Do you wake up day after day and wish you could call in sick?  Are you demotivated and unexcited about your work because you feel there is absolutely nothing to look forward to except more of the same everything? 

You know it is time to reinvent your career if you are feeling unchallenged, or if you don't perceive career advancement opportunities like a promotion.  You may feel your career has plateaued or, you may have started out enjoying your career and then over time you lost interest.

For example, you may be new in your career and took the first job you were offered at a company you felt was solid because you wanted a stable job and you needed to pay your college bills but you are not doing something that interests you.  Or you achieved your career goals early on in your career and you are looking for something new and challenging to do.

Another example is that, you may have over 20 years of experience in your career.  You used to love going to work because you had a plan and twenty or thirty years later you are doing exactly what you always dreamed of doing but you are no longer excited about it.  In fact, you are only waiting around for retirement so going to work every day is now a tedious exercise because you are seeing the same work and situations over and over again.  

Sometimes career reinvention may be useful if you are in the right job but the work environment isn't a good fit for you.  For example, you are doing the work you love but you do not thrive in a very competitive, "cut-throat" environment nor do you enjoy managing people but you are working in a very competitive environment and you have a team of employees reporting to you.  

If you decide you are ready to make a change in your career you can decide if you want to remain on the same career track or in the same industry or if you want to change your career altogether.   Your career usually goes through four stages in a cycle.   The cycle starts at the exploration stage and moves into the establishment stage where you are working toward moving up the ranks.  Once you establish yourself in your career you maintain your performance or continue to grow and when your career starts to approach decline, you may disengage.  Some employees disengage but stick around because early retirement is right around the corner.

Here is a list of reasons employees give me that cause them to resist making a change that will probably lead to a much happier, fulfilled career:
 

n-  I don’t know what you want to do but I am clear about what I don't want to do.
-  I don’t have a degree so I can't compete in the market
-  I don’t have the money to go back to school
-  I am making a lot of money and I don’t want a pay cut if I have to start over
-  I have to support my family.  I have to keep food on the table and gas in the car.
-  I know what I have… (Fear of the unknown)

These are reasons that sound legitimate but keep us stuck so here are the steps you can take to get "unstuck" and reinvent your career.

-  Step one is to find your purpose if you haven't already.  If you are going to reinvent your career why
   don't you do something you love to do?  Keep in mind, finding something to do that will invoke enthusiasm 
   sometimes takes time so be patient with yourself.  If you are unclear and you need help with this
   process, a career coach can assist you.
-  Step two is to understand your personal career preferences.  What are your personal values?  Are they
   aligned with your employer's values?  What kind of work environment do you work best in?  Where can
   you find this type of environment? 
-  If you decide to make a change in your career, research your options.  Conduct your research into the 
   corporate environment before you interview with a potential employer because you can decide that a 
   work environment is not suitable to you no matter how much money they offer.  Decide if you want to 
   remain in the same company or the same industry?  Use your network of friends and acquaintances to
   understand more about the roles that interest you.  Always aim to have more than one role of interest.
-  Create a career development plan that will help you to get from where you are to where you want to 
   be.  You may decide to take classes or identify a mentor or career coach.  Your plan should identify
   companies of interest to you and it can identify if you would like to continue to work for an employer or
   open your own business or a combination of both.  If you plan to continue to work for an employer and
   open your own business, keep in mind some companies have rules that prohibit a conflict of interest that
   will impede your ability to perform your daily duties so investigate the corporate policy before you seek
   an alternative income stream.

   Your career plan can include hypothetical career paths you can take to achieve your goals coupled with 
   alternative developmental plans designed to provide you with the skills you will need for each
   path.  Remember, if you are looking to attain a managerial or executive position, learn more about
   leadership and technical skills that will help you to be more competitive. 

Some employees wait until their employers can see how much they bring to the table and train and promote us.  While some employers are willing to invest in your development, your training is either primarily your responsibility or a joint responsibility between you and your employer because if you decide to resign, you take the benefits of your training with you to your new employer.  So develop your own personal training plan by considering your budget and appropriate seminars, degree programs, conferences and associations.

There are many people who are not sure about what they want to do so if you are one of these people you can try different jobs over time.  If you decide to try different jobs, keep in mind that some employers shy away from considering resumes that list numerous jobs in a short period of time because they may perceive this as an indicator of instability and some recruiters are wary of employee turnover.  However, frequent position changes while working for a single employer seems to be a more acceptable pattern.

In my experience, no two career plans are exactly the same.  Everyone has different interests and skill sets.  For example, you may be interested in law, someone else may want to combine their knowledge of the law with their knowledge of IT.  Or you may combine your knowledge of IT with Graphic Art. Consider the needs of the market you are a part of (or one you wish to be a part of) and think of skill sets or combinations of skills that will set you apart from your peers.

Reinvention can occur whether or not you remain in the same career or whether or not you decide to start working for yourself.  When reinventing yourself you don't have to be focused on a promotion or making more money.  You can focus on improving your performance or knowledge of your existing role and this can involve developing a plan to attain a higher performance rating or it can mean taking a lateral role with the same pay so you can attain breadth and depth of knowledge and experience.  So when developing your plan, ensure it is flexible and meets your specific needs.