Deciding on a new career is a tricky decision to make and its important to distinguish why you are even considering making a switch before you begin your search… Is it something you feel you need to do because you need a new challenge? Are you bored at work? Do you need to change your work/life balance? Have you reached your ceiling at work and feel there is nowhere else for you to go in your current role? For some people the choice is obvious – a burning desire to accomplish something they have always wanted to do but for others maybe it’s just time to take a different path, but what path? It can be a hard and somewhat confusing choice, which may be marred by limitations you place on yourself and on your self confidence. Most people’s reasons to change their job is purely for job satisfaction rather than economic reasons, but remember that either are valid reasons to undertake this challenge.
Think Big
Once you have made the decision to change your professional life, you need to ‘Think Big’ and base your choice on what you think you will enjoy and can grow within. Be bold and rule out no career or profession. While this may seem like a huge statement to make, with confidence, motivation and a desire to change, you will be surprised at what you can achieve. OK – some of these career choices may be a daydreams, but by allowing yourself to do this, you are not ruling anything out. Think back to childhood – what did you want to be? Are you envious of other people’s jobs that you think you would also like? Do you have a hobby, passion or skill that could be built upon?
Confidence and Motivation
Without confidence in yourself and a motivation to change and succeed doing it, you are fighting a losing battle. Once you have narrowed down some new career choices, a good way to boost both these essential traits is to write down next to each new job choice what is holding you back to achieving it (be it economic, emotional or practical). Now write down what is motivating you to change your job and compare the two. Hopefully, the motivation list will be longer than the other list. Keep this document and once you have started to apply for new jobs in your chosen field, and you feel your confidence start to waver about if you have done the right thing or not, look at this and remind yourself what you are striving to achieve.
Be Practical and Proactive
One way to find out if a new career is for you is to undertake some voluntary work or work experience in the sector you choose before you take the plunge. Not only will this give you a taste of what the job may be like in reality, it will also impress prospective employers on your CV.