Thinking about a career change but there’s some confusion, the should and shouldn’t I discussion going round and round in your head?
Is the Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I go Now” ringing in your ears?
Would a career change be better elsewhere?
Maybe these career advice tips will help you evaluate and reflect on the best career decision for you.
Top 10 Tips for a Career Change
1. Be clear about why you may want to change careers.
Make a list – write down those thoughts as getting them out of your head and onto paper helps the thought processes. Some common reasons for career change are:
- Bored and uninspired
- Dislike what the organisation does to people
- No clear career path
- Lack of challenge
- Have gone as far as I can, time for a change
- Unappreciated
- Don’t get on with your manager or colleague
2. Explore thoroughly your reasons for change.
If it is one of the points above have you tried hard to find what you need within the organisation? Have you been able to have conversations with your manager about career opportunities and let them know what you seek. Is needing a change about moving out of the organisation or could you find it within a different area of the organisation? Or if tired of the company could you do the same job in a new industry or sector rather than begin a new career?
3. What kind of work do you want?
What will make your job more enjoyable? If you could choose what would be the top 5 things that you would love to do each day in your job? Are those things what you currently do and if not what needs adjusting or do these things require a new role? Obtain some career advice if you struggle to work this out.
4. Will the reason for change still be there in the next job?
Dig deep on this one. Even if you change jobs will that really make a difference? The fact you don’t get on with your boss is that their fault or yours? The job has no challenge – have you actually sought out new work, new projects and talked to people in the organisation who could help?
5. Don’t assume, engage.
It’s very easy to sit back and think you know what the company is thinking about you or assume there are no opportunities or a career path for you. Sometimes we don’t know what is happening in the wider organisation or changes that are a he
ad from senior management or the company board. Conversations within the organisation are critical to ensuring you have all the information possible to make a decision.
6. Work with integrity.
Part of your brand as a person is about how well you are able to end your relationship with a company. Do it well you will have fierce supporters and continuing networks to pull on for years to come. Do career change badly, it may be difficult to get a good reference and you may be criticised with conversations spilling outside of the company. So take the opportunity when you are considering leaving to explore all options as openly as possible with your employer so that if you do resign you know you have behaved with integrity and they know you tried to explore all possibilities in order to stay.
7. How much money do you need to make?
If you change jobs and you may not get the same money or you’re looking at a complete career change make sure you do a budget and assess the implications!
8. What are your values?
Surprising how important these can be in a job. As a Career Coach I find 70% of the time people want to leave organisations because their values aren’t being met. Values such as being able to make a difference, doing work for the greater good, having influence on decisions, being appreciated, being creative etc. Find out what yours are.
9. What is your vision?
Where would you like to be in 10 years time in your career? What is success for you? Success is different for everyone, for instance for some the ultimate is being a CEO for others it is making a contribution to the world. Until you have clarity of vision it can be very difficult to make change and make an informed decision.
10. I wish I had?
If you choose not to change how will you feel in two years or five years time? Will you have the thought I wish I had?
Contact Allison Fisher, specialist in supporting adults & teenagers in career & life choices.
So how is it back at work post-Christmas holidays, children returned to school and routines well established? Are there some quiet questions in your mind about your life or your work? Is there some introspection taking place?
To open these up and find out what is going on, here are some useful questions to ask yourself: What would be my opposite of boredom? If I could choose anything at all, what would I be doing? Where would I be? What sort of people would I prefer to work with? What am I really interested in? What am I really good at? These might take a while to answer. Get some help ask friends about your strengths, what they see you being good at. And ask them when do they see you really engaged in something? Everyone deserves to have a fulfilling job, having some belief that you can is the first step. Call or email Allison Fisher Career & Life Coaching to talk about how you can get out of the boredom and identify what job is ideal for you.
