Thinking About A Career Change? Part 1: Navigating through the maze of options

If you find yourself dreading Mondays and living for the weekends, clock watching, day dreaming and having no passion or interest in your current job, chances are that a career change may be in order.

For some, even a lay-off can become a great opportunity to re-evaluate their situation and consider options.

Before taking any leaps into the unknown, it might be a good idea to ask yourself some questions:

• Are you willing to invest the time, energy and perhaps additional training/schooling necessary to make the change?
• Do you know what it is you want to do and have you researched the new career?

If the answer is “yes” to the first question, but “no” to the second, you might want to spend some time considering potential career paths.   The first steps include identifying personal core values that are essential for you in the workplace.  You bring meaning and purpose to your life and a high level of engagement and energy to your job, if your it is in line with your interests, values and aptitudes.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What am I passionate about?
• What does my perfect work day look like? (e.g. working indoors or out? With a team or alone? at a computer, machine or truck all day or interacting with people? How do I prefer to dress — casually or formally?)

I recommend spending time to explore interests and options. A good way to get started is by getting your hands on the book What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles (which you should find at most libraries). In this book, you’ll find many exercises that will help you identify your skills, values, interests along with exploring your personality type, preferred working environment, etc.  The online service Career Cruising can also be a valuable online tool which you can access at a JVS Employment Source Centre near you.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down you should create an action plan. Identify the steps required to make the career change. Make a list of what you want to achieve, and then use SMART goal setting to ensure that they’re Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Do you need additional skills and training? If so you will need to budget for tuition fees, living expenses etc.

What transferable skills do you already have that will help you in your next career? Enlisting the assistance of a career coach or employment counsellor is helpful with the decision-making process. You will also want to start networking and considering workplaces that suit your values and interests.

A career change requires commitment, action, research, planning and hard work. In my upcoming blog posts I’ll talk about more strategies to make that career change a reality.

Road Tripping

Not long ago a friend’s 20-year-old daughter spoke to me about her confusion surrounding what to do with her life. As a recent college graduate she was unsure about what career path to take.I suggested she take a look at the website Road Trip Nation

Road Trip Nation is a wonderful PBS television series that started with a few college graduates who didn’t know what to do with their lives. Fresh out of college and unsure about the career paths in front of them, they were determined to expose themselves to more than just the traditional life roads. They painted an old RV green, hopped in, and hit the road to talk with inspiring people from all walks of life to find out how they came to do what they love for a living and for any advice they had for youth just starting out.

There are well over 100 video interviews with people from all over North America, in all different careers. You can watch episodes or individual interviews online.

I often use the website to expose my clients to what’s out there. I urge my clients to do their own road trip. No need for a green RV or time off, just connect with people who are in careers that interest you, do an informational interview and learn about their occupation and how they navigated their career journey.

And to quote from the Road Trip Nation manifesto:   “Define your own road in life instead of traveling down someone else’s. Listen to yourself. Your road is the OPEN ROAD. Find it.”