Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.
Thoreau
This famous quote is one of my favourites and implies that confidence is the key to living the life you want for yourself. Too many people I meet have conditioned themselves to believe that they will accept second best for their career because other priorities (whether they be financial or otherwise), are more important than their job satisfaction and general happiness.
If I am describing you, please be reassured that leaving a job you hate or making a move into a new industry or different type of role is not as hard as you may think. Yes, it can take time and yes, you will need to make some compromises, but the biggest barriers you face are most likely to be having the confidence to believe in yourself and the time you need to invest in developing a plan to make it happen.
Having the Right Mindset is the Key To Success
As a Career Coach I’ve watched many of my clients go through the mentally tough process of re-thinking their career plan. While having children can often be a catalyst for change, for others it may be a planned or unplanned redundancy or the after effects of a major life event (such as a health scare or the loss of a loved one).
You have to be clear about what you want before changing your job or career direction. I understand this may sound like a very obvious statement, but this is your life and so your options need to be based on your career goals, not those of the people around you (e.g.partners or parents).
How to Prepare for Your Next Career Move
I am regularly approached by people considering their next career move, and provide the same advice to them that I’ve provided below. I ask them 3 key questions:
1. What are your financial goals?
The reality of mortgages and financial commitments must be a priority! This is a key factor to consider before making any major changes.
2. What is your timeline?
Some people take 2-3 years to make a change, and others are ready to start a new chapter right now! it depends on whether you are currenlty employed, the main breadwinner or have some breathing space to think things through as a result of a redundancy payout.
3. Do you have an updated LinkedIn Profile and Resume?
Your LinkedIn Profile provides a great opportunity to present your unique skills, background and experience to recruiters and potential employers. A resume needs to be tailored to each new opportunity and be a maximum of 3 pages.
Here are 3 free resources to help your next career move
1. Watch this free online training via Think Bespoke’s YouTube channel and learn How to Tell Your Unique Career Story on LinkedIn.
2. Build momentum with my Career Action Plan Ebook. Sign up to receive my e-insights and receive a free copy of myCareer Action Plan Ebook.
3. Browse Think Bespoke’s Knowledge Base of free articles about Career Management and your LinkedIn Profile.
Are You Ready For Your Next Career Move?
One of the things I love about what I do is helping people move their goals into action. So many of us have dreams and audacious plans for our careers, but life has this habit of getting in the way sometimes.
My role in someone’s career journey is to clear the path of indecision and help create a roadmap for change. I encourage clients to break their plans down into actionable and manageable steps so that the process of making the necessary change is less daunting.
I add the most value to those clients who are ready to launch. That is, they have made their decision to begin transitioning their career to a different role type or industry, and need practical advice and an action plan for how to facilitate this change. It may involve re-training, repositioning their skills on LinkedIn or networking with a targeted list of people. I take a tailored approach to my clients. Everyone is different, and so every action plan is different.
