Of course, when you're driving a car, a dead-end street is obvious and is probably marked with signs long before you get to the dead end. The dead ends you encounter as you navigate through a career are much more difficult to recognize, but the signs are there if you know what to look for.
First, a definition is in order. As I see it, a dead-end job (or career for that matter) is one in which an individual ceases to personally grow.
Although personal growth is something that can be defined only by the individual, it certainly is not defined simply as more money and a bigger title. It is easy to acquire those things and still be at a dead end. Your personal growth is more likely measured by how much your job enhances your personal life and sense of well-being.
A lack of growth also is likely to be manifested in physical, intellectual and emotional symptoms which become the danger signs of a career dead end. You might start having recurring headaches, indigestion or insomnia. You might constantly procrastinate or become overly industrious. More commonly, you might start having problems at home.
If you suspect you are at a dead end, the first thing to do is take a long, hard look at whether your relationships with your spouse, family, friends and loved ones are just as comfortable as ever. If not, there may be career-related issues you are not dealing with and frustrations being vented off the job. It has been estimated that 80 to 90 percent of all personal problems are caused by career problems that people simply don't want to acknowledge.
Next, ask yourself if you still like and respect your boss. A change in your relationship with your boss is a clear sign of trouble, as is a change in your relationships with your subordinates and co-workers. These changes can be extremely subtle, but are nonetheless felt by everyone. What's more, they often are ignored and, as a result, the tensions they create just grow worse.
All of this relates to a dead end in which you become burned out, even though your employer might be perfectly happy with the job you are doing.
But there is another kind of dead end: You're happy with your job, but suddenly find yourself unemployed. Firings in these circumstances are absolutely devastating to the individual. The fact is, however, most of them are foreseeable.
The key in this situation is the relationship with your boss. In order to be happy with a job, everyone must have accountability, responsibility and authority. Accountability cannot be delegated by a superior, but responsibility and authority can.
When authority is withdrawn, it should be a red flag that the boss has lost confidence and trouble is on the way. Unfortunately, it usually happens slowly and subtly, so it takes a politically astute mind to recognize what's going on.
One of the more overt signs of trouble occurs when your boss becomes inaccessible to you. If he or she becomes too busy to see you at important times, you should rightfully wonder how important your work is in the boss's eyes.
Learn too, to be aware of the political atmosphere at work. People often are unwilling to believe that one of their co-workers might have it in for them and let the situation build itself into a dead end.
I remember a client who was responsible for major accomplishments within his company, but who, in the course of his achievements, aroused the ire of a vice president who feared competition for his job. This VP began dropping subtle hints to others about my client's ineptness and sought out ways to turn in bad reports about the man. A negative atmosphere soon developed, and eventually, this man lost his job - an eventuality he should have seen coming. I also have seen instances of "reverse dead ends" - that is, a case in which someone feels trapped or unhappy on the job because of personal problems.
There is no question that people going through a divorce or other major life trauma can bring their problems to work.
Usually though, work allows a person to make a daily escape from the problems at home. Even when things go wrong on the personal side, most people continue to do reasonably well on the job. Besides, most companies are sensitive enough to this sort of thing to recognize it and to be somewhat patient about it. Reverse dead ends are rare.
Dead ends are not easy to spot. Sometimes good old gut feeling is the best way to know when you have hit one. Just remember to keep your eyes and ears open at all times, and be ready to take charge if you have to.
