open to the right opportunity to advance your career to the next level. You are CURRENTLY EMPLOYED and are at least somewhat dissatisfied  with your job, and perhaps even a LOT dissatisfied, because . . . During the frenzy of layoffs/downsizings at the height of The Great Recession, as a “survivor,” you found yourself doing the work of two (or more!) people to “make up the slack.” And, if your employer has yet to return to “full employment,” you may still be expected to perform these duties. You have received few, if any, pay raises in recent years, and even if you’ve been fortunate enough to have received one, it was minuscule and perhaps even somewhat insulting, considering the contributions you’ve made to the company. You’re feeling under-appreciated or not appreciated at all by your current employer. Or, perhaps even a littleâ€"or a LOT!â€"dis-respected? Even if you are satisfied overall with your current job, you are not as happy as you could be (or should be) with the apparent direction your career is heading (or not heading) these days. You’re simply burned out on your current job, for a whole variety of reasons. You are CURRENTLY UNDER-EMPLOYED and, while you are “grateful” to have some type of job, you also feel like the proverbial racehorse tied to a plow, and yearn to get back in the game and get your career back on track and out of the “stall” mode. You are CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED as the result of an event (or events) not of your own making. You know, instinctively, that you have a lot to offer a potential employer but have become so discouraged and/or beaten down recently that you’re no longer sure at all how to go about getting your career back on track. Change can be Scary, but . . . I fully realize that change, any kind of change, can indeed be scary to most people. And that can particularly be the case where one’s career is concerned. But usually, without at least some changes being made, rarely is any progress made, either. And again, that’s particularly true where it comes to one’s career. Since most of us spend at least a full one-third of our lives workingâ€"and many of us spend far more time than that!â€"doesn’t it just make eminently good sense to have a job that is engaging, interesting and fulfilling? If your current job can’t be described in this manner, or if you now find yourself completely out of the game, the only person who can change that situation is you! So, what will it be for you in the upcoming New Year? Will you continue to labor on in “stable misery” at your current job, if that accurately describes your current situation. Or, will 2015 finally be the year you reach for the golden ring by actively, aggressively and intelligently pursuing the many new career opportunities that can await you in today’s job market? New, good jobs, particularly for TOP candidates, are continually being created today across many sectors worldwide by an economy that finally seems to be making some genuine strides toward true recovery. We’re not yet completely out of the woods, but in comparison to just a few years ago, significant opportunities now exist to get your career back on track and out of the “stall” mode, if that indeed is where you currently find your career. Will 2015 finally be the year you decide to “go for it”? If your answer to this question is “yes,” then remember: Stepping out to find your next career opportunity involves a GREAT deal more than just applying for a few positions online. Commit to finding your next opportunity the way a “headhunter” advises, by executing the step-by-step guidelines in Career Stalled? and you can turn your job search into a job found! _________________________ This post is an excerpt from Career Stalled? How to Get YOUR Career Back in HIGH Gear and Land the Job You Deserveâ€"Your DREAM Job!, Skip’s latest book in the “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets Series of Career Development/Management Publications. To check out Career Stalled?, click on this link: Career Stalled? How to Get Your Career Back in HIGH Gear and Land the Job You DeserveYour DREAM Job! Available NOW in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com, at special introductory prices! (Kindle edition FREE with Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership!)