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
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