What should you do if you’re feeling stagnant in your job?

A friend who is also a counsellor recently told me that she was midway through taking a course because she felt stagnant in her work.

I think stagnation is a problem a lot of counsellors face once they have been in the field for more than a few years.

When you first start out in this career, there’s so much to learn: university application systems around the world; how to write a recommendation letter; how to give feedback on students’ application essays. Often, you struggle to find time for everything you have to learn.

But once you have been in the field for a few years, you’ve supported cohorts of students with their applications, organised university fairs and career days, networked at events and gone to conferences. So you find yourself asking the question: what next?

Progressing a career in college counselling

Of course, this is not just applicable to the college counselling field – this applies to most careers. But what is unique about this field is that, because most counsellors have not trained as teachers, our mobility within the field of education is limited. There are a few lucky ones who are promoted to head of department or even vice-principal, but most of us will remain a counsellor for the rest of our careers.

Some choose to move to another school to do mostly the same thing over again, sometimes in a different curriculum or setting, or for a better compensation package. Some, meanwhile choose to cross over to the “dark side” and work for a university instead.

There are, however, other ways to tackle a feeling of career stagnation. Here are some suggestions.

Reflect on your goals

Take the time to reflect on your career goals. Understanding what you want will help you to assess whether your current position is still a good fit for your ambitions.

Seek new challenges in your current role

Look for opportunities to take on new challenges or responsibilities. Speak to your line manager or colleagues about projects or tasks that you can tackle to expand your skills and knowledge. For example, if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a running coach, why not speak to the PE department and see what happens?

Expand your skill set

Identify areas where you can develop new skills that are relevant to college counselling or other careers. As counsellors, we know there is always more to learn in this field, whether it benefits us or our students. For example, if you’ve always wanted to understand a bit more about how to critique an art student’s portfolio, why not take an art class to understand more?

Complete a counsellor qualification

For those who feel their résumé is naked without a counselling qualification, completing a course or qualification is certainly something to consider. However, it’s worth comparing your own professional needs with what the curriculum offers. THE offers the THE Counsellor Accreditation Programme and other popular options include: UCLA Extension, UCSD Extended Studies and Lehigh University.

Volunteer to help others

If you are looking to keep yourself occupied or to use your skill set to help your peers, why not volunteer? IACAC has many opportunities, such as the IACAC Mentor Year Program and IACAC Committee to contribute to IACAC. You can also consider volunteering with non-profit organisations that help place underprivileged or disadvantaged students in university.

We have to recognise there is no right or wrong way to overcome feeling stagnant in our job. However, the power to effect change lies in our own hands. So seize the initiative and do something about it.