Tens of thousands of people jumped out of their secure jobs in 2022 to pursue a life of ‘doing what they love’ following the pandemic blues and many are experiencing resignation regret. Resignation regret is real and many people are facing it. I regularly coach executives who are feeling burnt out and want to walk away from their jobs but the first thing I always talk about is – can we develop up a system to help you make things better rather than jumping ship.
Often by developing up a strategy to address issues, managers are able to turn things around and go on to achieve much more in their careers, with higher levels of satisfaction as well.
They thank me for helping to guide them through their work challenges, rather than encouraging them to cut and run. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn’t seek advice and just threw in their job during the devastating global pandemic thinking they would find something better or enjoy more freedom setting up their own business. Sadly, the grass is not always greener, in fact, often it is brown on the other side, or it starts out green and quickly dies.
How can you get your career back on track?
Resignation regret is going to be one of the biggest career issues of 2023. My advice is simple. Don’t get upset and depressed about your circumstances, take action and start the new year on a positive note. If you feel like you have made a mistake leaving your job or a particular industry during the pandemic, put things right in 2023. Make 2023 the year of reset, rather than regret. Do the things you need to do to put your career back on track.
Energise your social media
The first thing you need to do is to energise your social media presence. When you are feeling down, you tend to let things go. Your social media presence is very important.
Also, review your Linkedin. This is a very helpful platform for professional connections, networking and engaging with people. Refresh and energise your profile information accordingly. Actively connect with people who are in industries or businesses of interest.
Update your CV
There are plenty of creative design platforms online that enable you to create impressive CV formats. And most of them are free. Utilise these resources to update and improve your CV.
Once upon a time, CVs needed to be very formal and stiff documents that included working experience, skills and qualifications. Today, employers and recruiters are looking for authentic CVs that demonstrate what you are like as a person, in addition to your working experience. Also, make the effort to ensure your CV reflects your personality and personal qualities.
Engage a life coach
Reach out to a career or life coach. This is one of the most uplifting things you can do. A career coach will listen to you, help you to develop a meaningful plan on how to pursue your goals, provide you with honest feedback and advice on how to reach them.
A career coach will also tell you what you need to change or improve to get there. They will also support you with tips, tools and techniques to maintain your resilience and focus. It is harder to reset than feel regret, but the former will deliver the outcomes you are seeking.
Connect with others
Resetting your career takes effort, but it also requires connections. Most career opportunities don’t come about by looking up job advertisements. You become aware of them through conversations with people you meet through networks, friends, and former work colleagues.
Reach out to people you know and meet up for coffee or lunch. Get your ear to the ground to find out what is happening with mergers, acquisitions, business expansions. This way you will find out who is hiring and where opportunities may be popping up. Start attending association networking events as well to broaden your connections and contacts.
Whether you are seeking to get back into a particular industry, another industry or ignite your business, you need to connect with other people to find out what is happening across industry. This type of intelligence is vital if you want to put yourself back in the frame.
Get moving
How is your health? Mental and physical health are important at all times, but especially so when you are feeling down. Set yourself some movement and eating goals. Movement is good for the heart and also the mind. When you move you feel better about yourself.
Ensure you are eating fresh vegetables, getting enough quality sleep, cutting back on alcohol and fast foods and taking the additional supplements to stay healthy. Pursuing career goals is hard work and you need to be in top shape to give yourself the best chance of a rapid reset.
Christina Foxwell is the founder and CEO of Ignite Purpose, a human-centred performance improvement, coaching, training and consulting practice. Foxwell is the author of Glass Angel, a book which not only explores her difficult upbringing, it also provides readers with insight into how she turned her life around through employing the right mindset.
