The 3 Deadly Enemies of Career Change

Thinking about a career change and making the move from one career to another can be seen as quite an undertaking. Taking the steps needed to make the change a reality require certain mindset tools we need to either have or develop. These tools are often at the heart of why we end up not following through on our decision to start a new career. This article sets out what you can do to turn these 3 deadly enemies into your greatest allies.

Lack of Confidence

 A lack of confidence is the biggest of the 3 deadly enemies of career change. When you have been in the same job for a number of years, the prospect of leaving it to start your journey into the unknown can be very daunting. We often develop a fear of failure or of the unknown. This is the number one reason many stay where they are.

Building your confidence can take time but if you are determined that the time has come to make the change we have to be prepared to build our confidence. There are several things you can do to help build your confidence over time.

One of the simplest things you can do to build confidence is to start by identifying positive affirmations. Here is an example of a positive affirmation you can say to yourself every morning or before you go to bed at night.

Post your affirmation somewhere visible at home or at work, if you can. Over time it will help in reframing your thinking and provide you with the confidence to move forward.  

There are also books or articles that can help with confidence building. Download my free guide to confidence building

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Lack of clarity

The second deadly enemy of career change is a lack of clarity about what our next move will be. Some people may feel that without a clearly mapped out plan about what they will do next or how they will make it a reality, they cannot move forward with a career change.

For others, the problem might be the complete opposite. They might have several ideas about what they want to do but don’t know how to narrow down their options to a single choice. In cases like this, we often get paralysed and overwhelmed by our array of choices. As a result, we do nothing.

If you fall into the former category of not having a clear idea of what you want to do next, your instinct to stay where you are is correct – in the short term. This should not however, prevent you from finding a career that makes you happy.

The starting point is to understand your strengths. What do you enjoy doing? Make a list of all your skills.  It is also a good time to make a list of all the things about your current job you don’t enjoy and why.

Knowing what you don’t like and what you do, will help you match your skills to the right kind of jobs or career options for you.

Commitment

The third of the 3 deadly enemies of a career change is commitment. Once you have made the decision to follow through on a career change you need to commit to it in order to make it happen.

One of the main reasons given for not being able to follow through with their decision is a lack of time. They worry that they will not have the time to sit down and plan and then follow through on their decision to leave.

A big part of any career change plan needs to include making time to make it happen.  Have a schedule of what you are going to do and when. Your plan need not take more than 15 -20 minutes a day.

An example of your career change schedule might be:

Monday lunch time – LinkedIn profile Update (20 mins)

Tuesday lunch time – CV update (30 mins)

Wednesday lunch time –   CV update (30 mins)

Thursday lunch cover letter update (30 min)

Friday lunch time – complete CV update (30 mins)

The following week can be spent on a job search plan

Making the decision to embark on a career change requires confidence, clarity and commitment  once you are able to turn these 3  deadly enemies of career change  and turn them into lifelong friends, you will be able to move forward to a career that brings you fulfillment and enables you to do.