A lot of people are unhappy in their current jobs. I dont know whether youre one of the 25% that are happy. If so, thats great. Something like 75% of people are dissatisfied with their jobs. Theres a huge pool of wasted talent. Everybody has their own unique skills and experience and its not being used properly. Lots of people are just unhappy with where they are. Theres a whole host of reasons why that could be.

Just in the last week or so, the person that hired me for a consultant position quit, basically because she didnt feel valued and motivated by the company. She didnt get the attention she thought her efforts deserved.

Thats just one problem. You might have unreasonable demands placed upon you. You have to work really long hours to get anywhere. The paths to promotion may be blocked. You cant get to where you want to be because of the view that people have of you, your experience, or your performance in the job.

Termination is quite a common one because of downsizing. Your company might have been taken over by somebody else. There are surplus positions and, unfortunately, youre at the wrong end of the cost savings that the mergers might produce. You may be under too much stress and aggravation which lead to health problems. You may have to take stress breaks, or end up with some serious health issue.

Maybe you just find the job that youre in boring. Its not interesting to you anymore. Theres no challenge. Maybe theres just a different sort of work that you want to do. You have no confidence in your boss. Youd rather go out and start something yourself. Maybe you think youre too old to get a new job. Maybe youve stayed in a position too long and other people think youre stuck and set in your ways.

There might be criticism leveled against you that isnt just. There could be too much politics or backstabbing, you have to grease the right palms to get ahead. The job may just not be what you expected. You were promised one thing, but it turned into something else.

You have so much time invested in the company that you dont have enough time to look after your family or personal issues. Youre not really sure where your futures heading. Maybe there are others in the company who are creating problems for you. There are a whole bunch of reasons why people are unhappy where they are.

Theres another way of looking at, the Top Ten Signs That You Need a New Job. Its a bit like a Letterman Top Ten. Theyre a bit tongue-in-cheek, but theres a bit of truth in all of them.

10: Your outgo exceeds your income. You just need more money.

9: The most rewarding thing you did this week was sharpen all 12 of your pencils to the same length.

8: Youre reluctant to be a Career Day speaker at your kids fourth grade class.

7: Everyone in your workgroup got a raise except you.

6: Your friends all have jobs that sound more interesting than yours.

5: You were late for work three times this week, but you dont care.

4: Theres a meeting at 3:00 to talk about the upcoming reorganization, but youre not invited.

3: Your boss keeps forgetting your name.

2: You constantly daydream about being a forest ranger.

1: Your company was recently acquired and you spent two weeks worry that youd be laid off. After that, you worried that you wouldnt be.

I may have exaggerated a few things, but Im sure some of them ring true to many people. Many people just dont know where to start. You need to focus on what you want, get good advice, and get good coaching.

You have to et to the root of what is causing your unhappiness about where you are and what youre currently doing. The easiest way is The Five Whys. Ask, Why? five times.

Oh, Im not happy. Well, why? Because I got passed for a promotion. Why was that? Because they didnt value the project I was working on. Why not? Because management changed and they changed the objectives. Well, why was that? You really sort of drill down to the root cause and find out what the problem really is.

You can apply the "5 Why's" to any problem. It doesnt necessarily have to be work-related. Its like your kid saying, Why, daddy? What is the real answer? If you could write the answer down, what would it be?

Once you decide that you need a change - that's where the real fun begins. How to go about finding a new job or change careers completely. Keep an eye out for future articles.

Copyright 2005 Neil Gordon