If
you sleep on average around seven hours per night, you will be asleep
for around 2,548 hours per year. Of the remaining 6,188 hours, you
could spend around 3,000 working. There is little wonder that the
status of your working life has such a tremendous impact on how you
feel on a day to day basis. The impact upon you of a potential career
change can at times seem mind-blowing...
Here is a thought
which might challenge and reassure you - confusion is a natural
phenomenon which is a necessary part of the career change process!
Much has been written about confusion, anxiety and depression resulting
from change processes(1). There are even charts which depict the
various emotional cycles people will typically experience when undergoing
a change process (these also refer to confusion as a recurrent theme
in any change process). The important thing to remember is that
all change, whether experienced through positive or traumatic experiences,
has the capacity to cause anxiety and confusion.
There are, however,
things you can do to mitigate the impact of confusion during your
career change process.
1. Exploring and Communicating
With Others
Talking to people
who have also undergone recent change processes can be helpful from
a number of perspectives. First, once you hear stories from others
who might identify with the full cycle of emotions you're experiencing,
you might not feel so alone. Secondly, it can give you the opportunity
to externalise and therefore clarify your own thinking processes.
No woman or
man is an island, and it is important to seek help and advice in
this part of the change process. Talk to friends, mentors and career
coaches. In some instances, where there is a sudden trauma caused
by an unexpected event such as a dismissal, or where there is a
sustained period of intense anxiety, depression can also occur,
and it can assist to bring on board additional professional counselling.
2. Accepting the Need to Change
If you are thinking
about a career change, then you are positively attracted by the
prospect of obtaining something that is missing in your current
professional life. This realisation can take place for a number of reasons, usually
driven out of an acknowledgment that the current state of affairs
is either failing to meet broader personal or business objectives
(often evidenced by either the lack of fulfillment of a measurable
goal, or by a sustained feeling or perception of dissatisfaction).
When is the
appropriate time to embark upon a change process? There is no magical
answer, and the key signals will be personal and depend on your
own personality, tastes, experiences, interests and of course, current
situation. Common sense tells us that when the status quo is either
based on dysfunctional relationships which cause harm, or does not
satisfy, excite or motivate us, then change is required. A word
of caution - identifying the need for change can be a lengthy and
involved process, and be aware that there are sometimes personal
factors which impact on the ways in which we perceive our worlds,
and the ways we manage our transactions with other people, employers
and clients. It is also necessary to acknowledge that "the
grass isn't always greener", and therefore close examination
of what you are running from, or running to (including your personal
motivations) is absolutely critical.
At functional
level, very often people who are seeking to change career paths
altogether are not currently performing job tasks which suit their
personal preferences. Psychological testing, aimed at determining
your individual preferences, can be a powerful tool in assisting
to identify whether changes in your current professional lifestyle
are required in order to realign your daily career activities to
suit your natural preferences.
3. Defining Your Goals
This is perhaps
the most involved part of managing your career change, and a quality
outcome which considers all aspects of your career drivers can take
several weeks and even months of planning. By focusing on what is
important to you, you will have an end in mind, and something to
look forward to. Goal setting can assist you in finding the right
pathway, and give you a framework against which to hold up all new
opportunities. When looking at new prospects, ask yourself: "will
this role/company give me the opportunity to progress my goals?".
As a guide,
career goals should:
- Motivate
and excite you.
- Be challenging
and allow for new learning opportunities and skills enhancement.
- Meet your
financial requirements.
- Provide for
mental satisfaction and stimulation.
- Address your
individual preferences - psychological testing can assist in this
process.
- Cover your
needs for further education and training.
- Give you
a sense of progression and achievement.
- Be measurable
and realistic - how will you know if you've achieved your goal,
unless it is both achievable and the outcome measurable?
4. Identifying the Things to Change
Now that you
have created a set of career goals, it is time to formulate a strategy,
or a pathway through which you can achieve your goals. For instance,
if one of your goals is to obtain greater emotional fulfilment from
your work, one strategy might be to breakdown all of the things
which together, impact you on a typical day at work. Typically,
these might include:
- Where you
work - the firm company, its philosophy, vision and values, and
of course location? How does your employer treat or prioritise
its people?
- Your responsibilities
- at a basic task level, what are the things you enjoy the most?
What don't you enjoy?
Psychological testing can also assist in determining the types
of daily activities with which you are most naturally aligned,
and therefore in pointing towards a career path which will both
minimise the prospect you will be "stressed out", and
maximise your emotional and mental rewards.
- Leadership
behaviours - do you understand what is required of you to perform
well? Do you receive regular feedback? Is a high degree of trust
present?
