Hate Your 'Dream Job'? Take These 14 Steps To Get On The Right Career Path

August 5, 2019

Imagine that you've just started what you thought was your dream career, only to find that it doesn't live up to your expectations. Whether you're unhappy with the tasks you're doing, the company environment or both, your once-burning passion has faded. Now you’re left feeling stuck in a job you simply don’t enjoy.

This is a common issue that can happen at any point in your career, but it doesn't mean you've hit a dead end. The experts of Forbes Coaches Council share their best tips for steering your professional life in a new direction and getting back on track toward your dream career.

1. Talk To Others Who Have Made The Transition
Recognize that you're not the only one to experience this. Before dropping everything and going back to school for another degree, seek out those who have transitioned from your field into other disciplines. Once you identify such individuals, network with them to learn about their experience, what they like about their new field and how they made the transition. - Scott Singer, Insider Career Strategies

2. Get To Know Yourself Better
Before you decide to pivot out of your current career, first get clear about who you are: your strengths, values and unique gifts. With this level of clarity, you can create a vision of the work you're meant to do and the context in which you'll do it to avoid future missteps. In the interim, leverage your time by doing aspects of the work you enjoy and that maximize your skills and abilities. - Carol Parker Walsh, Carol Parker Walsh Consulting, LLC

3. Match Your Talents To Your Industry
It's amazing how often the notion of becoming a teacher (or lawyer, doctor, etc.) does not match the practical reality, and it's especially frustrating when years of education have already been invested. Stuck? Hardly. What is your highest talent? Your talent is not teaching. Millions do that. Specifically, how do you help people learn? Match that to your role and thrive. - John Hittler, Evoking Genius

4. Reflect On What You've Learned
Be kind to yourself. Give yourself a high-five for having the courage to step out and try something new. Then take a moment to reflect. You are now armed with the knowledge you’ve gained on what did not appeal to you and why. You can continue to build on that data set and move forward with curiosity and a renewed energy and focus to discover what environments drain you or elevate you. - Debbie Ince, Executive Talent Finders, Inc

5. Tune Into Your Motivators
Understanding your internal drivers will point you in the right direction. Ask yourself the following questions to get crystal clear on your career motivators: Which work tasks fulfill me the most and which ones would I rather avoid? What kind of interpersonal interactions energize me and which ones drain me? If I could create my very own workday, what would it look, sound and feel like? - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC

6. Translate Your Skills To The Next Step
Remember it's not a step backward. It allowed you to build new skills and show you can successfully transition. Next, determine where you want to go and how your skills will transfer to let you do so. Have a target job description handy as a reference and build a T-Chart with one side listing a skill you have and the other showing how it translates. This will allow you to target your next resume. - Laura DeCarlo, Career Directors International

7. Give Yourself A Time Limit
It happens. Realize that and then make your exit plan. But first, give yourself six months. That may seem like a long time in a job you don't like, but you can incur some new skills that you didn't have before. Those new skills may work in your favor on your resume. Remember, there was a reason you signed on there, to begin with. Learn and move on. - Erin Kennedy, Professional Resume Services, Inc.

8. Get Comfortable With 'Failing'
The great thing about finding out a specific path or that your "dream" job isn’t for you is that you have the opportunity to change direction. By changing direction, you get clearer on what is a good fit for you, what worked and what didn’t work. It’s similar to the theory, "If you’re not failing, you’re not growing." Move through the discomfort of the "fail" and redirect. - Frances McIntosh, Intentional Coaching LLC

9. Learn To 'Prune' Yourself
I landed in my dream job after receiving my Master of Arts in drama. After an utterly horrible three months, I decided to leave. That fresh start was something that made me who I am now. Since then I strongly believe that people, like trees, need pruning in order to thrive. If it is really disappointing, seek a different path for yourself! - Inga Bielińska, Inga Bielinska Coaching Consulting Mentoring

10. Create A Plan For Your Exit
Start planning your way out, then execute that plan. Be sure to make connections in your more desired field so you learn what they're looking for in their team. Channel your projects in your current role toward the things you do find satisfying; A marketing fanatic who feels stuck in a job in heavy industry might start an industry-wide newsletter, blog or wiki to show off their writing chops. - Joanne Meehl, Joanne Meehl Career Services, LLC

11. Change Your Self-Talk
If someone is saying to themselves, "I should've known" or "I should stay now that I took the job," they will bring about stress and stuckness to their situation. To become clear, calm and confident about moving forward and getting unstuck, they need to change their self talk to: "How might I move forward now that I know what I know?" This will help them to think clearly and improve the situation. - Susan K. Wehrley, BIZremedies

12. Move Forward With Focus And Intention
While knowing what you don't want is a good start, what is most important now is to understand why your current job is not a good fit for you. Take time to assess what activities motivate and engage you and start exploring what opportunities exist to find or create a role that aligns with who you are and what you want to achieve. Plan your next move with strategic focus and intention. - Tonya Echols, Vigere

13. Let Your Dreams Evolve
In every new job, there will be things you love and aspects that are not what you thought they would be. My career has been served greatly by the fact that I allow my goals and focus to continually evolve. As long as you are honest with yourself about what you want and adjust your dreams and expectations as you go, you will always be getting closer to a more perfect situation for you. Don't give up. - Amanda Frances, Amanda Frances Inc

14. Appreciate The Lesson
Good for you! You went for and landed it. No lingering "what ifs" for you! You're in strategy mode, not stuck! How did reality veer from expectation? Where might you have picked up on this in the process to apply going forward? While here, build a network and see what value can you add or learn to put on your resume. Reach out on LinkedIn to others who did the same to hone your next moves. - Lisa K McDonald, Career Polish, Inc.