Career change

Why?

The first big question is ‘why’. Why do you think you want to change careers? If you’re unhappy in your work, seriously consider why that is. Is it the type of work you do, the people you work with, the management, the location of where you work?

Most people get bored with their jobs at some point. You need to decide whether a change of career is going to improve things for you or just shift the issues to a different location.

Is it worth the effort?

Changing career or even just changing job can be stressful. You need to weigh up whether changing, and all it entails, would be worth the effort. Really be honest with yourself: are you unhappy with your work or are factors in your personal life making you unhappy in your job? You might think you’re fed up with office life, but it might just be that you’re not happy with the office you’re in at the moment.

You might think that you’ve ground to a halt in your present career, but what about if you looked for a different job but in the same sector?

Maybe, money is the issue. If it is, it might be worth approaching your boss and trying to negotiate a pay rise. Easier said than done, of course, but it shouldn’t do you any harm as long as you can justify why you think you deserve more.

Before doing anything, take some time out to consider the questions above. There’s no point spending unnecessary time researching a new career when the problem with your current one is simpler to solve than you first realised.

I’m ready to change

Right, you’ve weighed up your options and decided that, yes, you really do want to change career. However, being realistic, we now have to start thinking about barriers. What’s in the way of you getting to where you want to be?

Barriers

The only way to approach something as major as a change of career is with a positive mindset, but we need to look at what’s in your way before deciding how to overcome it. Don’t get despondent – think of how to overcome the obstacles.

A good idea is to write down all the reasons you want to change, then write down what’s stopping you getting there. This should focus your mind and help you to come up with ways to overcome the things in your way.