Stay or Go? How To Get Your Mind Right About Career Change

Posted by Grace Clapham In Change School TV With No tags With 0 Comments

In case you missed Tuesday night's episode of Change School TV, here's a recap of what Grace and Solonia shared. 

If you're at career crossroads, on the fence about making a career change, or in the early stages of a career transition, you've likely been struggling to make one of the toughest decisions we all face at some point in our career lives: 

Should I leave my job or just keep sticking it out?

Career change isn't a quick journey, and it can be emotionally challenging. Especially given the very real and practical considerations to be had:

Am I willing to take on the risks involved with career change? 
Will I have to 'start from the bottom' in a new industry / sector? 
Do I have the knowledge, skills and experience to move into a new career direction? 
Where do I even start??

These are all valid concerns and good questions to be thinking about. But it can be difficult to see things objectively when you're feeling unhappy, undervalued, or underchallenged at work. So often, we give into self-limiting beliefs, resign to staying in unfulfilling jobs, and forfeit the choice to take back control of our own lives. Instead, we do nothing - stick out the job, push through the work day, and convince ourselves it's all worth the pay check. 

If this sounds like you, you are doing yourself a great disservice - it's time to GET YOUR MIND RIGHT about career change. 

For starters, here are some of the latest career statistics sited by the experts:

  • Latest trends suggest that the average person will make a career change approximately 10-15 times in their career life
  • It is predicted that by age 42, most will have had 10 different jobs 
  • About 1/3 of the total workforce are expected to now change jobs every 12 months… most spend 5yrs or less in a job

Now, consider what this might mean for your career: 
What is the opportunity cost of doing nothing? How will this impact your career fulfilment, creative potential, or happiness? 

Just because change is uncertain doesn't mean it isn't necessary. If you're questioning your job, you can take this as a sure sign that some kind of change nees to happen – and it doesn’t have to be drastic to ‘count’. What matters is your committment to making change happen. 

Whether you decide to stay in your job and work to make it better, or take the leap to something totally different, one thing is for sure: 
You cannot go it alone. 

And here's the good news:
You don’t have to have all your answers in order to make your move.

Here are the steps you DO need to take: 

  • Decide right now that it's time to move forward by cultivating the right MINDSET for change. 
  • Start by taking an honest assessment of what's currently working / not working in your Life/Work. Ask yourself: 
    WHY? What self-limiting beliefs are standing in your way? What are the potential 'risks' and how much are you willing to accept?
  • Think about how you can reframe the challenges you face into opportunities to learn and grow. Ask yourself:
    Am I looking to make a job change or career change? What areas do I want to build confidence, knowledge, experience or skills? Who can help me?
  • Consider your actionable next steps. Where do you need to focus your energy and efforts in order to move forward? Maybe it's:
    Taking a career assessment to help identify your strengths and transferrable skills; finding a career coach to guide and advise you; enrolling in a course to learn a new skill; or engaging and building your professional network.

If you don't have immediate answers to these questions, then you've already got your immediate next steps!

Ready to dive deeper?
Download our FREE Worksheet to figure out if you're Ready For Change and set a clear intention for your career change. 

Once you’ve worked through these steps or feel you’re in the right headspace to take your next step:
Register your Early Interest for our 5-week online course on How To Confidently Create Your Bold Career Move

For some added inspiration, here are 3 great talks to reinforce the right mindset for career change: