Do you have a career change somewhere in your future? Changing careers can be enough of a challenge without adding to the difficulty yourself. Here are ten big mistakes that make the process harder than it needs to be.
- Assuming you need to change careers
- Not starting with you
- Focusing too much on what's practical
- Focusing too much on passion
- Looking for a quick fix
- Ignoring immediate opportunities for improvement
- Giving obstacles too much importance
- Ignoring the obstacles
- Shutting the door to serendipity
- Hanging too loose
I. Assuming you need to change careers
Before you jump into the career change pool with both feet, stop and ask yourself, "Why do I want to change? What am I unhappy with here? Is it my boss? Is it the work environment? Is it the work itself?"
Once you take inventory of the sources of your dissatisfaction, spend some time with each and ask, "How could I change that? What are some possibilities to make things better without the dramatic step of wholesale change?"
You may discover that, with some tweaks and twiddles, you're closer than you realized.
II. Not starting with you
Trying to create a career that energizes you without understanding where that energy comes from is a little like trying to hit a bulls-eye with a dart while blindfolded. Theoretically possible, but not likely.
The more you understand about what makes you tick, the better equipped you are to both identify and evaluate potential opportunities (a key component of my Passion Catalyst work).
When you understand the underlying reasons why you love what you love, you can look around and say, "OK, what are the potential paths out there that match up with that?" You can also look at a specific opportunity and ask, "How well does this stack up against what I know energizes me?"
III. Focusing too much on what's practical
Nothing kills the potential for passion like an exclusive focus on the practical and pragmatic. A practical approach is one of those things that makes a great servant, but a lousy master.
As a supporting element, the practical approach keeps you grounded in the real world. "OK, that's a great dream - now here are the real world concerns to address as you move towards it."
But as the driving force in your efforts, practicality often drives you the opposite direction from what feels uniquely energizing and meaningful to you. Practicality itself has no soul, no depth. Its only concern is to ensure that whatever path you take has as few bumps as possible. And if that path should leave you feeling unfulfilled, that's of no real concern.
IV. Focusing too much on passion
On the flip side, focusing too much on the passion and the dream is a pretty good way to get frustrated and stuck as well. If you focus just on the dream and not on the everyday practicalities of actually making it happen, odds are good you'll find yourself spinning in circles, having a great time (for a while anyway), but never actually getting anywhere. .
As alluring as the passion path is, the reality is that everything happens in the real world. And in the real world, there are mundane, practical things to consider. "How am I going to get there? What is getting in my way? How could this impact ____? Am I willing to sacrifice ____ to get ____?"
Passion is a great guidance system, but a practical approach is an integral part of the logistics that will help you make it happen.
V. Looking for a quick fix
I know this isn't a sexy message, but when it comes to career change, there is no give-it-to-me-now McSolution. Meaningful career change typically doesn't happen with the flip of a switch.
Giving in to the urge to find a push-button option is likely to lead you out of the frying pan and into the fire. Doing the introspection (and the reflection on what you learn from taking steps) takes time. Identifying the right path for you takes time. And the actual transition takes time.
One big result of taking the quick fix perspective is the wall it puts up between you and many of the potential directions you could take. You look at an idea and think, "I can't," when often what you really mean is, "I can't right now" (which might be completely accurate). Unfortunately, our immediate gratification mindset often turns "I can't right now" into "I can't ever."
VI. Ignoring immediate opportunities for improvement
If you need to stay in your current position for the immediate future while you take steps on the side towards change, you might as well make your current situation as palatable as possible by exploring immediate opportunities for improvement.
Start by doing a two-columned inventory. In one column, list the things that drive you nuts about your current situation. In the second column, list the things that you enjoy.
Next, ask two simple questions. For the negative factors, ask yourself, "Is there any way I can minimize or eliminate this part of my experience?" For the positive factors, ask, "How can I bring more of this into the picture?"
It's not a panacea, but the more you can improve the current situation, the easier it will be to stay put while you're taking action towards your new path.
VII. Giving obstacles too much importance
Too often I see people look at a potential path, see the obstacles and say, "Well, I guess I can't do that."
Here's a little reality check. The path to just about anything worth doing is going to have its share of obstacles. Unless you're very lucky, limiting yourself to a path with no obstacles is likely to lead to an uninspired life.
Obstacles are simply part of the landscape, not proof that something can't be done. When you encounter them, instead of saying, "Guess I have to turn around now," ask yourself, "OK, what are my options? How do I get around (or over, or under) this thing that's standing in my way?"
VIII. Ignoring the obstacles
Picture yourself running passionately down a path towards a destination filled with energy and bliss. You're immersed in the joy of the journey, and you're giddy about where you're going. Then all of a sudden...
Whack!
You've done a full-speed face plant right into a big boulder. You should have been paying more attention.
Just like giving the obstacles in the path too much importance is a mistake, so is ignoring them completely. When you pay attention to what's in the way, you have the opportunity to scheme your way around it. When you don't...well...did I mention, "Whack!"?
IX. Shutting the door to serendipity
When it comes to career change, the idea of "you don't know what you don't know" is as valid as anywhere.
Taking steps towards an objective means taking action, and action creates both insight and opportunity. You may learn something along the way that causes you to alter your course, or a door may open up to an opportunity that you never realized existed.
Having a plan for how to get where you want to go is great. But it should be a living, morphing plan, not a set of goals and steps that are etched in stone. Don't be so rigidly committed to it that you miss the opportunity to embrace an even better/more easily accessible/etc. opportunity.
X. Hanging too loose
While some looseness helps you stay open and creative in your efforts, too much looseness just leaves you wobbling around headed no place in particular.
Structure helps focus your efforts, and gives you something specific to get traction on. Goals help you see where you're going, and how the steps you're taking are moving you in that direction (or not). Having specific steps and stages to go through keeps you from scratching your head and saying the career equivalent of, "I dunno...what do you want to do?"
Parting thought: Do a change audit
You'll notice that many of these mistakes are the inverse of another mistake on the list. Which ones loom largest depends on the individual.
If you're looking at a career change (or any kind of change, really), spend some time going
through this list of mistakes and ask yourself, "Which ones am I
making? Which ones am I likely to make? What can I do about it?"
The more awareness you have, the less likely you will be to turn one or more of these mistakes into an insurmountable obstacle.
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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams
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