You’ve been thinking about a career change for a while, you’ve done every career quiz going, downloaded every freebie about finding your passion, have scoured LinkedIn and have had coffee with way too many people with ‘interesting’ jobs.
Photo by Karla Vidal
And now the lightbulbs have come on, there are fireworks going off in your brain, you are doing your happy dance…..and then reality hits…
The retraining period for your new dream career is way longer and more expensive than you could ever justify, given the mortgage, the kids and life in general.
So what are you going to do?
Carry on doing what you are doing, plodding along in a job that you know isn’t right for you, whilst all the time, looking longingly at the career you are sure will give you what you are looking for….?
Or grab a pen and paper and start thinking outside the box? No-one ever said career change would be straight forward, so if you really want to make your career change a reality, it’s time to put on your big girl pants and make it happen.
‘But how?’ I hear you cry,
Well, read on, and I’ll share a few tips with you that might help you find a way to make your career change happen – just ask yourself the who, what and why:
1. Why is this so exciting?
Take time to consider what about this new career is making you excited – what is important to you about this? If you can untangle what it is that is attracting you to this new role, you can start to understand the way your mind is working.
Photo by Shridhar Gupta
2. Who do I know that’s done this?
Now if you’ve done your research, you will probably know (or at least know of) a fair number of people that are doing or have done the thing you are looking to do. Now is the time to get in touch again, and be specific with you questions – how did they get into it? What did they think of the training? Do they know anyone who does that role who didn’t get in via a traditional route. It’s time to really work your contacts!
3. What are my options?
Following on from those conversations, now might be the time to start looking at training options to see if there is a version that would work for you – can it be done part time or via distance learning? Is there an apprenticeship option to allow you to earn money while you study? Or could you apply for a scholarship or other financial support?
It may be that you get to the end of these questions and the answer remains the same – you need to retrain down a specific path to enter a particular career. And if that is the case then that is a decision you need to make, with the love and support of those around you, with all the knowledge available to you.
Photo by Justin Luebke
And it may be that you need to accept that right now, a particular path is not open to you, for whatever reason that might be. But having the knowledge that this career is where you want to go is a great starting point for exploring other options around this – double down and continue to explore how can you honour what excited you about that career choice, but in different way until you find a path that gives you joy and fulfilment you need in a particular area. And you never know, you may end up finding something even better!
I hope this has been helpful – if it has you may want to join my free facebook group, The Returnity Lounge, where we discuss all things career and career coaching related. Or if you’d like to discuss how I can personally help you find the career you’ve been looking for, click here to book a free 20 minute Discovery call with me.
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