How to cope with a 'Career Comedown'
Feel stuck at work? Lost in your career development? You’re not alone…
By author Stefanie Sword-Williams
If you’ve been feeling lost, stuck or just over it when it comes to your career, you might be experiencing a career comedown. Let me paint you a picture…
You’ve spent your twenties climbing the career ladder - a few pay rises, a promotion, and on paper, everything looks great. But you’re not fulfilled. The future feels like more of the same, and it’s not giving you that get-out-of-bed energy. The realities of your industry are hard to ignore, yet you’ve never imagined doing anything else. You don’t know what you’d change, only that you want out of the rat race, because even at the top, you’ll still wonder: Is this it?
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. This is something I anticipate we will all experience on our professional journeys, which is why I’ve designed three ways to tackle it:
Option 1: Stick - Stay in your role, but reshape it to actually work for you.
Option 2: Twist - Pivot into something new that reignites your passion.
Option 3: Tap Out - Step away from the idea that your job is your identity.
So let’s break down how to apply each option to your own reality…
STICK
Find your own joy
Your company and clients are not coming to save you, so if you’ve lost your spark at work, you need to find more ways to brighten up your days. Romanticise your daily routine, add more fun to boring meetings and do something that lights you up each day.
Change your beliefs
Your beliefs shape your experience - if you tell yourself your boss hates you, you’ll behave like it. Reframe it as them being overwhelmed, under-supported, or quietly fighting their own fires. Suddenly the tension softens and it makes the entire working week feel lighter.
Cut the self-blaming
If your lack of progression is the problem, you need to stop being publicly self-critical. If you want to be seen as capable, trustworthy, or leadership material, it’s time to drop the “I’m such an idiot” mindset. You don’t need to be perfect but you do need to back yourself and stop creating doubt around you.
TWIST
Try before you leap
Before diving into a new career, it’s important to get a feel for what you’re choosing and spot any potential issues. Internships, side hustling, volunteering or mentoring are all great ways for you to sample your next chapter.
Expand your circle
Research shows that weak ties (casual acquaintances) often open more doors than close friends, connecting you to networks and opportunities you wouldn’t reach otherwise. Be open to meeting and engaging with people beyond your inner circle. It’s better to have too many people in your corner than too few.
Become obsessed
If you don’t want your lack of experience to pop up as a problem, become a superfan of your new industry. Attend events, read books, listen to podcasts, and most importantly have a critical opinion on what’s missing and how you’ll add value.
TAP OUT
Pull back 20%
Stuck in a cycle of overdelivering leading to burn out? Trinh Mai, director of mindfulness programming at the University of Utah Health, recommends we should look at where we could give 20 per cent less in selected areas that don’t run the risk of harm or significant loss.
Change your dialogue
If you want to disconnect from work, you need to change how you speak about it. If you constantly describe situations as an emergency or disaster, you’re constantly functioning in survival mode. Try using more neutral language to avoid creating internal fear.
Be a segmentor
Instead of integrating work and life, try creating a ritual that separates your professional hours from your down time. A walk at the end of the day, changing outfits or even lighting a scented candle can signal to your nervous system that you’re no longer in work mode can help dramatically with switching off.
Named as Forbes Under 30 and celebrated as a confidence expert, Stefanie has 10 years of public speaking experience and her talks have reached people in over 50 countries globally.
Her two books - Career Comedown: What to do when work isn’t working for you and F*ck Being Humble - are available to buy now.
Follow her on Substack: Stefanie Sword-Williams
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