Stalled career? Wondering how to move forward? There are a ton of potential reasons why you haven’t gained traction in your professional life. Your boss might not be giving you a chance. Maybe your coworkers don’t respect you. I’ve got a simple piece of advice. Leave. 

You could go through the painful, long process of transforming your reputation at work, but honestly, that’s a ton of work. To change what people think of you is, at least in my opinion, harder to achieve than setting the right impression and building a new reputation at a new company. And I haven’t actually seen a lot of examples where sticking around works anyway. 

In my opinion, you are better off dialing in your resume and starting over someplace else. Read here and here to learn more about how to write a great resume. Also, before taking an offer, always do your due diligence! Remember, the goal with starting over is to give you the chance to be someone new. 

Once you land a new position, I’ve got some advice. 

  1. Be enthusiastic when faced with hard assignments.
  2. Volunteer for extra work. It sucks, but this will help your boss see that you truly value the opportunity she’s given you. 
  3. Disagree when you need to, but always with respect. 
  4. Get your work done on time and complete your obligations. Your new employer needs to know that they can count on you. Make them believe in you. 
  5. Do enough research and brainstorming on your own with the goal of having great ideas. Often, my best work happens off hours. In fact, I am writing this during halftime of my son’s state championship football game. (Luckily, he doesn’t read my blog.)
  6. NEVER downplay your wins. Accept kudos and thank you’s. It really is okay to do a bit of basking. (Though don’t go overboard because no one likes that.)
  7. Have the courage to stand by your decisions. 
  8. Most important is that you have to give respect to get it. 

I know that leaving, at least to some, may feel like giving up. You know what? That’s okay! Sometimes the cornerstone to growth is moving in a different direction. 

As always, let me know how your journey is going.