There often comes a time in a person’s life where they crave a big change – this usually comes in the form of a career change. If your career is no longer fulfilling you, then it’s definitely time to do something about it. Sticking with something just because you’ve been doing it for years makes very little sense when it is no longer making you happy. Below, we outline some of the steps you’ll need to take in order to make the right career move for you:
1. Understand Your ‘Why’
First of all, understand your ‘why’. Is it because you no longer feel fulfilled, or you have never felt fulfilled in your role? Is it because you feel like your skills and talents simply aren’t being utilized, or because you want to do something that you feel makes a real difference to the world/people? Whatever your ‘why’ is, make sure you look to understand it. It’ll help you to figure out what sort of direction you should be going in, and avoid making a change for the wrong reasons.
2. Figure Out What Your Strengths Are
Next, figure out what your strengths are if you don’t already know. It can be important to not only figure this out yourself, but to ask people you know. Consider what they are in both a professional and personal context. Are you a great communicator – can you really tell a story? Are you good at getting people to trust you? Are you wonderful at Photoshop, and graphic design? Pick your strengths out both big and small and make a list. Figure out how you could utilize them in your next role.
3. Know What You Enjoy
It’s not only important to know your strengths, but to know what you enjoy. You don’t necessarily need to love every aspect of your job, but you should enjoy it for the most part. You don’t always need to make your hobby your main career, like many people will tell you, but you should enjoy certain aspects of something you’re going to be doing for many hours of the day. For example, individuals interested in caregiving and patient support often consider home health jobs in Philadelphia PA (or elsewhere) when looking for meaningful career paths that align with their personal interests and values.
4. Decide What Your Deal Breakers Are
Decide what your deal breakers are – you must know what you don’t want just as much as what you do want. What have you done in other roles that you hated, and wouldn’t like to do in future roles? You may need to compromise in jobs and do things you don’t want to do, but if there’s something that is a dealbreaker you should be sure to avoid job roles that outline that in the description.
5. Consider The Kind of Lifestyle You’d Like To Lead
Along with what you’ll be doing at work, make sure you consider what sort of lifestyle you’d like to lead, and what sort of lifestyle you’re able to lead with the role. For instance, taking on driving instructor training to become a driving instructor could afford you more freedom and hours in the day to yourself. If you love driving and mentoring others, then it could be the ideal job for you! Think carefully about where you’d like to be both now and in the future, and whether this aligns with your hopes and aspirations.
6. Decide Whether You’d Like To Go Into Higher Education
Higher education may be necessary if you don’t currently have the qualifications to take on your dream role. There are many different routes to certain roles, depending on current qualifications, how much time you have, and how much money you can spend. How could you fit learning into your current lifestyle? If you couldn’t, is there a way you could learn on the job – perhaps a program you could sign up to?
7. Find People Who Made A Career Change
Finding people who made a career change and then speaking with them could help to inspire you to take the leap yourself. Not only that, you could find that you pick up some great tips and tricks on getting it right. If you have an idea of the sort of industry you want to work in, see if you can network with people in that industry and learn as much as you can before making your decision.
8. Take Small Steps In The Right Direction
Taking small steps in the right direction is all you need to do if you’re going to make a career change. You don’t have to quit your job right away. You could just start putting money away so you can quit later on when you have plenty of money to cover you and discover your dream role that way. You could begin exploring more of your hobbies in your spare time to see what lights you up, if you don’t currently know. All you need to do is keep moving forward and exploring.
9. Embrace Your Journey – Don’t Compare Yourself
Embrace your own journey and don’t compare yourself to other people. Your journey is entirely your own, and comparison is the thief of joy. Focus on yourself and what you can control. Appreciate where you have been and where you are for what it has taught you. Don’t dwell on ‘what ifs’.
10. Take Career And Personality Tests
If you’re still stuck on where you should be, legitimate career and personality tests such as psychometric assessments for business teams could help you to figure it out. When we say legitimate, we don’t mean Buzzfeed quizzes. With a series of questions you could get a much better idea of the industries you’d be happy in and how your personality would best be utilized.
11. Speak With A Careers Consultant
A careers consultant can look at your history and your goals and help you to come up with a plan. They can give you advice on training, career options, and more. There are some wonderful resources out there and great advice if you don’t know where to turn.
What sort of career are you thinking of going into next? Leave your own thoughts and advice below. Thanks for reading!