- People environment
- what is the "working culture" of your employer? How
do people interact?
- Communication
- do you receive regular information on new developments within
your working group and broader company? Do you understand the
company's overall mission, and the way it intends to achieve it,
the role of your group in contributing to this, and what is required
of you? Is your feedback sought/heard?
- Ongoing professional
development - does your employer provide you with regular opportunities
to improve your technical, management/leadership, business development/relationship
management and financial skills?
In many instances, the answers to these questions will also suggest
answers to the broader question - what needs to be changed and
how?
5. Change Within Your Current Role
In some instances,
once you have articulated those things which need changing, you
will be able to create change directly while maintaining your current
employment. Taking up opportunities to participate in feedback processes
in an obvious example. Seeking information which will assist in
understanding the requirements for candidature for internal promotions
may also be on the agenda.
Where there
are other people/companies involved, inevitably there will be some
things which you cannot change. In these instances, it is important
to identify whether those things are acceptable to you, or unacceptable,
having regard to your own belief systems, values and career goals.
Where the status quo is unacceptable and feedback is either unwelcome
or will put your employment at unacceptable levels of risk, then
it might be time to seek employment elsewhere. At least with your
new framework of goals and strategies, you will be able to assess
more consciously your potential fit with prospective new roles and
employers.
6. Letting Go of Fear
It is equally
important to acknowledge the role of fear in undertaking career
change processes. Here are some helpful notes in dealing with fear
of change:
- You can improve
your self-esteem by making small positive changes in spite of
fear. Confidence comes from conquering fear of change through
action.
- Emotional
"come downs" can occur through any change process, and
unexpected anxiety and even depression can result from either
huge negative traumas or significant successes.
- Successful
exponents of change understand how fear of success can impinge
upon the change process. They also recognise that success does
not magically bestow happiness.
- You have
the power to choose your own outcomes and to create change. You
can make new choices anytime.
- Be conscious
of self-criticism and keep it in check.
- Treat yourself
as well as you would treat your own best friend. As a rule of
thumb, constructive self-feedback to yourself should be given
with care and compassion. Statements based on an opportunity to
improve are best. At least 75% of self reflection should be based
upon positive affirmations.
- Listen for
signs in others that they need help too. When you are generous
to others with your time and ears, in addition to helping others
and enhancing your positive self perception, you will realise
you are not alone, and some of your fears will simply dissipate
(2).
7. Take Your Mind Off It
Have you ever
been told you think too much? Constantly focusing on what is missing
in your career can create sustained anxiety and increased chances
of confusion and even depression. Engaging in physically demanding
activities such as gym, running, cycling or swimming can help you
to focus on daily activities and break negative thinking habits.
Similarly, other forms of social engagement and entertainment can
have a positive effect.
8. Lights, Camera, Action!
It is time to
get moving. The conclusion of a change process involves resetting
the way you do things. This is the action stage of managing your
career change. At this stage, you will have identified an appropriate
career path or employer, and will be on your way to re-skilling,
or taking other active moves to reposition your employment or career
path altogether. At the final stage, create an action plan, which
sets out in detail the things you need to do in order to affect
change. An action plan can contain as much detail as you like. The
important thing to remember, is to set time frames or dates by which
you will conclude each specific activity, and stick to it.
A typical list
of activities might include:
- Psychological
testing - identify a provider who can both carry out the testing,
and provide you with follow up advice on interpretation of the
results, including your natural preferences and the types of tasks
to which you are best suited.
- Researching
job advertisements.
- Specific
meetings with friends who have undergone successful career changes,
naming who and when.
- Reworking
your resume for specific job purpose.
- Making contact
with industry/discipline specific recruitment consultancies to
introduce yourself.
- Researching
additional education opportunities where skilling up in a new
area is required.
Conclusion
Whether
it is forced upon you or undertaken voluntarily, on a grand scale
or within the parameters of your existing employment, career changes
can cause confusion and trauma. Developing a methodical approach
to sorting out the key issues which matter most to you, talking
it through with others, and implementing clear goal driven strategies,
will help you to come through the change process for the better.
Just remember, fear and confusion are normal human responses to
change, and you must not let them stand in the way of your progression.
Step by step, you have the power to make change work for you.
July 2005
© Campbell & Dean Pty Ltd | Dean
& Ling Pty Ltd
1. Williams D "Life events & career change:
transition psychology in practice" Brit.Psych.Soc. Symposium,
Jan 1999.
2. Adapted from O'Grady, D (1994) Taking the Fear Out of Change
Holbrook. MD: Bob Adams
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