3 Smart Strategies for Getting You Back On Track – Or Moving On 

Feeling disengaged at work? Well, it turns out you’re not alone. According to Gallup, fewer than one-third (31.5%) of U.S. workers are engaged in their jobs. This statistic isn’t just mind-boggling, it’s a wake-up call for those in the “disengaged” category. Low levels of engagement at work can negatively impact your productivity and well-being, which often leads to feelings of unhappiness – and unhappiness at work is a sure-tell sign it’s time to find another job.

Once you spot the signs of low engagement at work, consider these strategies for reclaiming your career:

Take Stock of Your Career and Assess Your Happiness
The first step to avoiding the downward spiral of disengagement and discontent is by being truthful with yourself. When professionals reach out to me for career advice, I often ask them one simple question: are you happy? Happiness matters.

If it turns out your current job doesn’t make you happy, try to identify the reasons why. In many cases “people quit their bosses, not their jobs.” If your boss is the reason for your low engagement, come clean with yourself and address the problem — either have a heart-to-heart with your boss, or move on.

Whatever you decide, don’t burn any bridges. If you’re struggling to identify the reasons, then think back to when you were truly happy in your career. What factors made you happy? Perhaps the projects, company culture, the people, free wine and beer on Fridays, the cool office space, etc.  Maybe in the past you managed people and now you’re an individual contributor? Or maybe your feelings are a sign it’s time to start your own company?

Whatever it is, take stock of your situation and focus on finding your happiness again. And if you decide to change jobs, you should know that it’s totally acceptable in today’s job market to do so. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average person changes jobs ten to fifteen times (with an average of 11.7 job changes) within her career. By understanding what makes you happy at work, you’ll know what to look for in your next opportunity.

Supercharge Your Job Search
When you think of the term “job search,” what comes to mind? Perhaps hours of passively searching jobs on Monster, Careerbuilder and Indeed? And then eventually emailing your resume dozens of a times to a black box in the virtual clouds? Not exactly a winning approach.

Here’s a little-known secret from working in the staffing industry for many years — online job postings are a formality. In certain industries, the hiring manager makes a job public to comply with EEOC, or in some cases, to research availability of talent in a specific region. According to CareerXroads,  of  the 15% of hires that companies attributed to job boards, just about one in ten occurred via CareerBuilder, and a somewhat smaller number resulted from Monster. And keep in mind that online job postings are not a reflection of all jobs available at a specific company.

So to truly supercharge your approach, start talking with employees and hiring managers at companies that interest you. Easier said than done, right? Actually, using social channels, specifically LinkedIn and Twitter, you can make connections quite quickly. And stay informed of local events or national conferences where you may network with employees from your target company.

Crack The Hidden Job Market Through Proactive Networking
The Wall Street Journal reported that 80 percent of jobs are never advertised, either online or anywhere else. This statistic once again reinforces how job boards are not the be-all end-all of your job search. The real focus should be placed on networking.

An example of networking’s power: CareerXroads reported that companies filled about 20% of their openings via employee referrals. To penetrate the hidden job market, you need trusted connections at target companies. Establishing these kind of connections takes time and involves proactive networking — this includes making real-life connections with potential referrers at events, social functions and/or conferences, or online through resources like LinkedIn or the alumnae/i directory of your college or university.

At this point, I’ve been a LinkedIn user for more than a decade, and my network has grown over the years to thousands of connections. I feel comfortable approaching my network for referrals and vice versa. You too should feel unabashed about reaching out to people in your existing network — especially the often overlooked contacts in your alumnae/i directory. Remember the hundreds of thousands you paid to attend college and grad school? Well, here’s your chance to put those dollars to use!

It’s never too late to reclaim your career. It just takes some personal evaluation to start the journey. Victor Frankl, the famous author, Holocaust survivor and psychotherapist once said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” When feeling disengaged at work, our biggest opportunity is course correction. Once we course correct and achieve a happier state of being, everything becomes possible.