If you’ve been considering a career change, you are likely experiencing both waves of excitement and absolute panic about the future. As much as change is the only true constant in life, human beings are hard-wired to resist change, even if it’s likely to lead to a positive outcome. It’s ok – you’re not alone and what you’re feeling is absolutely normal.
I like the term “pivot” rather than change because it encompasses making a shift of any size. Perhaps you’re on a technical track and want to move into a management track at the same company. Or maybe you want a complete overhaul from working as a marketing analyst to becoming a professional cartoonist.
However big or small of a shift you’re planning to make there are five critical points you must consider:
1. Wherever you go, there you are
I know how tempting it can be to #ragequit a job that is making you miserable but hear me out. I feel like my 20s can be summed up in a gif of the movie cliche where the hero casually walks away as life explodes behind them.
The problem with this approach is that as much as I fled positions that weren’t a good fit for me, I brought my own issues with me to the next job. It took an embarrassingly long time to realize that I was part of the problem and that until I did some inner work, some patterns were bound to re-emerge.
“One big thing that helped me was that I learned how to take care of my physical and mental health at my old job (which required some social work skills), which allowed me to establish good boundaries for school.”
Camille Talag, storytelling consultant
Take some time to work on improving your current job as much as possible. If you can get to a place where you are emotionally neutral about your current position, that’s when you are truly ready to make a strong pivot. Learning how to put boundaries in place and have hard conversations will set you up for success. If you feel resistant to this at all, consider that if you’re serious about leaving this job, that makes it all the better to experiment with new ways of showing up.
2. Create a vision for what you really want
As a career transition coach, I often hear from folks who know very well all the things they DON’T want from their careers. When asked about what they DO want, it’s crickets. When you’re in survival mode and fighting against burnout in a job that isn’t a good fit it can be challenging to create a vision of what your ideal job looks like.
“Listen to the rhythm of your life. Where has it taken you and how can that direct your path forward? Pay attention to the times you felt the butterflies, the adrenaline rush, the times you moved people with your words. All these moments were the breadcrumbs on a trail leading me to where I am now.”
This is where it is critical to have an objective person to listen as you describe your career history and what you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy along the way. A fresh perspective can help to reflect the patterns of your hobbies and talents back in ways that you would never see on your own. Choose someone with empathy so that they pick up on how your voice and body language change when you describe what lights you up. It’s helpful if they have no judgment or attachment to your final decisions like changing companies or even complete career shifts.
3. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know
Once you have some threads to follow in your vision, mine your contacts. Is there a field or role that you’re curious about? Find people who have that role or work for that company you’re interested in and schedule some coffee dates. Ask about the skills they use regularly and what surprised them most about their work. What does their day look like on average?
Consider the themes that came out in your visioning exercise and what YOU need to thrive. How much time is spent on technical work or managing people and relationships? Think about work culture, outdoor time, flexibility, travel and so on.
Work your network, my friend! Need a refresher? Check out this article:
Want to Kickstart Your Career? Networking FTW
4. Be creative with your skills
As you gather stories from people who have the role(s) you’re interested in, look for ties to your own experience. Where do you need to gain more training or experience? Where can you make a connection to things you already know and do?
Frequently, I hear stories about how it’s “impossible” to leave a job or career because they’d have to start from zero or go back to school to make the switch. How true is that? Look at the LinkedIn profiles of folks who have the job you want and consider their education and career histories. Some will have linear paths but some will be career changers like you- how do they talk about their past experiences?
Highlight your strengths in ways that parallel the role you want to pivot into. For example, if you are an administrative assistant and want to move into human resources you can talk about how you managed communications with a wide range of stakeholders for your boss or collaborated with the team to create a welcoming culture for new hires.
“Digital marketing was not my background. But, here’s the thing…..these days, you can learn everything you need either through the internet or through the paths that the internet brings to you. So, I made a commitment to immerse myself in absolutely everything that had to do with digital marketing. I read every book on marketing and networking I could get my hands on. I took (take) every available course. I went (go) to every seminar and conference. I became certified by several online service providers. ”
5. Get real
The average job search takes an average of around five months. Use this time as an opportunity to get your priorities in order, know what you really want so that you don’t waste time and energy applying to positions that aren’t going to be a good fit, and save up for potential unemployment or investments in a coach or a resume writer. It’s helpful to look at the average time as a sign that you’re on the right track and that it’s not about you if it takes longer than a month or two to get a good offer.
“We love to say “follow your dreams,” and that’s important, but we don’t like to talk about the details. It’s a reality. Starting your own thing takes determination as well as money, particularly once you take the critical step of going full-time with the endeavor. We have to talk about the practical alongside the aspirational, which we tend to avoid.”
Brandyn Campbell, writer and owner at Brandyn Campbell Communications
Don’t let the time frame or worry about how long it will take to readjust to a new path stop you. You have more time than you think! Consider the following calculation, based on my own pivot:
I left teaching after 12 years, and I was very well established and an “expert” level at age 39. If I’m planning to retire at the classic age of 65, I still had 26 years of work ahead. That’s more than double the number of years I spent in my previous career. Thinking about whether I’d be able to develop and grow I needed to reflect:
39 (the age I was when I left teaching)
-26 (number of years until I retired)
= 13 (age equivalent in experience to where I am now)
The time I had remaining to work on my new career as a coach was equivalent to where I was at age 13 and all the experiences and development I’ve had since then. If I consider what was possible for me to do and learn since I was 13, it’s easy to see that there is plenty of time for me to build a thriving new career. What will you do with YOUR time?
Making a career pivot is hard work, but it’s worth the investment. Ready to create your own vision and action plan? Schedule a consult with me today!