You have, no doubt, once or twice clicked on a URL (link) and found yourself face to face with a scary picture of a skull and two ‘crossed’ bones’. It was a dead link. Move this fast forward to your current job! Have you ever felt like you are working at a dead-end job? If you think that you are, you are definitely not alone.
One of the signs that you may be working a dead-end job is if you find yourself in the same position, for years and years. This however must be interpreted with a pinch of salt. The formerly predictable progression from one established position to another is giving way to more flexible career progression patterns that are more responsive to the needs of the individual. It is possible for an employee to move up, down, sideways, round, or even stay at the current position and still make career progress. If you were hired with no intention of advancement, your current position may be fine for you. If however you have goals and have yet to see those goals accomplished, staying in the same position for years may be a sign of a dead-end job. You should never have your work go unrewarded, especially if you were employed by the same company for years.
Another sign that you may be working a dead-end job is if you have been working at the same pay level, for a number of years. In fact, many employers automatically give their employees pay raises yearly or even quarterly. If you have been employed by the same company and for an extended period of time, you may be working a dead-end job. There is good news though, if your only issue is pay, you may be able to turn your dead-end job into a great job. You can do this by inquiring about a pay raise. Too many employees ‘just play’ the waiting game, reactively taking their situation as given and failing as a result. The best way is to shape the game by negotiating with your supervisor around a pay rise. Many employers expect this, especially after an extended period of time without a raise; therefore, you may have nothing to lose by at least asking.
Another one of the ways that you go about getting out of what you may refer to as a dead-end job is by creating a stir, but in a good way. Despite your possible frustration, you may want to consider giving your job, dead-end or not, a second chance. With that second chance though, you are urged to take action. Be sure to do good deeds in front of your supervisors, volunteer to work late or cover someone else’s shift in an emergency and so forth. This is ‘self-initiative’. Self-initiative refers to the ability to take action to accomplish a task or a goal without waiting for someone to tell you what to do. An employee seeking career growth must steer his or her own path to success. The key element behind self-initiative is that the employee demonstrates this attribute on his or her own volition and is not asked to do so
Another option that you may want to explore when looking to rid yourself of a dead-end job, is seeking employment elsewhere. If you have a family to support or bills that must be paid, you may only want to use seeking employment elsewhere as a last resort, but it is still a resort that you may want to examine.
For more information about career advancement visit our Email coaching program at http://www.expressexpertise.com/lesson/getting- started/ and make a coaching request.
Related readings
http://www.expressexpertise.com/career-progression-lost-top-ladder/
http://www.expressexpertise.com/self-initiative-going-the-extra-mile/