Episode 108
Why Career Limbo Sucks and What To Do About It
In today's episode of The Career Confidence I am talking about career limbo, how it’s more common than you might think, what to do if you find yourself there and a sneaky peek into my new programme Your Next Right Step which might be just the thing you need to get you out of limbo and moving forward in your career.
Key points:
- Career limbo can significantly impact mental health and overall life satisfaction.
- If you are in career limbo, know that you are not alone. The people who you think 'have got their act together' rarely have.
- 'Your Next Right Step' is designed to help you come up with an actionable career plan tailored to your aspirations.
- Focus on short-term career goals rather than attempting to map out a comprehensive long-term career plan.
- Understanding your strengths, skills, and values is fundamental to overcoming career limbo and making informed decisions.
- Taking deliberate and manageable steps towards clarity can help you feel in control of your career.
About Nicola Semple
I help people to build their career confidence and achieve their career goals.
You can book a free no-obligation chat about how I can support you to achieve your career goals: https://nicolasemple.com/chat
You can get my free guide "Back Yourself: Your 7 Step Plan to Build Confidence and Achieve Your Career Goals": https://nicolasemple.com/backyourself
You can buy my book The Career Confidence Toolkit: Take Control of Your Career and Fulfil Your Potential: https://nicolasemple.com/book
Connect with me on Linked In to carry on the conversation: https://linkedin.com/in/iamnicolasemple
A new episode of The Career Confidence Podcast is released every second Friday. Hit the subscribe button and you will be the first to know when a new episode goes live.
Transcript
Foreign hello, and welcome to the Career Confidence Podcast, where we explore how you can build your career with confidence in this ever changing world.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Nicola Semple, a career confidence coach and author of the Career Confidence Toolkit.
Speaker A:Today, I'm going to be taking a break from the interviews that I've been sharing over the last few months and instead we are going to be talking about career limbo.
Speaker A:So career limbo is much more common than you think and I want to share with you what to do if you find yourself there.
Speaker A:I'm also going to give you a sneaky peek into my new program, your next right step, which might be just the thing you need to get you out of career limbo and get you moving forward.
Speaker A:So, first of all, what do I mean by career limbo?
Speaker A:I'm talking about that really frustrating space that you can sometimes find yourself in, that place where work feels like Groundhog Day.
Speaker A:You're not moving forward and you're not even sure how to get yourself out of the rut that you're in.
Speaker A:And there's lots of different things that can trigger this feeling of career limbo.
Speaker A:It might be that you were going after a promotion and then you miss out on.
Speaker A:Might be that you're not feeling pushed or stretched in the role that you're in, or it might be that you just realise the job you're in just no longer aligns with where you want to go with your career.
Speaker A:And honestly, you cannot underestimate the effects that career limbo can have on all aspects of your life.
Speaker A:Because on the one hand, you could argue, well, you might not be growing and developing, but at least you've got a job.
Speaker A:Which in these uncertain times, having a job, that's a great thing, you've got a salary coming in every month, but it doesn't quite work like that.
Speaker A:Career limbo can be really painful.
Speaker A:It can have a really negative effect on your mental health, and it chips away at any feelings of satisfaction and purpose that your work might give you.
Speaker A:The thing is, as human beings, we're wired to pursue growth, we're wired to crave progress.
Speaker A:And when we don't feel like we're making that progress, it can trigger all sorts of negative emotions.
Speaker A:In fact, I was reading some research recently that shows when people feel that their career is stagnating, they also experience decreased life satisfaction.
Speaker A:The other thing to take into account is career limbo creates a lot of uncertainty.
Speaker A:And uncertainty can feel very stressful, not the kind of stress you feel when you're In a crisis situation, it's a different kind of stress.
Speaker A:It's like a low grade anxiety.
Speaker A:It just wears you down bit by bit over time.
Speaker A:You're waking up every day just wondering, am I in the right role?
Speaker A:Am I in the right organization?
Speaker A:Should I be doing something different with my career?
Speaker A:And you keep going round in that thought loop, it becomes truly exhausting.
Speaker A:All of that ambiguity, all of that uncertainty can have a real knock on impact on your self confidence.
Speaker A:Because you're looking around and you think, well, everybody else has got their life figured out, why can't I do that?
Speaker A:And then it leads you to start to question the skills and abilities that you've got, the decisions that you've made and that you're continuing to make.
Speaker A:And ultimately it gets you to question your overall self worth.
Speaker A:All of it, all of that combined is absolutely and thoroughly exhausting.
Speaker A:If that sounds familiar to you, the first thing I want you to know is that you are not alone.
Speaker A:When you look around and see everybody else having their act together, you're not seeing the whole picture.
Speaker A:Yeah, there are some people who've got more certainty about what they want from their careers than others.
Speaker A:But I would wager that the people who have their career plan all mapped out are in the minority.
Speaker A:And the next thing I want you to remember is that you don't need to have your whole career plan all mapped out.
Speaker A:You don't need to know what your journey is going to look like over the next 20 to 30 years.
Speaker A:The world is changing so quickly.
