Career Atrophy – Has your career fallen asleep?

According to that font of all knowledge – Wikipedia, Atrophy is defined as “the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body”. Sounds pretty awful doesn’t it? But what if this “wasting away” happens to your career and what can you do about it if you recognise the symptoms?

It doesn’t just happen overnight. Consider your career as a tree, it grows from a small seed, sprouts branches and foliage as you yourself grow and develop your experience. But this atrophy like an ivy can creep up on you and paralyse your ability to make the important career decisions and the most of the opportunities that present themselves along the way. Perhaps you’re programmed to say “No” before you say “Yes”, with the result that you may have inadvertently avoided opportunities and lost the ability to accelerate your career along a different path. If this is you, help is at hand.

In his book “What’s Stopping You?” Robert Kelsey examines the factors behind why smart people don’t always reach their potential. In it he identifies the fears that drive failure and the self-awareness to help navigate it. He identifies personality types that exhibit a high fear of failure and as a result of this become “practitioners of task avoidance”. I genuinely think that similar fear of failure is behind a lot of the “career avoidance” practitioners among us with the result that several great people never give themselves a chance to realise their true potential.

At Campbell Rochford, we’re regularly tasked with identifying the best fit in terms of skills, experience and most importantly personality type for my clients. But how many more great candidates are out there that may also be the right fit but will never raise their profiles because of disillusionment with their careers and a lack of confidence? As recruitment specialists, we believe we can help candidates in this scenario by providing a framework from which they will develop the requisite confidence and skills to enable career success.

So what to do if you feel your own career has fallen asleep? Well consider where your priorities lie? Do you want that corner office or would you prefer a better work life balance? Have you weighed up the pros and cons of your current working environment? If it’s a struggle to get out of bed each day and you can’t face your boss, you really need to think about your next move. Take this opportunity to speak with Campbell Rochford and use us a sounding board. We can provide you with the kick start you may require and bring a focus to your next move. You could draw up a list of all the jobs or positions that you’ve held to date and pick the one that was most enjoyable and fulfilling. Confucius wrote in the 5th Century BC “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” So the key is to find that one thing that brings out your passion and pursue that. Reawaken your aspirations and don’t be afraid to think and dream BIG. Set yourself some audacious goals but be sure to attach a deadline and be firm in your commitment to meeting these.

Ultimately you haven’t reached this point in your career by chance, it’s because of the decisions you have taken (or didn’t take) along the way that have led you here. So now is the time to take responsibility and be self accountable but choosing a recruitment partner to guide you. It’s too easy to blame lots of external factors when in reality, your career is your own responsibility and you need to find that inner voice that will motivate you to success. As your recruitment consultants, Campbell Rochford can be the external voice, prompting and prodding at the right moments and ensuring that you’re making the correct career choices.

If you’re concerned that your career is stagnant and you want to explore what options are available, why not reach out to Campbell Rochford today and speak with one of our professionals.

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