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Frustrated in your current role?

Published on: 4 May 2023

There will probably be at least one point in your research career where you will become frustrated - perhaps because there's no room for progression, or you feel you've been passed over for promotion or you've simply been consistently working long hours for many months with no end in sight. Instead of allowing this frustration to continue here are some words of advice:-

  • Speak to your manager. In the majority of cases an employer will be keen to keep their employee so they'll be motivated to work towards a solution to improve the situation.  If its promotion then they should be able to give you clear guidance of what you need to do in order to achieve that next step up.  If it's simply the fact that you're significantly overworked then speak to them and ask if it's possible to secure some additional resourcing for the team.  If you feel like you just need a few tweaks to your current role to make it your perfect role - again, speak to your manager.
     
  • Speak to colleagues/friends within and outside of the industry. Friends can often be the font of advice and may see things more clearly given that they are outside of the situation.  In addition, I know a lot of people have found real benefits in speaking to a life coach.
     
  • Make time for yourself outside of work - ensure you completely switch off from your job doing something you really enjoy - it's your time to recharge and re-energise.
     
  • Work out what you really want in your current role or next role - if it's something that can be changed within your current role that's great but if you're not going to get what you need and want then it may be time to move.  But remember to work out what did and didn't work in your current role and be mindful of that when you search for your next role - otherwise you could quite possibly find the situation repeated.  And do a lot of research into any new roles and workplaces. 

If it is time to move on please get in contact. We have a lot more job hunting tips on our website and of course we're here to provide advice and guidance on everything from CV writing to interviewing techniques.