Many of us have experienced this — the wrong job. It’s really no one’s fault, but it’s dawned on you that your work life may be dangerously out of alignment.

Nothing is worse than throwing yourself into work, yet things just seem to go very, very wrong. The trick here? Identifying the problem for what it is (in very short shrift) and acting to make changes. Poor matches do happen. So, let yourself off the hook and avoid a long-term “soul sucking” experience. Remember that “withering on the vine” is not a viable career strategy.

Here are 6 signs that you should be paying attention to:

• You feel lost. Have you had the classic nightmare that you arrive at class, only to find that you’ve not read a single page of the textbook and it is final exam day? This should not be your experience with work during waking hours…

When different functions within our own organizations aren’t seeing “eye to eye”, we tend to shy away from bringing them together. We don’t intend to prolong the conflict — but, in reality, that is what occurs. Our instincts are often to act as an intermediary and settle the issue calmly and quickly. But, that is likely not in the best interest of the organization.

Digging into the concerns is often the best route, especially if the conflict directly affects your clients or customers. Often it’s time for things to change — yet we’ve ignored the signs or haven’t had the opportunity to address the issues.

It’s best to lay the cards on the table and expose the root of the problems, even when this is an extreme challenge, as quickly as possible. Hopefully, exploring the developing issues wards off delivery problems related to products and services.

When I’m called in…