Thinking about changing your career, especially if you’ve been in one for some time, can be VERY daunting. I know because I have made a few career changes myself.
If you are like me, maybe you grew up thinking that you would follow a certain path. You picked a major, graduated college, worked hard to build a career, thought you were happy in your job and then suddenly something changed.
Maybe you’ve been through a major breakup, loss of a loved one, health scare, or something else that made you realize that you wanted to do something different with your life. That was me. After ending an almost 7-year relationship and a lot of self-reflection, I realized that the career path I was on wasn’t the one I wanted for the rest of my career. It took lots of moments of attending alumni seminars on career satisfaction, seeing industry veterans having no life outside of work, and reflecting on my break-up that led me to these slow whispers where I knew I needed to make a change.
If you are having one of those moments, what can you do? Don’t start interviewing just yet, do these critical things before applying to jobs:
1) Hire a career coach- I used a career coach and quickly realized that the industry I was in was not where I wanted to be. Since I didn’t have a clue at the time where I wanted to go, I worked with my coach to guide me in choosing the right path forward. Seeing the value first-hand, I decided to become a career coach specializing in helping people pivot their careers. I would love to help you find greater professional fulfillment in your life.
2) Make a list of 10 companies you want to work for- start researching their culture, look at their Glassdoor reviews, and talk to people who work there. Don’t forget that LinkedIn is your friend for this!
3) Start informational interviewing- make a list of jobs that sound interesting and set up 20–30-minute interviews with people in those jobs. Seem easier said than done? Again, LinkedIn is your friend and people are more keen to do quick informational interviews than you think.
Tip: Just make sure if you don’t have LinkedIn Premium to state that you want to have an informational interview. You are more likely to have people accept and the right people will be willing to connect.
4) Make a list of characteristics of your ideal career- do you want to work fully remote? Does organizational culture or leadership matter to you more than your day-to-day responsibilities? Does having a product or service that aligns with your personal values matter? Include all these make-or-break things.
Making a career change is scary, but life is short. We spend one third of our lives at work. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to spend that time doing something we really enjoy? I think so!
If you would like to connect and have a FREE career coaching session, please reach out to me directly at Jackie@redefineyourpathcoaching.com
Happy Searching!
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