After a few years into a role, you may be thinking of a career change. There are many ways people respond to changes, some embrace them head-on, others take a while to think about all the options available to them, and some people take a long time to bring about any change.
If you are ready for a career change, perhaps a promotion, a side-ways move or a complete change in what you do, you may find yourself procrastinating or having some kind of resistance to it. Perhaps you start backtracking and think;
‘Well, at least I know what to do in this role, why rock the boat?’ or
‘I probably won’t get the promotion anyway, so why try?’.
Your body and mind are going to start making excuses to get back into comfort.
This is because our brains like comfort and habit, we like routines where we know what we are doing each day because it saves a lot of thinking time and energy. Staying here is great IF you are happy with the way your life is and you don’t want to change anything.
However, when you get to a point where you want to make a change, it may be useful to find the cause of the resistance, perhaps it’s:
- Lack of confidence.
- Lack of perceived opportunity.
- Unsure how to cope with a change in working hours whilst managing a family.
To help you think about making a career change here are a few steps that could help you:
- Form a really clear reason for the career change, and write down why you are doing it. Look at what you hope to gain and the difference it will make to you and others in your life. Having a clear picture can help you gain the motivation to move ahead with it and boost your confidence.
- Ask others for their view. You may have been thinking about making a career change for a while but haven’t discussed it with the right people, those closest to you at home or even your manager. They may be able to give you some advice on your next steps.
- Think about what is stopping you. If it’s confidence, what do you feel a lack of confidence in doing? Usually, confidence relates to something specific that can be worked on, so what would make you feel more confident in making a career change? Perhaps there are skills you want to work on first.
- More women now are looking for companies that have flexible working policies, if you’re interested in a company follow them on LinkedIn, see what they share and if you have common connections with people who work there reach out to ask about their experiences.
- Consider the alternatives. What else could you do to create the life you want? Perhaps you have another skill or want to learn another skill. Could this be the right time to start a business? Think outside the box and check off all the options available.
Once you start taking control of the situation and do things that will move you closer to the career change you will start feeling motivated and ready to go for the next challenge!
If however, you can’t place what is stopping you from moving forward, then please reach out to me for coaching as together we can dig deeper to find the barriers and move past them.
I also have a workbook called ‘Revitalise Your Career’ which may be useful to you.