7 signs youre too smart for your job
August 11, 2014 3:11 PM
Your projects bore you
The most obvious sign youre too smart for your job is boredom. You lose your concentration when your work is more suited to polite robots than thinking human beings. While every job has its boring moments, if caffeine and sugar are required to get through the day, youre in the wrong spot. (Image credit: Fotolia)
You don't see a forward path
You should always have your eyes set on what is down the road. Its good to be hungry and want to learn more. If there is zero chance to make something happen, you should look elsewhere. (Image credit: Fotolia)
People around you don't see a problem
Your coworkers may be the nicest people on earth, but if they don't understand what you're talking about when you lay out frame-shifting ideas or if they can't hold a conversation about anything except the way they've always done things, you're in the wrong place. You don't improve your game by playing with people a level or two or three below you. (Image credit: Fotolia)
Your supervisor has no vision for him- or herself, the department, or you
You can't grow your flame working for someone who has no idea what a vision is or where to get one. You have to learn from your boss, so if that isn't happening, consider this column a tap on the shoulder. (Image credit: Fotolia)
Your employer has not seen the best of you
You have good ideas. It should be easy to share ideas at work, and for the best ones to find an audience and to be implemented. If that isn't happening because you're not in a job that's viewed as an idea job, why are you leaving your blameless brain cells to die unused? (Image credit: Fotolia)
The choir sings from the Tried It - Didn't Work! Hymnal
People fall into ruts. Sometimes they stop experimenting and wondering altogether. If you work in a place where the standard response to innovation is Tried that! Didnt work you must ask yourself whether your talents are being invested wisely. (Image credit: Fotolia)
No one around you looks like a mentor, a role model or a guide
Who do you spar with? Who stimulates you mentally at work? Who do you look up to, and learn from? If your boss is a plodder or the CEO inherited the company and is dialing it in, start thinking about what you'd do if you weren't doing the job you have now. Get a journal and write in it. Design your dream job on paper first to get clear about your direction. Then, begin branding yourself for the job you want. (Image credit: Fotolia)
