This guide outlines how to make a career change when your employment field (or you) are facing a crisis. As the world faces unprecedented challenges and workplaces experience increasing pressure, now more than ever taking charge of your career is essential.
Victoria Beckham once said she wanted to be more famous than Persil Automatic, a laundry detergent that is a household name in the UK. When she entered the music scene in the early 1990s as part of the Spice Girls many people wrongly assumed that Posh Spice and the group would be a ‘one-hit wonder’. Fast forward 25+ years, and she’s a successful and respected fashion designer. She ignored her critics, aimed high — and got there.
Much of what happens in life is based on what we tell ourselves, and how we respond to the expectations of others. To make a career leap, you need to ditch the expectations of others and any limiting old beliefs to put yourself securely in the driver’s seat.
How to make a career change
So, if one of your goals is to make a career change and find a new more exciting or rewarding job, here’s eight steps to get you on track.
1. Check how fit your career is
Assessing your career periodically helps you determine whether you are in a rut or holding on to an unrealistic, outdated view of your career. It also challenges you to think about what may need to shift and what you may need to do more or less of to make a career change and ensure a successful, sustainable and rewarding career.
2. Realise your potential
Look at what may be holding you back from making career choices. Identify your why; that is, your purpose and why you do what you do. Consider this in the context of the life you want to have and your life circumstances to make a career change.
3. Explore what your options are
Understand your tolerance for change and your willingness to take career risks to make a career change. This includes identifying your strengths, and knowing how the world of work is changing so you can identify good options to progress.
4. Choose what you will progress
Filter your options to find your sweet spot – the options that fit with your life circumstances, goals and willingness to take a risk with your career to make a career change.
5. Construct your plan to follow
Build your plan to execute your career leap. This includes considering all the key elements that need to be in place to make a career change, and how you are going to target and measure your progress to achieving your new job.
6. Shape your career brand
Your career identity will shift as your career progresses. It’s essential to understand this and consciously cultivate your career brand and reputation. This starts with understanding how you see yourself and how others see you. This is important as what you are known for will influence whether people want to work with you when you want to make a career change.
7. Influence how you enter the market
In today’s marketplace first impressions count tomake a career change, not just face to face but also online. In fact, it’s now more than likely your first encounter will be online. You need to build your online presence as well as manage your network and contacts in a way that supports your move to a new career. Before looking for startup jobs in DC or anywhere in the US, make sure that you have an updated Linkedin account. If you can, create your own website as this will boost your online presence especially if you are applying for a tech job. Also, avoid posting rude comments on social media as this may be seen by your potential employer and can affect your status as an applicant.
8. Launch and transition your career leap well
Landing a new job takes time, but once you are there the effort doesn’t stop. It takes effort and planning to make sure you launch your leap and land it well. You’ll need to take time to embed the leap, and then expand it so you are well positioned to make a career change for what comes next in your career.
What signs show the need to make a career change?
If something is not good, nor does it bring pleasure or happiness, the best thing to do is change the situation. But if you are thinking to make a career change, this is not a very easy decision. After all, years were dedicated to a professional area.
Changing careers is leaving your comfort zone completely. It’s diving into the new, requiring dedication and courage. Therefore, it is essential to make a choice that is related to your goals for life when you make a career change.
Before making this decision, it is important to assess the entire situation well. If you’re in a steady job and need to pay bills, maybe just leaving it and heading into a new career isn’t the best idea. Several issues need to be analyzed in this process to make a career change. Thus, it is necessary to plan, but be sure of your decision, that is, change careers.
It is essential to identify the signs and know if this is really the right choice. So now, let’s highlight four clues to whether you should make a career change.
1. Discouragement and disinterest in the profession
Wake up at 6 am, go to work, arrive home at 7 pm, have dinner, shower and sleep. Is this your current routine? Don’t feel daily pleasure and already wake up feeling discouraged to go to work?
Lack of interest in your work and profession are strong signs that something needs to be done to make a career change. If the problem is your current job, maybe a change of company is enough to renew your life. However, if you don’t want to stay in the business, then you need to ask yourself why you’re still in it.
2. Lack of professional recognition
As much as you are a well-trained and dedicated professional, do you still feel that you are not being recognized in the field? Haven’t received promotions in the company for years, but obligations keep increasing?
Lack of professional recognition and discouragement about a career go hand in hand. When dedicating yourself and not being recognized for it, how can you keep the courage to work? It’s really hard to be motivated in this context.
3. Market devaluation
Certain professions are valued more than others within the labor market. For professionals, this factor is quite exhausting, as there was dedication during the years of study and throughout their daily work, but there was not such a favorable return.
Even if you like your area, if it is not valued, there is no long-term support. That’s because, while expenses only increase, your salary doesn’t match reality. Eventually, it’s normal to start rethinking whether this dynamic is paying off or you should make a career change.
4. Constant stress
Another very clear sign of changing careers is the daily stress at work. The constant demands, complaints and stress related to superiors or co-workers impact all areas of life, not just the professional area.
Therefore, it is important to ask yourself if these issues are manageable or are they affecting your mental health and your professional interest. Not always (or rather, hardly) is going through daily stresses in the work environment compensated with the monthly salary.
Conclusion
Have you identified with one or all of the signs that indicate the need to change careers? So, the next step is to come up with a plan to be able to make a safe change. Remember, it’s okay to do this if your goal is to bring more satisfaction into your life and help you achieve your desired career success .
As part of your planning, it is important to assess the need for a financial reserve to keep you going until you get a new job or you will need to continue in your current job. In addition, analyze the current situation of the future career labor market in order to identify whether it is already saturated or not and whether remunerations are satisfactory.
Another important point is knowing how to manage expectations, that is, understanding that the process can be arduous and that, right at the beginning, there will be challenges. Therefore, progress is based on daily builds.
Also remember the importance of academic training. You can invest in a second degree or a postgraduate degree , for example. Regardless of your choice, it is essential to understand that higher education is necessary at this stage.
Therefore, changing careers is not an easy decision and should not be taken on impulse. By analyzing all these items, is there any certainty that this is the best way to go? So, go ahead and open yourself up to the new!