Written by: Rodolfo Parlati, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Work takes up most of your time if you consider that, on average, at least one-third of your day is spent working. It is an aspect of your life that is of considerable importance not only to your sustenance and personal aspiration but also to your mental balance.
Very often, it happens to experience particularly difficult work situations, due to both external and internal factors. It happens to work in sectors that are going through moments of crisis that seem to have no hope of being resolved or to embark on a career to which you do not feel you belong. Sure, every career path has its ups and downs, but sometimes there comes a time when the desire to change and find a new job becomes so strong that it can no longer be ignored.
In any case, you can't think of finding a job by sending random applications if you don't know what you want. There is no need to look for work generically because you could find a new job but, in addition to procuring a large waste of time and energy, this will likely prove not to be suitable for you. This could trigger a whole series of frustrations and disappointments that will only make your situation worse. However, the fear of change can be such to get stuck in a decision-making impasse, without giving up your current job.
When is the right time to change? And how to implement your career change?
Changing profession is a very important choice, to be carefully considered. Before proceeding, it is essential to evaluate several factors well, whether it is a radical career change or simply a change of sector. Modifying your career path requires organization and planning. Defining a strategy helps you maintain the concentration and calm necessary to take the right actions, in a very delicate phase of your professional and non-professional life. Here are some actions you can take:
1. Start from your "why". When considering a career change, it's okay not to know exactly where to start and how to get there. The first thing you need to do when you don't have a clear idea is to ask yourself why you want to change jobs. It may seem obvious but it is, in reality, a crucial question. Awareness of your motives allows you to establish an action plan that is consistent with your values and goals. You may want to feel more fulfilled, or get rid of an unsatisfactory role, perhaps also played in a particularly toxic work environment. To do this, you need to establish an internal dialogue with yourself, recognize and legitimize your moods, understand what triggers your reactions and how to intervene.
2. Don't be overwhelmed by your fears. Don't allow your fears of running out of money, not being appreciated by your family and friends, wasting time or being excluded from society to limit you in your choices and actions. Try to prioritize researching what is important to you and what path you want to take for your career.
3. Take into account your transferable skills. The knowledge and experience accumulated over time, covering the current role, can be a strength, without being lost. Many skills can also be useful in professions that are very different from the one you currently cover. In particular, the so-called "soft skills" are widely transferable, such as, for example, leadership skills, learning, problem-solving or precision. These are skills that can be exploited within countless roles and different work contexts. Obviously, in changing roles, it will be necessary to develop new skills that will be typical of the sector you want to enter.
4. Feed your network. Networking is a vital resource at a time when you need to reinvent your career. A dense network of friends, colleagues and acquaintances to turn to can help you a lot in your search for a new career path. Consulting your contacts allows you to gather valuable insights on the position you are interested in and is also a great way to get information. Many people wonder how, in the current environment, they can initiate and build the relationships they need to reinvent their careers. To do this, the golden rule of networking has always been to cultivate your weak bonds, i.e. the relationships you have with people you don't know so well or don't see very often, to maximize your chances of getting to know them.
5. Take courses and do some volunteer work. As far as one can tell, changing careers is by no means an easy thing. It can be a stressful and difficult path, for which a considerable investment of time and energy can be needed, especially if your goal is to radically change the sector. To reach the professional level needed for your new role, you may need to attend specific training courses. Furthermore, to gain experience in a new sector, it is useful to carry out voluntary unpaid work in your spare time. Taking a trial period in a completely new sector is important to understand with knowledge of the facts if you are suited for a different role.
6. Get help. No one is an island and, sooner or later, you find yourself in the position of needing someone's help. When you just can't change your job, a series of fears that you feel in these moments and attitudes of closure could take over that can further worsen the situation. For example, you may feel strong external pressures from the people around you and not know what to do or what decision to make. It is precisely in moments like these that, instead of closing yourself in on yourself, it could be decisive to seek external help.
In these cases, consulting people like you who have made it, reading books on the subject and enlisting the support of a Professional Coach are among the most effective practices.
Ready for your change?
The most common path to a reinvention of your career is to do something completely different. This involves cultivating new knowledge, resources, skills and relationships until you have a strong foundation to build and explore a new career. Coaching, in particular, by strengthening your self-awareness, can provide you with the support you need to understand how to achieve the career goals you have in mind.
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Rodolfo Parlati, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Rodolfo Parlati is a Professional Life & Executive Coach. Always inspired by the desire to impact others positively, his mission is to help people and professionals be happy and successful by finding out their inner potential and exploring the right path to follow to "give shape" to their goals. Passionate about building connections, the key elements of his coaching strategy are creating meaningful actions to attain the clients' goals, knowing what is holding them back, and supporting them in finding higher awareness. His natural curiosity has always driven him to be an eager lifelong learner, explore new fields, and look for the answers to any question.
