Have your thoughts about the post-holiday re-entry to work been filled with anticipation…or dread?

Sure, work is work and the first week back in a new year or even after a weekend can sometimes make us long for activities like bingeing favourite shows and playing board games with family and friends. But when you’re in a fulfilling role, you enjoy your work.

The “Sunday Scaries” (that anxiety feeling at the end of the weekend or holiday) should not be a thing.

So, if you’re feeling that way, could it mean you’re not in the right role? Or the role was right two years ago but now you’re feeling stuck? Or maybe your priorities have changed and you’re pondering what’s next in your life’s journey?

Book a check-up

One way to explore these feelings is to sign up for a career check-up. Career professionals use these single, focused consultations to help you assess the health of your career. Just as you would go to the doctor if your stomach was feeling persistently “off” or you would visit the physiotherapist for ongoing back pain, it makes sense to take action when you’re feeling that way about your career. Even when you’re feeling fine, doctors still recommend periodic check-ups—same idea.

Of course, just as some people hesitate to visit the doctor, many let their unrest about career issues fester. It’s easy to stay wistfully wondering for too long when you would really benefit from taking even a small step that will help you address your worries about work. Are those who hesitate the same people who wait until a cavity gets worse before they visit the dentist?

How it works

Since career is a big topic, a check-up typically begins by identifying a particular issue you want to focus on, whether it’s starting a job search, finding a better role within your organization, deciding on which education and training options to help your career trajectory, or any other concern that’s been keeping you up at night. Career professionals will typically ask you to share reflections or any actions you’ve taken, so that by the time your check-up is scheduled, your counsellor can maximize your time together with targeted conversations. By the end of the call, you will have concrete suggestions about next steps, including a prescription that will help to improve your career wellness.

Even if the result is just to make a few tweaks in your current work routines or get concrete about positioning yourself for promotion, career professionals note that it never hurts to affirm you’re still fulfilled by your career. After all, work takes up so much of our days—about 80,000 hours across one’s lifespan—and the worst would be to look back with regret if you could have taken action. When you think about it, your career is not just a single job but a major part of your life, so don’t rest until it’s a “full expression of who you are,” which is part of a career definition.

Another sign for some that it’s time for a check-up is when you realize you’re burdening your spouse, best friend, other best friend, or work acquaintance about your career worries. If you’ve been guilty of this (or if you’re the sympathetic ear), know that you’ll get better advice from an actual career professional with many hours of counselling experience and a track record of success in guiding others through your same questions.

Big benefits

Besides helping analyze a particular problem, career professionals also help you see the big picture, to reflect on how your career fits into your life and goals. Your past, your skills, your interests and your desire to do good in the world all have a big impact on creating a career that you will love. Career professionals are interested in knowing what unique mix of strengths and desires make you happy at work and in life. In other words? A holistic view.

Without career check-ups, people risk another year of unhappiness, in a job that doesn’t suit them. In 2024, Canadian HR Reporter magazine quoted a report by recruiter Hays Canada that noted 71 percent of workers wanted to leave their jobs in the next 12 months. The report noted that figure was up from 61 percent the previous year. How would you rate your job satisfaction, and importantly, how has it changed from a year ago? Wouldn’t it be sad if you waited yet another year before getting a check up? If your sense of fulfilment has gone down, or even stayed the same, commit to this being the year you take action.

When you enlist feedback from people whose entire job is focused on helping others with their careers, even starting the clarification will feel like progress as you finally begin to admit that you’re ready to see what’s possible.

Career professionals themselves thrive on witnessing clients move from unease to satisfaction in their work lives. When people find roles that are a better fit, their whole energy changes. Even a move from mild dissatisfaction to renewed enthusiasm within your own job can feel amazing. If there’s ever one last present to give yourself at the start of a new year, it’s the gift of certainty that you’re doing everything you can to make the most of your time and talents in the workplace, and in the world.

The CareerCycles Career Check-up includes a private and confidential 75-minute interactive virtual session using an evidence-based narrative approach, a pre-reflection to maximize check-up effectiveness, and a prescription for next steps that will help move you towards your goals. Find out more at www.careercheckup.ca