Career Changers - 6 Steps to Becoming 'Unstuck'

Are you 'stuck' in a career you dislike?

Do you want to change careers but feel 'tied' due to the salary you earn within financial services? Do you sometimes get excited by the idea of doing something completely different - but then find yourself (or others) talk you out of doing anything about it?

If this sounds like you, then you need to shut down that brain of yours and stop listening so much to the people around you. You need to stop planning ahead and just focus on taking some baby steps to get you unstuck. Once unstuck, you're in a much better place to push on with any type of change.

To successfully manage careers during times of uncertainty you need to stop over thinking career decisions and to stop over planning.

Old style 'Career plans' that rely on you doing X then Y to get to point Z in your career are no longer effective in today's work place. Career plans in times of rapid change and uncertainty are a waste of time - the world of work is changing far too quickly. Instead, your intuition and gut instinct is far better placed to offer solutions in times of change than your rational brain. If you're a potential career changer who is feeling 'stuck' - over thinking and over planning is precisely what will paralyse you into a state of inaction.

So instead of a 'plan', use your internal compass to navigate you in taking just the first step so that you become unstuck and can start moving forward with purpose and confidence. Here are 6 steps to help you get unstuck by experimenting with new careers.

1. Identify what it is you are drawn to

If you were given 3 days to go and 'test drive' 3 new careers - absolutely any three jobs or careers that interest you - what would they be? Jobs and careers that you find yourself intrinsically drawn to are like 'clues' or 'hunches' a detective would have. Neither you nor the detective know where the hunch will lead to - but you have to take the next step and let the trail unravel as you go along.

Whilst you're experimenting, forget how much they pay or how 'realistic' the 3 career ideas are. Forget what people would think if you ultimately chose to transition into those careers. Don't worry how ridiculous it may sound for you to become a professional poker player, a chef, a maths teacher or whatever else you are drawn to.

2. Identify people in your network who can help you

Who do you know that knows someone working in the sectors which interest you? Scan through your mobile phone, look through the contacts in your diary and take a look at all the people who you are connected to on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Face Book.

3. Identify people within your contacts' networks that can help

Which of your contacts are likely to know someone in those sectors? I can pretty much guarantee that someone within your network (or within the network of someone you know) will have the right contact - you just need to work through them, ask the right question and request their support

4. Ask for help

Make a call or send an email asking for an introduction to the type of contact you're after.

And do it NOW whilst you're excited and energised at the prospect of spending a day with a great chef, hanging out with a professional poker player or whatever it is that rocks your boat - take action immediately. If you put it off, you'll convince yourself it's a silly idea or else put it off through fear.

5. Follow up (and keep following up)

Track every single lead and new contact you collect and follow through until you get the opportunity to spend a day, half a day or even just an hour with someone doing a job that interests you.

If that means you need to take the odd day off work - then do it. If it means you need to do it in the evening or at the weekend, then make time for it. If it's an activity or career that you are passionate about, it won't seem like 'work' anyway.

6. Listen, Reflect and Adjust

Whilst doing this volunteer work and work shadowing, listen to yourself. What parts of the roles you see interest you and excite you? Truthfully, what aspects do you feel you have a natural strength for - what aspects are you likely to struggle with? Answering these questions will give you some initial thoughts on whether you want to spend more time looking into this as a career option - or adjust your search to different areas.

Listen also to the people you meet. What's been their journey - what roles have they previously done? What other related roles exist in the industry that may also interest you? Who do they know in those sectors that you can go and spend some time with and so continue your journey towards finding your next career move?

You may never become a top chef, professional poker player or whatever dream career you have in mind right now. But spending time in these environments will open you up to related jobs or careers which you didn't know even existed.

The work shadowing may open new doors, provide you with new ideas and new contacts that will help you make a career change which satisfies your need for a change - whilst also meeting your financial needs. But you won't know what this career choice is unless you take the first step by listening to your instincts instead of your brain and your friends.

Is all this easy? No

Will it happen overnight? No

Will all this be a little scary at times? Yes

But it will be also be exciting and, if you follow ideas that you are personally drawn to, these steps will energise you. And even though you won't know exactly where you are heading at times, paradoxically you will feel much more in control of your destiny than when you were 'stuck.'

It requires courage to step out without knowing exactly where you will end up. But once you realise that the 'pain' associated with being stuck (frustration, anger, fear, loss of confidence) is far worse than the pain of stepping out into the unknown - it will give you a huge lift.

The 6 steps above won't magically transform you into a new career overnight - they will get you kick started by getting you out of a that rut and moving forward - which is the very first part of any career change.

So what are you waiting for? Go back to the top of the page and take the first step......

