It can happen to us all at one point or another. Our motivation starts to wane and our creative spark dims a little. If you’ve been feeling “blah” about your career, use the following list to examine whether you need a simple reboot at work, or a completely new job. The more signs that apply to you, the sooner you should connect with the Onward Search recruiters for help landing a brand new design job.
Your Health Could Be Better.
This is THE most important element of a proper work-life balance. Feeling frustrated, unacknowledged, bored or just stressed at work can wear down on your physical and mental health over time. It’s not just the workaholics who need sudden wake up calls either. Burnout and boredom alike can be detrimental to your health so if you’re suffering from either, it’s time to take action to refresh your career and protect your well being.
You’re Still Doing The Same Thing.
Your industry evolves and redefines itself all the time, so why haven’t you? Yes, when the job market is tough, job security might prevent you from considering new projects and initiatives, but complacency comes with a price: obsolescence. Don’t get lost and forgotten behind your creative peers just because you have a routine. Find a new opportunity instead.
Your Creative Vision Doesn’t Match Your Employer’s.
For both in-house and agency designers, an absence of creative commonality among peers and/or managers can do a number on your confidence and productivity. If you’re consistently at odds with your coworkers over how your designs should look, feel or function, there’s probably a better fit out there for you and your ideas.
You Spend Most Of Your Day Commuting.
You may “know” your commute is bad for you, but have you thought about what your white-knuckled, profanity-peppered, mind-numbing drive to work is doing to you? Working in a team environment can be very valuable for designers, but not if it undermines your health and happiness. If your current employer won’t let you work remotely, consider working somewhere closer, or maybe even a freelance career.
You Haven’t Learned Anything New.
In short, all great designers constantly learn new trends, techniques and perspectives. Failing to do so compromises your ability to deliver cutting edge ideas that run circles around your competition. If you haven’t broadened your horizons with experimentation and exposure to new design ideas, what’s holding you back? Your employer should support your professional development and if it doesn’t, there are plenty of other companies that will.
You Haven’t Done Anything Exciting In Years.
When you first started designing, it made you feel fulfilled, elated and hungry to do more, right? Those are the purest rewards that all creative professionals should reap from their work. If you aren’t stoking your creative fires and feeling damn proud of your work more often than not, you need change. More and more companies WANT designers who are driven to push the envelope and let their creativity run wild. In other words, they want you.
These are only 6 reasons why you should explore a new job for your design career so if something else is bugging you about your current situation, don’t ignore it. Contact us and we’ll find you a great opportunity to love your design career again.
In fact, if you left a dull job for a dream job, tell us about what motivated you in the comments below. You might inspire a fellow creative to do the same!
