If you're regularly falling victim to Monday Blues, chances are you're in the wrong job. Here are five sure signs it's time to start looking for something else.
1. There's no promise of progression.
Your graduate job should simply be a starting point, with plenty of room to evolve. If you haven’t been offered any new training since you started, or the chance to build on and hone existing skills, the first course of action is to ASK for these opportunities. If your employer is a good one, they’ll be delighted that you want to widen your repertoire and will try their best to facilitate this development. After all, there’s a vested interest for them to make you the best worker you can be.
If however, your plea for progression falls on deaf ears, it’s time to get out. Failing to learn new skills and keep up with industry trends/software/practises will leave you obsolete in an ever-changing market.
2. You're embarrassed about it.
Your graduate job should be a real source of pride, not humiliation. The first thing to do is to ask yourself why you’re so embarrassed. Does your job in some way clash with your morals, values or interests? Is it too far removed from the career dreams you had set for yourself upon leaving university? Perhaps it’s a perceived lack of prestige that makes you feel bad about your work?
Whatever it is, if you feel you can’t overcome it, it’s time to look elsewhere. If you can’t derive any satisfaction or pride from your job, it will inevitably affect your own sense of self-worth in the long run.
3. You're forever watching the clock.
Boredom is the number one symptom of frustrated intelligence so make sure you put yours to good use in a job that stimulates and challenges you every day.
4. You constantly feel overwhelmed.
On the other side of the coin, a job that leaves you permanently at your wits' end should also raise alarm bells. When you're trying to meet deadlines and please demanding clients, all the while striving for that elusive promotion and higher pay check, stress is inevitable. However, when these severe bouts of anxiety become more often than not, it might be time to assess your suitability for that role.
5. You're the odd one out.
If you find yourself coming into work, purposefully sitting alone at lunch and making excuses for why you can’t make the next company social, it might be time to consider a change of scenery. It’s been estimated that the average person spends around 90,000 hours of their lifetime at work so it makes sense to surround yourself with friendly, like-minded co-workers. It's a very long time to be miserable...