Sital Ruparelia publishes "Straight Talk", the weekly newsletter for 6-Figure Professionals who want to be more effective and achieve their career goals. If you're ready to jump-start your career, have greater success, satisfaction and rewards then get your F.R.E.E tips now at http://www.6FigureCareerManagement.com

Career Change Mistakes - 7 Top Tips For Career Changers

If you are thinking of changing career, then watch out that you don't make these classic career change mistakes. The issues that prevent career change success often lie in what you fail to do rather than in doing things wrong.

1. Fail to invest in your career change

Making a career change is a big project that should not be undertaken lightly. Acknowledge from the outset that you will need to make a real investment of time, effort and possibly money to get what you want.

2. Fail to learn from your mistakes

You haven't got this far in life without getting things wrong a few times. That's OK - join the club! But what really matters is have you learned from your mistakes? If your career has gone off down the wrong track, what does that tell you that you should do differently next time?

3. Fail to research thoroughly

There's been a lot of talk of 'due diligence' in the news recently. Well, that applies to you and your career move too. If you leap into a new career area on a whim or because someone suggested it, you may well be disappointed. Do your homework first!

4. Fail to think outside the box

Are you feeling stuck in a rut? It can be quite hard to see over the edges of that rut (or box) if you are in a really deep one. But the walls of your box limit your thinking and stop you from seeing really new possibilities and directions for your career. Challenge yourself to explore some radically different ideas - they may not be as crazy as you think.

5. Fail to be bold

Following on from thinking outside the box, you need to be prepared to be bold with these new ideas, ready to take a risk. A faint heart never won a fair lady and careers are transformed when people take their courage in both hands and strike out for something that really inspires them.

6. Fail to take responsibility

At the end of the day, it is all down to you. You are the only one in charge of your life, so you need to take responsibility for making the changes you want. Too often career changers blame their lack of success on others or on their circumstances. Yes, things can get in your way, but the challenge then is how to find a way round the obstacles and not just be defeated by them.

7. Fail to take action

Well, I guess this one should really be number one on the list. Are you still moaning about your job and saying you really must make a change? Just talking won't get you anywhere, so what action are you prepared to take within the next 24 hours to get the show on the road?

And if you'd like an easy first step to take, then I invite you to take a look around the How To Change Careers website where you will find a host of ideas to get your career change moving. You can also download my free Career Change Blueprint http://www.how-to-change-careers.com/career-change-blueprint.html which gives you the 5 essential steps to career change success.

From Cherry Douglas - Your Career Change Guide

Career Change Success - Top Tips For Career Changers

Does career change success sometimes seem like an unobtainable goal? It is something you want to do and yet, you find yourself looking around for answers and somehow just not finding them. So what is going on that gets in the way of career change success?

There is a simple quotation, a favourite of mine, that goes like this...

Wherever you go, there you are.

Perhaps this sounds a bit philosophical for an article about career change? What has it got to do with getting me out of this job I hate, you may be asking?

Well, I think it states a fundamental truth that lies at the basis of any successful career change - that is that it begins and ends with you.

Whose problem is it?

Many people who are feeling stuck in a job they dislike find it very difficult to break out of the rut because they see 'the problem' as lying outside of themselves.

Why are they unhappy at work? Because they hate their boss (or their boss hates them!); because they don't get on with their colleagues; because the work is boring; because nobody is recognising what they are really capable of.... Do any of those refrains sound familiar to you?

What happens for people who think like this is that they may well succeed in changing jobs sometimes, and yet they still end up feeling unhappy and frustrated because they have not looked at the part they play in the whole situation.

So what's to be done?

The secret of career change success is to turn the spotlight inwards and take a long hard look at yourself. Let's face it, there is not a lot you can do to change others, but you can take charge of your own life - if you choose to.

When looking at yourself, it can help if you break the process down into three stages - past, present and future.

Look at your past

Take some time to reflect on the work you have done up to now. How did you end up in these jobs? What made you choose them? What has been good about any of the work you have done - go on, there must have been some good bits! What have you learned about yourself from doing these jobs? And what expectations of work lie behind these choices? What did your parents lead you to expect of work?

There's a lot to think about here, because there can be many influences from the past that are colouring the way you are managing your career now. What can you do to challenge the thinking that is holding you back?

Look at your present

What is going on for you in your current job? What has made it go stale for you? What could you do differently that might change the way your work day unfolds? What about looking at the skills that you are using - if you are feeling bored and underused you may be losing sight of what you are good at. Try asking friends and colleagues what they think your top three skills or qualities are. You may find that you are more skilled and more valued than you think.

Looking at what you have got to offer and what you can do to influence how each work day turns out can give you a great springboard for exploring new career ideas.

Look at your future

Take some time to look forward to what you would like to be doing. If there were no limitations on you, what career ideas would you pursue? What skills and interests would you like to be using in your work in the future? What do you think you were put here on this planet to contribute?

