“We change when the pain to change is less than the pain to remain as we are.” - Ed Foreman
The San Francisco Chronicle recently profiled a former investment banker, a national sales director and an executive search specialist who have all transitioned successfully in Successful second acts: a career change can lead to greater job fulfillment.
Here are some of the lessons they shared:
- An effective career transition may take many months sometimes years to find a true professional fit. The key is to take the first step, and then the next step, while seeking to understand the lesson of each twist and turn along the way.
- Reflection and a visualization are vital components. Similar to the former investment banker’s exercise, I work with clients to define an ideal image of where they want to be by the end of the year, in a year and in two years. Then we start to create a vision of what that would look like, i.e. What would you be doing? How would they feel? What strengths or skills would you be using? Then we work backwards to figure out what components exist in their current skills portfolio and devise strategies to supplement potential skill gaps.
- Often times life or the fear of failure gets in the way of our dreams. Fear of the unknown can be immobilizing for some of us. To move beyond our fears we have to confront them. Think of fear as a signal that you need more information to move forward. When you think of it in these terms you realize that fear is part and parcel of life. Nelson Mandela once said “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
- If you have no idea where to start or about what you would like to do, work with an executive/career coach to identify your strengths, what matters most to you and alternative career paths. According to Lee Hecht Harrison, “People who use a career coach find jobs 15% to 46% faster than those who don’t.”
- Consider joining online communities and social networks, such as Doostang, TheLadders, careerbuilder, Execunet, twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, you will be surprised by helpful your network and their network can be, if you help them to help you.
- If you choose to go it alone solicit the help of an organized friend who will help you to stay on top of your goals.
Have you made a successful career switch recently? If so what tactics did you employ? If you are thinking about making a career change what is holding you back?
