It’s times like these, when your job goes away and you haven’t a clue if it will ever come back, that you question your career choice and the direction it’s taking.  Are you sitting at an intersection or at a dead-end? Are you in the driver’s seat or are sitting on the side of the road?

You’re at a dead-end if your job and the skill sets required to perform it are replaced by technology.  The longer you wait to take action, the more time you waste. Instead, get the training you need in a field you either understand or want to learn about, and become competent and competitive with those striving to achieve the same outcome.

You’re sitting at an intersection if your company has been acquired and redundant jobs are eliminated or if your work is seasonal and the economy has not been sufficiently strong to sustain you through the slowdowns you experience annually. In situations like these it’s important to cross train, increase your visibility, demonstrate flexibility and capability in areas that complement your primary position.

You’re in the driver’s seat if you’re anticipating the road ahead and doing what you need to remain viable and mobile in a stalled job sector.

You’re sitting on the side of the road when you hope that someone will  come along and rescue you from the situation you find yourself.

If you have read the signs and taken appropriate action, trained and cross trained, and you’re stuck at the intersection longer than you’d like, don’t just sit there – honk, holler, and rev your engine.  Think strategically: “When I go forward, what is the career direction I want to take?”

If you like what you do and make a difference for the company where you work and the end user that you serve, stay in that lane. If you’re no longer energized by the work, and don’t benefit the company or the end user, there’s no point sitting in traffic. Take the off ramp and head for an assessment center.

Evaluate your strengths and skills by taking inventory of what you’ve enjoyed most and done most easily; eliminate what you’ve done, even done well, that you’ve not enjoyed and have had most difficulty sticking with.  Jumpstart your thinking by taking career interest inventories and interpret their meaning and the way forward with the help of career coaches.

Change isn’t difficult. It’s changing that’s a bear.  Changing causes us to feel inadequate and incompetent as we stretch beyond our comfort zone to fill the gap between what’s known and what has yet to be explored.

So keep this in mind: If you are truly invested in pursuing a line of work for which you have limited experience yet great interest, you’ll be motivated to enhance your qualifications by taking classes and apprenticing to someone more knowledgeable and accomplished than you.  If you lack the energy, courage or motivation to do either, let it go.  Just realize that you’ll be sitting in traffic for a long time to come.