You might also find it useful to look backwards from the future. Try imagining you are retiring. What do you want to look back on with satisfaction in your working life. What would you be proud to have achieved? What do you want your colleagues to be saying about you?

If you want something, the clearer you are about what it is, the easier it will be to work towards it.

Don't blame others - do it yourself!

So stop assuming that everyone and everything else is the cause of your problems at work. At the end of the day, you are the person with final responsibility for the way your career unfolds. If you don't like it, then ask yourself - what am I going to do about it?

Start by asking yourself the questions posed in this article. Then decide what you will do next to make some changes. What will you do differently in the way you approach your current job? Or what first steps to change your career will you take?

And if you are ready to take up the career change challenge, I invite you to take a look around the How To Change Careers website where you will find a host of career change ideas to get you moving. You can also download my free Career Change Blueprint http://www.how-to-change-careers.com/career-change-blueprint.html which explains the 5 essential steps to career change success as well as giving you 5 great bonuses too!

From Cherry Douglas - Your Career Change Guide

10 Mistakes Career Changers Make

Over the years I have talked to hundreds of people who dislike their job or know they are in the wrong job. Most are reluctant to make a change for lots of different reasons. The most common is inertia - the feeling that they know this job and can do it so why bother to make a change. In recent years many of these people have lost their jobs and are now considering making a career change. Others are currently in a job and waiting for the economy to turn around before making a change. In either situation this list of 10 Mistakes Career Changers Make that will be useful.

1. Waiting until they are out of work before thinking about a career change. Making a career change takes time. When someone is out of work they usually want to get back to work quickly. Unless they have the financial resources or a temporary assignment to keep them afloat, doing the work necessary to find the right career change to make takes too long.

2. Deciding on what they are going to change to without research and self assessment. Before making a career change a person needs to be sure he/she has found a career that fits their behavioral style, skill set, and values. To do that he/she must have done a thorough self evaluation and then some research into the career itself. The research would include talking to people who currently have the targeted position.

3. Allowing money to be the major reason for the change. People who are well paid often limit their career change choices to careers that pay the same or more than their current career. That may lead to a poor career change choice. People who are in careers that don't pay well also may limit their choices to higher paying careers. If someone only considers money and not values, passion and skill set, the career will not be the best choice for that person.

4. Choosing a career that a family member or friend said was a good choice. My mother always wanted me to be a computer programmer. Someone told her it was a good field. It didn't sound like something I would like and fortunately I followed my own instincts. Career Changers need to do what interests them not what interests a family member. Going into the family business can be a mistake for some people.

5. Going back to school for a new degree or certification without having talked to people in the field. It is important to give a new career a test drive before deciding on it. Volunteering in an organization that allows you to try out your new career choice for a few weeks is one way to get this experience. Shadowing someone who has the job before making the change is another way to get a feel for the job.

6. Accepting the suggested career of a career counselor or recruiter. It would be nice if someone else knew exactly what was right for a person but no one can know that except the person him/herself. Career Changers can be open to suggestions but must examine the career for him/herself. There are no short cuts and anyone allowing others to make the choice for them is in danger of making the wrong choice.

7. Limiting their exploration to fields related to their current industry and position. Finding the career that is perfect means leaving all options open. Clues for new careers can come from past dreams and hobbies. There is detective work and intuition involved in finding a match that is right. Choosing to look at only possibilities related to their current field and industry may make the career changers overlook something that is perfect for them.

8. Changing careers because they hate their job. Career Changers must take the time to think about why they hate their job. Is it because of the work they are doing, the company they are doing it for or their manager? Many times a change of jobs can correct the situation without a change of careers. If it turns out to be the work that makes them hate the job, understanding what it is about the work that they hate will be a clue to what kind of work they will like.

9. Making a career change without a transition plan. Once the career changer knows what kind of a change to make, he/she will need a plan to move in that direction. Some people have all the skills they need to go to the new career. Others will need to take some interim steps to get there. One of the steps might be additional training. Another might be to take a lower level position and work their way into the position they actually are targeting.

10. Making a Career change without a coach. There are many steps to a career change and it is easy to get distracted and give up on the process. There are lots of temptations along the way that come from people who will want the person to just make up his/her mind. To do a thorough job having a coach as your guide is invaluable. It may well be the difference between a career that you love and just another job.

Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor (The Attorneys' Coach) and a Career Changers' Coach as well as publisher of Parker's Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. Subscribe now to these free monthly publications at her website http://www.asparker.com/samples.html and receive a values assessment as a gift. Work becomes more meaningful and enjoyable when you work from your values.

Parker's Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are attorneys and people in transition who want to find work that is in line with their own life purpose. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com. She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.