New Career Ideas - The Top 5 Career Themes to Inspire You

Are you racking your brains for some new career ideas?

Many of my career change clients seem to get really stuck when it comes to generating new career ideas for themselves. They are often find it hard to let go of the idea that any new career has got to somehow connect up with what they have done before.

Well, that can be one place to start and there is no doubt that some career changes do build on previous work experience.

But it doesn't have to be so.

I like to encourage clients to really think laterally when exploring new career options. And one way of doing this is to try thinking about general themes that underline what they really want to do.

What career themes inspire you? What underlying issues are important to you in the work you do?

Themes are important guides to what might be right for you and can be great starting points for more detailed thinking about career change. Here are the top five themes that come up regularly from would-be career changers together with a few of the questions you need to ask yourself to unpack what these themes really mean for you.

I want to work with people

What kind of people? Adults, children, teenagers, people who are ill, those who need advice? And how will you be working with them? Educating or training them? Selling to them? Curing them of physical or mental illness? Managing and directing them?

I want to do something creative

What does creative mean to you? What will you be creating? A novel? Paintings or sculptures? Will you be designing clothes, jewellery, stage sets? Or will your creativity be inventive involving you in coming up with new ways to solve technical or business problems?

I want to travel

Where do you want to travel to? Do you just mean getting out of the office, or do you want to travel locally, nationally or internationally? How frequently do you want to be away from home? Do you actually wan tot live and work abroad?

I want to earn lots of money

How much is lots of money? What will money give you? What difference will that make for you? How long and hard are you prepared to work to achieve this goal? Have you got a particular skill or talent that you can develop and sell?

I want to make a difference

In what way do you want to make a difference? What influence do you want to have and on whom? Do you want to help individuals or change political systems to help many? Do you want to discover or invent something that will change lives?

Do any of these themes and questions ring true for you? Take some time to reflect on what your top career themes are. They can be a great starting point for many new career ideas.

Want to read a bit more about career themes and discover some specific new career ideas that link with these themes? Then I invite you to take a look at the How To Change Careers website. You'll find lots of ideas and inspiration there to get you thinking laterally about your career change and while your there, why not also download my free Career Change Blueprint http://www.how-to-change-careers.com/career-change-blueprint.html which gives you a step-by-step guide to successful career change.

From Cherry Douglas - Your Career Change Guide