4 Ways to Get Out of a Career Slump

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If you’re feeling like you’re in a slump, that you want to get to the next level, feel energized and grow your career, then this is for you.

Today I’m going to focus on some specific things that you can do to get out of a slump and improve your career experience right now.

1. Remember Who the F You Are

The first thing to do to improve your career, and this is a big one, is to remember who the F you are.

If you work in a culture that gets you down, you can start to doubt yourself. You can start to feel less confident. You might start to wonder if you're really as good as you thought you were. Don’t lose sight of your value and your expertise. Your circumstances might suck, but you are always in the driver’s seat of changing that. So remember who you are and create the change you want to see.

2. Expand Your Circle

Focusing on relationships is really big when it comes to your career. Relationships cannot be emphasized enough. When I started to really focus on relationships, my career grew exponentially. When I put myself out there and talked to people that I didn’t know, had small talk that felt uncomfortable, I not only learned more and became better at what I did, but I had a larger support network. It also made my career more enjoyable.

The industry is so well connected, especially in the Pharma and Biotech space that you want to have people who know you, who know what you do, and that they think highly of you. Focusing on building and sustaining relationships is a great place to start to get momentum and feel better.

3. Say Yes Strategically

The next thing you can do to improve your career is to say yes strategically. You don't want to say yes to everything. Anything you say yes to should have a strategic justification. Saying yes, even when you’re scared or nervous, is going to help you get more visibility. Plus, you’re going to have more fun and you’re going to advance your career more quickly.

When deciding what you should say yes to and what you should defer, look at the opportunities around you and ask yourself, will this help me with my goals? Will this help me with who I want to be and how I want to be seen? What is the benefit of me doing this? What is the best case scenario? What is the worst case scenario? How will I handle the worst?

Practice being courageous. When you do things that are uncomfortable, you build your confidence to do more uncomfortable things and you grow faster than you can imagine.

4. Create an Objective, Safe Space for Yourself

Work can be hard, not just in the technical aspect, but the climate, the culture. There is a lot of change. There are a lot of personalities. There’s a lot of roadblocks to getting where you want to go. When you get lost, having an objective and safe space for yourself to work through your career can just that alone be the thing that makes a huge difference in your happiness at work.

Unfortunately, HR isn’t always a safe space. Your boss isn’t always a safe space. Even if you have an amazing boss, you don’t want your boss to know every little doubt you have or every complaint. If you’re not sure what to do with an employee or if you should change jobs, those are things that you don’t want to talk to even the best boss about. And your work friends, let’s talk about them. They make work fun and they totally mean well, but they aren’t the best advice givers because they’re in the pool of misery with you.

I suggest having a some place where you can go and share your fears, doubts, and your dreams, help you uncover your blind spots and get moving toward your goals.

Want to dig more into this topic? Listen to the Your Worthy Career podcast: 5 Things You can Do to Improve Your Career

Melissa Lawrence is the Founder of Your Worthy Career and is a Career and Leadership Coach that helps women in life sciences upgrade their career to one they love. She hosts the top rated podcast, Your Worthy Career. To learn more about working with Melissa, check out her website and connect with her on LinkedIn.