What To Do When You Feel Your Skills Are Being Underutilized at Work

By Perminus Wainaina

Last week, I got a LinkedIn message from Rose, a professional who was feeling unhappy at her job. This is what she wrote;

‘’Hi, I would like to get some advice from you. I feel underutilized at my current job. I do not look forward to going to work as every day is like the previous one. I even know what I will do next week. The tasks I have, I take a very short time to complete which leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I do not receive any new responsibilities or challenges from my supervisor and my work has not been recognized in a very long time neither have I gotten a promotion even when there was an opportunity to get one, someone else was picked.

My former classmates are constantly highlighting their achievements on our WhatsApp group and I keep noticing that I am the only one lagging. This is making me feel like my potential is going to waste and I do not know what to do’’

In my experience, this is not the first professional who has reached out to me in regards to what Rose is experiencing. Most feel the same, their skills are not being utilized at work which leads to them being very unhappy at work, disengaged, unmotivated and generally stressed.

If you are experiencing this or it comes a time when you do, consider doing the following;

1. Identify the Areas Not Being Put to Use

The first thing I told Rose was to sit down and create a list of all the skills she felt were not being put to use including a marketing course she had done.

This would help her to be specific and clear about what unutilized skills she had to give her an idea of what they were before taking any action.

2. Speak To Your Supervisor

I then advised her to talk to her supervisor and present what she had come up with as they may not have known she was being underutilized unless she spoke up.

This would have shown how proactive she is and helped her stand out.

Communicating this would also have made it easier for her to ask them to increase her responsibilities to use the skills she felt she had.

It is not enough to highlight your problem, but also suggesting what can be done is important.

3. Take Initiative

For instance, if you are having meetings may it be weekly meetings or department meetings, ensure to contribute valuable comments. Your contribution has to have a purpose. Knowing when to speak and what to say is also important.

When you add value to meetings, then you can get recognized by not only your team but even your boss and this can have them focus on you by giving you more challenges and responsibilities.

4. Add Onto Your Skills

I met Brian, a supervisor in a manufacturing company in my Public Speaking class. When I asked him why he had chosen to come to this class, he told me that he was eyeing a promotion to be a manager and he wanted to be more confident and have other people look at him as a leader and that meant communicating with the confidence of one.

Taking a short course to get new skills and add to your qualifications is a step. Educate yourself by knowing what technology is relevant in your field or even the trends in your industry that can attribute to the business success.

Having this can set you apart for that promotion in your workplace.

5. Look for Another Job

When I followed up with Brian’s progress 3 months later, I found out that he did not get the promotion and after, he chose to leave the organization as he felt that his skills were no longer being put to use and that there was no more chance for growth for him in that company anymore.

Just like Brian, if you feel you have taken all these steps to add value and your strengths are still not getting utilized and you still are disengaged and unmotivated, then it’s time to start looking for another job.

Conclusion

It is important to be happy when doing your work and to achieve that, utilizing your skills to the fullest is important as that is how you learn and grow.

You can also consider talking to a mentor or a career coach who can guide you throughout this process when you feel stuck.

Perminus Wainaina is the CEO and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading HR & Recruitment consultancy firm based in Westlands. Through the career coaching program, he assists mid-level and senior professionals get solutions to complex and challenging career issues that they are facing. Click here for more on career coaching.