Why People Hold Back From Changing Their Careers

Many people hold back from changing their careers or even companies, why? Well, as human beings we are used to our comfort zones, and they don’t necessarily refer to the place we work, but a number of other things. Sometimes we can feel better off remaining where we currently are, when in reality all we are doing is just leading ourselves down the road to a dead end job. Here we give you our most common reasons why people choose to stay in the job they really hate.

  1. Feeling too comfortable

Even the little things like walking through those office doors and saying hello to your receptionist with that feeling of knowing everyone can make us feel comfortable. Our work can easily turn into our home away from home, and what if you don’t want to move homes? Let’s face it, moving careers doesn’t just involve the change of salaries and workplaces, it also changes the fact that you’ve gone from being a known employee to newbie, and who wants to be that person going to lunch on their own, right? Also, you know you’re experienced with the work from your previous role, but how do the new people around you like to do things?

  1. Making the wrong decision

Thinking of changing careers can seem exciting; you start to picture the fresh start that lies ahead of you with complete new surroundings which will hopefully bring you new, fun challenges. You hope that everyone in the company will be nice and you’ll settle in well. That’s the nice side, well what about the stronger side of you that is holding you back from applying? This is the worry of immediately regretting your decision to leave once you start your new job. You know that once you leave, there’s not really much chance of going back, as asking for your old job would hurt your pride just that tiny bit and they may have already replaced you! Overall, you’re just worrying that the saying of ‘the grass is always greener’ will apply to you.

  1. Not wanting to be seen as ‘job hopping’

OK, so you hate your job and while you scroll down your LinkedIn profile you see that you have only been with your current employer somewhere on the scale of 1-12 months, you think that your journey in this dreaded place cannot be up yet. No, you have to stick it out for at least 2-3 years before even considering handing your notice in. The worry of employers thinking badly of you is nerving, you don’t want to be seen as a pointless hire before even interviewing.

  1. Losing your identity

‘“Hello, I’m Tony and I’m a doctor”. This is Tony, Tony has been a doctor for the vast majority of his life and he now wants to change careers, but the industry he wants to go into is the complete opposite to the one he is currently in. You see, Tony has been used to introducing himself that way for years, and if he gives it up now, what is he now going to be introduced as?’ BHAM! That’s how we all feel. Maybe the market we’ve been in for so long actually defines us as a person?

WRONG! If you are actually considering a new career, you may have been reading those points agreeing with at least a few of them. Well you shouldn’t. The truth is, there is no way of us being able to tell for sure whether the next career move we make is going to be the right one. There is no crystal ball for us to see into the future after all. However, all we can truly say to ourselves is, if the consideration has already taken place to leave your current firm, technically you’re already on your way out. Your subconscious is already telling you that you need something new in your life and now is the right time to go grab it! Job hopping is seen as a case for some employers, but truth be told, it’s just career experimenting. How are you going to know if you like or dislike something if you’ve never tried it? Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and make that statement obvious in your next interview – no one can judge you for trying.

If you’re looking to start a career in IT, then we can help you no matter your skill level. To get started, give us a call on 020 7426 9835 or submit your details on our Individual Training page