If you are considering a career pivot, here are some key lessons to share. Shifting careers can be one of the most difficult transition periods in your life. You are not alone!
“I have no idea” and “I don’t know” are common belief statements I hear from clients when faced with a career challenge.
Here’s a standard scenario: You are in a good job in a well-known company. You may have been promoted several times. You have a mortgage, travelled around the country for work, and have great prospects. Inside you are lost and deeply unfulfilled. Work is no longer enjoyable, and you wake up feeling tired, stuck in a “groundhog” day cycle, and you are not making a difference – to someone or something.
The question you keep asking yourself: What else can I do? Where do I start?
Indeed, if you have been struggling for a few months or a few years to figure out a way to change, then here are some shared career shift lessons:
- It’s you that wants to make a change, and you are also your biggest obstacle
Clients often get a signal that they are not in the right place. Perhaps you get embarrassed talking about your work with others at social events or maybe you are feeling petrified that in 10 years you won’t be proud of the work you have done.
People become blinkered in their own view of the world of work. All they seem to know is their industry and a vague idea of other careers in other sectors. Plus, people become scared of taking a pay cut, fearful of what family and friends would say, and frightened of losing status.
These are NOT obstacles in the outside world: they are obstacles inside you. In the large proportion of client cases, a lack of knowledge and overall fear is what holds people back from a successful career shift.
- Do it with others, not alone
Progress happens when you deliberately put others around me. These can include career coaches, counsellors, ex-colleagues whom you trust and hanging out with different types of people. The net effect is new ideas, better connections, and accountability – all of which lead to forward movement. Think of your career change as an expedition, not a daytrip.
- Act it out, don’t figure it out
Career shifts can take anywhere between six months and six years, depending on the type of work you are seeking. Over-thinking can also cause paralysis. For example, it’s like you are standing in a forest, and you have several tracks in front of you. But you are paralysed because you do not want to make a mistake. And the challenge is: if you do not take any of the paths, you are never going to get out of the forest. If you take one of them, it may not be the right track initially, but you can course‑correct.
When you act, rather than analyse, things start to change. For example, you could enrol in a part-time course or micro-credential. Other options include shadowing friends or colleagues in a different part of the organisation to find out what they do. Test out your ideas, cross off possibilities, rather than leaving them as unanswered questions. Take up volunteering once a fortnight in a sector you are curious about. Action precedes clarity, not the other way round.
- Look for people, not for jobs
Job sites, recruitment consultants, LinkedIn and Google all have their uses in your career change. While they can be a good place to start, it is NOT the only component. Focus instead on connecting with people.
The power of being in front of people is that you can present the whole you – something a resume simply cannot do. It will take time and persistence and, yes, there will be many ‘dead ends’. Ultimately it can lead you to a role in a field that may not have known even existed. Remember: people first, jobs second.
Finally, making a full 180-degree career change is not easy – otherwise everyone would do it! It is possible, and in fact, anything is possible. This isn’t just about your career; it’s about your life. It’s about how you feel every morning; it’s about your health and relationships, your purpose, and your impact that you can make on the world.