CHANGING CAREERS: SIX QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF By Carol Stanton, M.Ed., M.A. Are you considering a career change? Whether you want to change careers for personal reasons, or you are forced to make a transition due to factors beyond your control, there are many factors to consider. A good place to start is by asking yourself the following six questions: 1. What is motivating you to make a change? For people who are being forced to make a change because of a job layoff or changes in their profession, there is the question of whether to stay in the same field or explore other fields. For others, such as people in mid-life, there may be more complicated motivations. Have you just gone through a major change, such as a divorce, or had a milestone birthday? Do you feel the need to create a new identity? Do you feel some kind of external pressure from your family or from society? Sometimes these can be good motivating factors but they can also be smoke-screens that are hiding deeper emotional issues that may need to be dealt with first. Do a reality check to see whether this is the right time to make a career transition. Too many major changes at once can be stressful. For more in depth assistance with this, you may want to talk to a life coach or career counselor. 2. What are your assets? Unlike someone younger who is just starting out, adults have life and work experience that can give them insight about their strengths. Take some time to evaluate your present situation and make an inventory of your skills, interests and accomplishments. Look at your transferable job skills. Those are the universal job skills that can be used in many types of positions. You might get more from this by doing it with a friend, spouse, mentor, or professional counselor. It often helps to have another’s objective view to help you sort things out. Sometimes a negative self-concept or limited view of your potential can prevent you from seeing yourself clearly. 3.What is important to you at this stage in your life? In changing careers when you’re older, you also need to ask yourself what constitutes success for you at this point in your life. Perhaps your values have changed since you first started out in the work world. For instance, making a lot of money may have seemed important early in life, but perhaps has become less important as you have grown older. For others, the opposite may now be true. If, at a younger age, you were very idealistic, you may find yourself becoming more conservative and security oriented. Be honest with yourself. Hopefully, you can be clearer about what’s important to you now that you know yourself better. 4. What is your ideal career? Here is an interesting exercise to try. Find a quiet time and space, where you won’t be interrupted. Relax by listening to some peaceful music or just sit and follow your breathing for a few minutes. Then, imagine the kind of career you would like to have. Suspend reality for the moment and picture the workplace setting you would enjoy. What kind of work would you be doing? What is the setting? Who would be around you? How would you feel about what you’re doing? After you
are finished reflecting,, sit and write a description, in which you outline some of the key points of your ideal career. 5. What are the realities of a career change? When you start to explore your career options, it’s important to find out the specific details of the careers you’re considering. For instance, do you need some kind of specialized training? If so, would you be able to incorporate this into your life? Talk to as many different people as you can, to find out about the field you’re interested in. Networking is important, not only for gaining the information you need, but also to make contacts with important people in your potential new field. Another thing to do is to find out about the outlook for jobs in this field, as well as the outlook for the geographic region you’re interested in. There are web sites where you can find this kind of information, such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco/ ). If you must relocate, how would this affect your family and lifestyle? In what other ways might your career change affect your family? Talk to them about it before you pursue anything. There are many other website which can give you valuable advice about career changing and job search such as www.wetfeet.com and www.about.com/careers. Your age is another realistic factor to consider as you are making a new career decision. Depending upon the choice of career, it can be an asset or a liability. With many years of life and work experience behind you, your age could be a benefit in areas such as social work, teaching, consulting, or owning your own business. There are other fields, though, where the competition with younger people becomes a factor, such as the technology field or certain areas of business. Unfortunately, ageism is a cruel reality, like racism or sexism. There will always be people who are ignorant and biased in their views. Part of being realistic is to accept your age and other things about yourself that you can’t change and, with a positive attitude, focus on your strengths and goals. 6. What steps can you take to achieve your career goals? Again, think about your main career goal. Create smaller goals and time lines that will help you achieve your larger goal. Be sure to give yourself a long time frame, so you will not feel pressured to do more than you can handle. Be realistic, but don’t talk yourself out of it. If possible, find someone who can help you by acting as a mentor or guide in this process Use your maturity, greater self-knowledge, life experiences, and clarity of values to create a fulfilling work life. Don’t forget to ask for support from your network of family, friends, colleagues, and other professionals. Above all, give yourself every opportunity to succeed with your dreams.