A lot of people are unhappy in their current jobs. I don’t know whether you’re one of the 25% that are happy. If so, that’s great. Something like 75% of people are dissatisfied with their jobs. There’s a huge pool of wasted talent. Everybody has their own unique skills and experience and it’s not being used properly. Lots of people are just unhappy with where they are. There’s a whole host of reasons why that could be.

Just in the last week or so, the person that hired me for a consultant position quit, basically because she didn’t feel valued and motivated by the company. She didn’t get the attention she thought her efforts deserved.

That’s just one problem. You might have unreasonable demands placed upon you. You have to work really long hours to get anywhere. The paths to promotion may be blocked. You can’t get to where you want to be because of the view that people have of you, your experience, or your performance in the job.

Termination is quite a common one because of downsizing. Your company might have been taken over by somebody else. There are surplus positions and, unfortunately, you’re at the wrong end of the cost savings that the mergers might produce. You may be under too much stress and aggravation which lead to health problems. You may have to take stress breaks, or end up with some serious health issue.

Maybe you just find the job that you’re in boring. It’s not interesting to you anymore. There’s no challenge. Maybe there’s just a different sort of work that you want to do. You have no confidence in your boss. You’d rather go out and start something yourself. Maybe you think you’re too old to get a new job. Maybe you’ve stayed in a position too long and other people think you’re stuck and set in your ways.

There might be criticism leveled against you that isn’t just. There could be too much politics or backstabbing, you have to grease the right palms to get ahead. The job may just not be what you expected. You were promised one thing, but it turned into something else.

You have so much time invested in the company that you don’t have enough time to look after your family or personal issues. You’re not really sure where your future’s heading. Maybe there are others in the company who are creating problems for you. There are a whole bunch of reasons why people are unhappy where they are.

There’s another way of looking at, the Top Ten Signs That You Need a New Job. It’s a bit like a Letterman Top Ten. They’re a bit tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a bit of truth in all of them.

10: You’re outgo exceeds your income. You just need more money.

9: The most rewarding thing you did this week was sharpen all 12 of your pencils to the same length.

8: You’re reluctant to be a Career Day speaker at your kid’s fourth grade class.

7: Everyone in your workgroup got a raise except you.

6: Your friends all have jobs that sound more interesting than yours.

5: You were late for work three times this week, but you don’t care.

4: There’s a meeting at 3:00 to talk about the upcoming reorganization, but you’re not invited.

3: Your boss keeps forgetting your name.

2: You constantly daydream about being a forest ranger.

1: Your company was recently acquired and you spent two weeks worry that you’d be laid off. After that, you worried that you wouldn’t be.

I may have exaggerated a few things, but I’m sure some of them ring true to many people. Many people just don’t know where to start. You need to focus on what you want, get good advice, and get good coaching.

You have to et to the root of what is causing your unhappiness about where you are and what you’re currently doing. The easiest way is The Five Whys. Ask, “Why?” five times.

“Oh, I’m not happy.” Well, why? “Because I got passed for a promotion.” Why was that? “Because they didn’t value the project I was working on.” Why not? “Because management changed and they changed the objectives.” Well, why was that? You really sort of drill down to the root cause and find out what the problem really is.

You can apply the "5 Why's" to any problem. It doesn’t necessarily have to be work-related. It’s like your kid saying, “Why, daddy?” What is the real answer? If you could write the answer down, what would it be?

Once you decide that you need a change - that's where the real fun begins. How to go about finding a new job or change careers completely. Keep an eye out for future articles.