Career Change: 7 Steps to a New You!

It is now accepted that people will have several career changes in their working lifetime. As individuals develop and grow, their aspirations and goals change, and they need new challenges. This may be a new career, or a change in direction for a small business, but the process of change is essentially the same.

1.    Find out what you really want to do. What are your priorities for the change? Do you want more time with family, different working conditions or more money? Do you want to change the direction of your business, or change your role in it? What do you love doing and how could you incorporate that into a new direction? Spend time asking yourself these questions and identify a clear goal.
  

2.    Plan. Sketch out the steps you need to get to your goal so you can visualise the path. It could be a few lines to show your commitment or a multi-page business plan, but you need something concrete that lays out what you will do and when. This will help to keep you focussed in a general direction, although you may change your mind about the specifics along the way. Career change can often take longer than you expect and you may also need to work out a budget.

3.    Research. Before you make any bold moves, find out about your chosen path. Talk to people who have already taken the steps you have. Find a mentor, or pay for professional advice if necessary. Research job or business opportunities in this area and make sure you understand the practicalities of what it will be like in the future state.

4.    Retrain and develop new skills. You may need to do some training or development to get to your new career. This can be an exciting and challenging time as you learn new skills and formulate the details of your plan. This step often takes time and money, but will give you the boost you need to make the change.

5.    Try it out. Find an opportunity to try out your new career in a low risk way. This may be as voluntary work, or working from home on your business while still in the day job. It may be changing your role in your own business for a short period of time, while people adjust to the new way. Testing the water in this way will give you the confidence to continue, and also to make any changes to your plan at this stage. Remember you always have the choice to change your mind!

6.    Commitment and persistence. These underpin the whole process, as often significant career change can take some time and it is easy to just stick with what you have. Remember why it is important to you to achieve the change. How will you feel  if you don’t make it this time?  

7.  Break Out! Make the change, even if the timing is not perfect. Celebrate how far you have come!