Speaker A:Your personal circumstances will also change over time.
Speaker A:So I want to encourage you, have an eye to the future, have a loose plan of what you want, but most importantly, just focus on the next 18 to 24 months.
Speaker A:Think about what you want to achieve in that time frame.
Speaker A:It won't seem as daunting and you are much more likely to be able to come up with a plan and then most importantly, take action on that plan.
Speaker A:So how do you do it?
Speaker A:How do you come up with that career plan?
Speaker A:It would be remiss of me not to tell you about my new program, your Next Right Step, because it has been designed specifically to help you work out what where you want to take your career next and then also to create a plan of action to make it happen.
Speaker A:I've been talking to a lot of potential clients recently who would love to sign up for my Career Clarity Package, but they're just not in the right place to make the financial investment.
Speaker A:And for complete transparency, my Career Clarity package is currently £995, which is incredibly reasonably priced given the amount of one to one support that you get within it.
Speaker A:But we all know that the cost of everything is going up.
Speaker A:Our window cleaner came yesterday and emailed the bill through this morning and honestly I almost fell off my chair when I saw that the price for getting my windows cleaned had gone up to 61 pounds.
Speaker A:I don't live in a particularly big house, but I do live in the southeast of England and the price of services just seems to rocket every single month.
Speaker A:With all that in mind, with uncertainty in the job market and the cost of living increasing every single month, I know that people might not be in a place to invest the best part of a thousand pound on coaching at the moment.
Speaker A:So I've been thinking about how I can support people at a more affordable price point for them, but still retaining an element of one to one support.
Speaker A:Because I could have created an online course, sold it for 50 pound, had lots of people buy it, but then very little would change as a result.
Speaker A:I did some research and found that the average completion rate for online courses is around about 13%.
Speaker A:So if we look at my career satisfaction, I don't get satisfaction from knowing that only 13% of people that buy from me actually take any action.
Speaker A:So with that in mind, I created your next right step.
Speaker A:It's a light touch program that will walk you through step by step, my career clarity process.
Speaker A:So you're given a clear framework to follow, but you also get some one to one support to help steer you in the right direction.
Speaker A:The way it works is we have a 30 minute call to work out where you are and what you want to get from the process.
Speaker A:I then provide you with some relevant bespoke reflection questions that supplement the your Next right Step framework.
Speaker A:You then get access to a workbook and accompanying videos that you work through independently that take you through my career clarity process.
Speaker A:Once you've worked through those questions, we have a follow up one hour coaching session that helps you review everything you've learned about yourself, helps you clarify what you want next, and then we work together to create your plan of action and then you can go off and take the next right step in your career.
Speaker A:The investment for the programme is £350 and I genuinely believe it's the most effective way that I can guide you through that career clarity process and give you an element of one to one support.
Speaker A:Not as much as you would get on a full career clarity package, but there is still that one to one support to really help you get where you want to go.
Speaker A:So if this sounds of interest to you, drop me an email nicolaikolasemple.com and I'll send you the information you need to get started.
Speaker A:If you're listening to this and thinking, yeah, I hear you, but I'm still not prepared to invest in coaching, then I still want to help you.
Speaker A:So what I would highly recommend you do is take some time to understand your strengths, understand your skills and understand your values.
Speaker A:Who are you, what's important to you, and what's it going to take for you to feel happy at work.
Speaker A:Then map out your options.
Speaker A:What is practical and feasible for you?
Speaker A:Have you got the financial security to take some time out and consider your options?
Speaker A:Or do you need to move into a new role straight away?
Speaker A:Do you want to continue in the same field that you're currently in or do you want to do something completely different?
Speaker A:Take the time to reflect.
Speaker A:Take the time to assess your options and then work out right now at this point in time which options are most attractive to you and pick one pathway.
Speaker A:Then think about what do you need to do to follow that path?
Speaker A:What actions will you need to take?
Speaker A:What support will you need from other people?
Speaker A:What time frame do you want to work to?
Speaker A:From there you'll be able to come up with your action plan to help get you out of career limbo and in a position in to take your next right step in your career.
Speaker A:I know that when you're sitting in a state of confusion and you just don't know which way to move forward that me outlining that process might seem overly simplistic, but I just want you to break it down.
Speaker A:Just break it down and do one chunk of work at a time and slowly but surely clarity will emerge and you will start to get a better handle on where it is you want to go next with your career.
Speaker A:And remember, if you would appreciate support defining your next right step, I'd love to help you with that.
Speaker A:So drop me an email nicolaikolasemple.com and I can send you some more information about how we can get started.
Speaker A:And if you'd like to keep in contact, be sure to download my free guide back yourself.
Speaker A:Your seven step plan to build confidence and achieve your career goals by going to Nicholas semple.combackyourself as well as getting instant access to the guide.
Speaker A:I'll send you my fortnightly newsletter with career confidence hints and tips.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker A:We'll be back in the next episode with a brilliant guest.
Speaker A:But in the meantime, have a great rest of your day, and I'll talk to you again very soon.
Speaker A:Bye for now, Sam.
