Unhappy in your job? You’re not alone. The Harris Poll indicates that 40% of American workers don’t prioritize their career transitions, even when they are unhappy in their current jobs.
Harvard and Stanford research indicates that even elite tech executives delay career transitions despite dissatisfaction, citing issues with a mental block, identity crisis, and an adaptability gap.
I have the data to back this up, since my current clients at Disney, IBM, and TransUnion aren’t prioritizing themselves. We started collaborating months ago, but their momentum toward their next career move has stalled.
When executives partner with me, they are investing in their next big-impact role. My focus is on being the mirror that reflects a tech leader’s legacy by creating a professional brand image. And I give them a gentle nudge (O.K., sometimes it’s more like a push) to move forward with the intention of asking for what they want and getting it.
The struggle bus isn’t new, since I’ve been on that ride a few times myself in my career. I first wrote about making yourself a priority when initiating a job search four years ago, and that became a chapter in my book Clicks, Tricks, & Golden Handcuffs.
I was curious if the job search paradox has changed.
Top 3 Reasons Tech Execs Don’t Prioritize Themselves
In researching the topic, I discovered the top reasons haven’t changed much for why professionals don’t prioritize themselves, but there’s a nuance related to post-COVID conditions, AI, and automation. For example, Amazon’s 30,000-person layoff announcement is associated with CEO Jassy’s shift toward generative AI and automation.
- Mental Block: A March 2025 study by ResumeBuilder found that 60% of unemployed Americans aren’t actively looking for work, citing low confidence in the job market and emotional fatigue. And Harvard researcher Michael B. Horn believes “finding a job is more of a social process than people give it credit for.”
- Identity Crisis: Many leaders define themselves by their company or title. Leaving feels like losing part of their identity. Dr. Sarah Wittman, Assistant Professor of Management at George Mason University, coined the term “lingering identities” that persist beyond a job role change.
- Adaptability Gap: A June 2025 podcast from the Stanford Graduate School of Business discusses how leaders must embrace ambiguity as the new normal. Rob Siegel, lecturer and venture investor, explains that uncertainty is no longer a temporary condition; it’s a constant. Ambiguity reinforces why many executives delay career transitions: they’re wired to seek clarity, but today’s landscape rarely offers it.
Any of these hit home with you?
Priority Types
My clients fall into four major categories when it comes to prioritization.
- The Out-of-Towner: 15% of clients travel for work or vacation, and they don’t utilize that time to complete our consulting collaboration. For example, a Microsoft executive left my career questionnaire unanswered for 3 months, even though he routinely flew 16-hour flights from the U.S. to India.
- The Work Perpetrator: 25% of clients put their current workload as a higher priority than looking for a job. The irony is that they dislike what they are doing, but focus more on that than on a job search implementation strategy.
- The Ghost: 25% of clients contact me, agree to move forward, and then I never hear from them again. In some cases, they prepay, and a year later, nothing happens after several attempts to ping them about a video meeting; I call it procrastination money.
- The Action Hero: 35% of clients meet with me, and we complete their initial project within 10 business days. They prove that actions speak louder than words; the majority land jobs within 1-4 months.
Overcome Procrastination
According to Dr. Bryan Robinson, “procrastination is an unconscious way your mind tries to take away the anxiety of ‘Can I do it perfectly?’ so postponing seems to bring relief in the short term while undermining your career in the long run. If you avoid the looming project, you temporarily avoid the judgment and self-doubt.”
It’s time for you to become the Action Hero. Do not wait until you need a job; start today. Regardless of the time of the year, please invest in yourself. Better yet, make it a quarterly initiative to honor your career advancement goals.
- Hold Yourself Accountable: When I put my intentions out in the Universe, my pride kicks in to achieve them. I like visiting Spain several times a year, so I practice Spanish every day on the Duolingo app. I’m on a 1,088-day streak of practicing for at least 15 minutes and have reached level 97 out of 160. And it’s paid off with being able to hold conversations without speaking any English, whether I’m at the grocery store, in a restaurant, or walking down the beach.
- Identify an Incentive: When I was in sales, there was an annual incentive to attend the company’s Circle of Excellence trip to an exotic locale for top quota-achieving producers. The year I left CenturyLink, I reached my sales quota, so my husband joined me for several days at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. We have fond memories of that trip, including sailing, cooking classes at Sur Le Table, and being treated in a top-notch fashion. Take a moment to identify an incentive to spur you on your job search, whether that’s a trip with your family, a home renovation, funding your child’s education, or buying that EV-charging car.
- Break Things Down: I live by Excel spreadsheets to organize my life, whether it’s for a kitchen remodel, planning a trip, or selecting an annual insurance plan. The same goes for when I was looking for a job. Here are items to put into a checklist for your job search.
- Access your university’s alumni career management for pointers
- Develop a career mission statement
- Create an elevator pitch
- Find three job postings that make your heart sing and determine who’s most likely hiring manager, and, in turn, follow them on LinkedIn
- Use Applicant Tracking System software, like Jobscan, to update your resume in format and keywords based on those three job postings
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile with a new headshot and background banner, update your skills, and provide a responsibility statement with at least one metric for each job
- Network with colleagues and join an association to find new contacts
- Practice job interviewing with Google Warmup or Final Round.
- Track the roles you’ve applied for
With the holidays approaching, now is the time to make yourself a priority. If you dedicate a minimum of 30 minutes a day, you’ll land in the category of the 60% of professionals who aren’t delaying their job search and have stepped off the struggle bus.
Best to you on your career journey.