It is always healthy to ask this question. Am I in the right job??? Most people would readily agree that they are in a job merely by an accident, there was no planning on their part, and that they have not followed a well-planned career path.

And if you have landed in a wrong job, it is going to affect or is already affecting your relationship with your loved ones, with your friends and family members. It is time to take some corrective measures.

"I was looking for a job, was just out of college, my friend knew somebody who could put me up as a car sales executive, and in my desperation for a job I jumped to it, and now for 2 years I am stuck here, and I am very unhappy, I want to do something else, like creating brands or work on marketing ideas or something like that," says Shankaran in an interview.

Asking this question is a very bold step because most people consciously or subconsciously avoid it for it's easier to let the status quo be. This means looking in the mirror, at your unhappy face, and that is not a pleasant thing to do. Or questioning your choices in life and if the answer is that 'no, probably you didn't make the right choice and you have been rather stupid," it hits hard.

You may be in the wrong job for two reasons, either you made a wrong career choice or you made the right career choice but the job that you are currently doing doesn't suit your temperament or personality type. The boss is well, bossy, and your colleagues smirk and the office environment 'stinks'. If the problem is former it is a serious one, if the problem is latter you just need to find another job in the same industry with friendly atmosphere or environment more suited to your temperament.

People who are happy with their jobs have most likely to be those whose work reflects their deeper interests, their inner personality types. They like what they are doing.

You need to ask:

Are you enjoying your work? Think of your interests, skills and talents and then ask does your job have any relation to that? And you will have your answer. If the answer is 'no', time to rethink about your job. You know it when you are enjoying your work.

Unhappiness or dissatisfaction sets in when you realize that your personality type is in contradiction with your current job. That it is at odds with your real interests in life. If you are artistic by nature, an accounts job won't suit you. Problems arise when you make such a choice, influenced by circumstances or friends, in contradiction to your basic nature. Or sometimes simply to make money but you won't be satisfied even if the pay is 'cause of envy' to your cousin.

What do you want from a job? Do you want social status, financial security, opportunity to travel, work-life balance, friendly environment, flexibility of working hours? If your job is not giving you what you want, what you value, then it is time to move on, explore new job opportunities.

Are you simply bored and want a change? You may find the current job, which was quite a fun when you joined, to have turned boring now. A perfectly valid reason to switch job. Only analyze if you have not been too jumpy to decide the job is boring. Also may be at this juncture in life, you want a new experience, you want a change, you want a new challenge. If that is the case, then too, changing job is not a bad idea.

Do you feel underutilized? Your current job has not put all your potent skills to their maximum use. In such a scenario you may feel that you are not operating at your maximum potential. You feel grossly underused and feel frustrated. Continuing in such a job for a long time is not very healthy.

Are you learning anything new? In your current job you may not be learning anything new. You have saturated yourself and the tasks have almost become repetitive. It is easy to settle in such a cushy situation. But if you are not learning new things, it is better to face challenges of a new work environment, new systems rather than stick around a job where you are not learning new things any more and your growth as an individual has hit a plateau.