STEP 1: Find a quiet spot and write down a list of things you want to change in your current work. Consider areas like job security, pay and benefits, work environment and lifestyle goals. Think about social value and work relationships, personal development prospects and the level of opportunity you have to demonstrate your top strengths, skills, experience and knowledge. Make sure you spend enough time to get a comprehensive list that includes everything you want to change.
STEP 2: Alongside each area of change imagine what specific benefits you would get if these areas changed for the better.
STEP 3: Once Step 2 is complete, consider what it is telling you. For example, if you find you still like the duties and responsibilities but want your current working relationships or conditions to improve, career change may not always be the right move. Whereas, if your list highlights you have lost interest in your job or are no longer getting personal growth or fulfilment from it, career change may be an attractive option.
This exercise is a good way to decide if jumping ship is really the right choice for you. If you still want to change professions the next step is to get clarity on your career purpose.
STEP 1: Ask yourself the following questions and write down your answers;
- What were my motivations, influences and catalysts to move to my current and previous job(s)?
- What aspects of my current and previous jobs have I enjoyed? - and why - what does/did it get me?
- What do I enjoy doing - my passions, hobbies, interests - and why - what does it get me?
- What are my personal strengths – in personality, qualifications, knowledge and skills?
- What are my core values and in what type of workplace culture do I most feel at home?
Reach out to a family member or friend if you get stuck. You could also ask a trusted colleague, mentor or career coach to help. This may give you more useful insight than if you work alone.
STEP 2: Now reflect on your answers. Summarise the aspects that are still important to you – the things you want to take forward in your work life.
This should help you shape a new personal profile - one that gives you what you want in your future work life. It will also help you explore a range of careers that might suit you better and give you more purpose.
STEP 3: The next step is to start researching jobs. Match them with your profile – the one that you have created that will give you true career purpose. If you don't know where to start, try the UK government website. They offer plenty of free career advice to get you started. You could also get inspiration by talking to your trusted people network.
STEP 4: When you have identified a few jobs of interest, research them in detail. Search online and read relevant professional forums and published articles about your preferred career. Contact and talk to someone who is already doing the job. You could also ask if you could shadow them or do a job trial when you can free up some time. Start to identify jobs that are well suited to your profile. You can do all this whilst still working in the safe confines of your existing job.
By this stage you should have identified one or few potential jobs that interest you.
STEP 1: Find out what income you can expect from each potential job to make sure it will give you the financial stability you want in the future. Payscale.com or the Government Careers Advice website are good places to start. Once this has been etablished, go to Step 2.
STEP 2: Work out how much you might need to save to support your transition by minimising the amount you need to spend a month. Make a list of all your outgoings and challenge your spending. Which? provide 50 ways to save money to get you started.
Once you know how much you can save a month, go to Step 3.
STEP 3: Start to develop a financial plan and road map your route to a successful career change. What needs to happen and what do you need to do to get there? How much of your monthly savings do you need to accumulate first to make a successful career change? Make sure you detail every activity and how much it will cost, including the effort required and estimated timescales. Remember to add the things you need to do that will help you mitigate financial risk and don’t forget to include what support and resources you think you will need to settle in to the first year of your new job too.
Having a detailed road map and financial plan that supports your transition will give you the financial stability you are looking for to make a successful career change.
This exercise will have the best results when you have got an idea of what career change you want to make.
STEP 1: Get into a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted, so you can relax and complete this exercise without interruption.
STEP 2: Start to imagine yourself in your new career, having achieved success. Take time to create a picture in your mind where you are doing your new job. Imagine where you are, what you are doing, who you are with, what you are seeing, feeling, hearing. Take time to make it a vivid image with lots of detail.
STEP 3: Now that you have a great picture, imagine what personal rewards you are getting in your vision now that you have changed careers? Notice how you are feeling. Make the image brighter. Make the rewards big enough to overcome your fears and see the things you are worried about becoming smaller, washing away down a drain or even being thrown away in the waste bin.
STEP 4: Repeat Step 3 several times to make the image strong and detailed enough so your fears have all gone.
Don’t worry if your fear represents, just keep going back to the picture where you have conquered your fear. Make the rewards bigger and brighter as you add more detail to your image.
STEP 5: When you are satisfied you have conquered your fears, don’t let go of the image, hold on to it.
Bring up the image each day until you have successfully made your career transition and whenever your fears try to creep back in. Take time to re-discover the detailed image you have created to remind yourself of the big rewards that are waiting for you when you make your career transition.
Stick with your new image and way of thinking. It requires time and effort to absorb new thoughts and behaviours and repetition is essential for new habits to become automatic.
