Do you ever question whether you’ve found the right job? Maybe you say to yourself that what you have is “good” or “okay” or that it pays the bills. For many of us, we get bogged down in the day to day monotony that makes it difficult to discern “okay” from “great.” We all have moments of frustration with fellow coworkers, and at times, we are performing tasks that feel menial or redundant. These every day job realities can cause confusion. Have we settled or is this just normal career ups and downs? These questions can stymie our movement to search for a new job and stay planted in our current position. Here are three signs you love what you do and three signs that it is time to move on. 

How you know you’ve found the right job

1. You hardly ever look at the clock. The day flies by and, you’re too busy making things happen. When you do look at the clock, you often find that the time has flown. 
2. You strive to become better at what you do. If you really like your job, you will always look for the ways to become better at it. You won’t regret spending time on seminars, self-education, tips from more experienced people, etc. 
3. You help out without thinking. You like seeing your coworkers succeed, and even more, you want your company to succeed as a whole. Therefore it feels like second nature to help your colleagues out. You pitch in automatically, and they do the same for you.

How you know when you should start looking for a new job

1. You dread Mondays. For people who hate their jobs, Mondays feel hellacious and Sundays becomes a countdown to the inevitable doom and gloom of the dreaded workweek. Even worse, if you are not sleeping well on Sunday nights, it could be a sign that it is time to start looking. Believe it or no, there are jobs out there that will make you wake up with a smile in the morning. 
2. You’ve stopped doing your job. A sure sign it’s time to move on is when you let deadlines slip or leave tasks unfinished. You make excuses for missing meetings or you’ve even stopped returning emails in a timely fashion. Even if others haven’t noticed that your performance has dropped, you know deep down that it takes a immense amount of effort to  complete simple tasks. If you find you just don’t care anymore, you should start looking now, because a track record of poor performance will only make it that much more difficult for you to get another job. 
3. There are no opportunities to grow or move up in the company. Opportunities for career advancements are a key element to keeping you motivated and growing. Advancement doesn’t necessarily mean a title change, although those are nice too. If you company is offering training opportunities or other ways to grow such as public speaking opportunities, special networking events to attend, upskilling, etc., then you might want to consider staying. If there are no opportunities for advancement in sight, it can be challenging to stay focused on your work and a sure sign it’s time to start looking. 

Making the decision to leave your job or start looking for a new one is scary. It is a major life decision, especially if you have been somewhere for a long time. You should always weigh your options (pros and cons), but remember this: sometimes it is worthwhile just to look and see what else is out there, especially if you are bored or dreading every Monday on the calendar. Looking at job boards and getting a feel for what’s out there helps you decide if you want to take the next step…submitting a resume. It’s little steps along the way that lead you to your end goal. Whatever you do, don’t settle and don’t give up.