5 Ways to Beat Career Overwhelm

As the holiday season approaches, on a scale of 1 to 10, how overwhelmed are you?

Why? Why not?

You will find all sorts of resources to help you reduce your holiday overwhelm, such as:

1. Reduce the stress of gift giving by only giving gift cards

2. Donate to charities on others' behalf

3. Send out New Year's cards instead of holiday cards

4. Practice mindfulness

5. Pray, exercise, meditate and on and on the list goes

However, there doesn't seem to be any short of challenges no matter the time of year when it comes to reducing overwhelm in our careers.

Here are common 'overwhelm stories' I hear and a few solutions:

1. Training. No matter if you are the new hire or you must train a new hire, finding time and energy and resources to train can be challenging. And, let's face it- not everyone is a natural teacher. Just because you're a rock star in your area of expertise does NOT make you a great trainer.

   1. SOLUTION: Barter with someone else who is; build a schedule that does not require you to do ALL the training, and/or find someone else who is great at scheduling and to do lists to help you build the training plan, and you just show up and train!

2. Climbing the proverbial career ladder at the right pace. This is one I hear ALL THE TIME. Short answer- stop comparing yourself. Easier said than done, I know. You are so much more than your current job title. What impact do you make? What impact do you want to make?

   1. SOLUTION: Take time RIGHT NOW- to identify what truly fills your cup at work; and how to identify more of those types of projects or interactions and do less of the work you find unfulfilling. Can you volunteer for a special assignment?

3. Money is just one piece of the puzzle. To make a career move solely based on pay is usually a mistake, especially if you have other values that take precedence, such as work/life balance, family, health, etc.

   1. SOLUTION: Make sure you assess your core values at least once a year to see if there is alignment between your current work and your time.

4. Hiring. There continues to be more job openings across the US than qualified potential hires. So, hiring will take longer and continue to be more challenging.

   1. SOLUTION: Make it a strategic priority to develop at least 1-2 relationships with local schools to begin to develop your pipeline of talent and/or make an effort to develop your referral network. Refer to my prior blog(s) on networking.

5. Not knowing your strengths. The further we go in our careers, the further away from our undergraduate experiences, career assessments, etc. we move.

   You need to make personal development a priority for yourself. This is NOT an "HR thing;" It's a YOU thing or should be :-)

   a. SOLUTION: When you know your innate way you strive, take action and problem-solve, this can be very freeing and enable you to get more done with greater focus and drive. Learn more about the Kolbe A index here now.

Your career journey is uniquely and wonderfully yours.

When you can stop the temptation of comparing yourself to others and focus on breaking down your goals into bite size chunks, your impact as well as your drive will be enhanced.

***Are you 'sticking it out' in a job because you feel bad or don't know how 'they' will ever replace you if you left? This is actually a disservice to yourself and your team. See what Gallup has to say here. Disengagement doesn't do anyone any favors- not you, not your team, not your organization.

If are you struggling discerning your next career move, I'm happy to chat.