It’s an unfortunate fact of life that work will not always be amazing, but it’s also a fact of life that our interests change or we don’t always make the ‘perfect’ choice first time. If you’ve really thought about whether you’re just going through a slump or if it’s time for a career change and realised it’s the latter, don’t freak out. You can absolutely find the career that’s right for you, it’s just a matter of taking the right steps.
1. What Do You Want
This might seem obvious now, but when you’re in the grips of hating your job it’s way too easy to lose your judgment. Try to keep in mind there’s no point making moves if you don’t know what you want to move into.
Start with self-assessment. What do you want from your career? What are you good at? What are you not so good at? Brainstorm those things then research roles that look like they’ll give it to you. But don’t stop there. You should also attend career fairs and talk to professionals in the area you’re thinking of to get as clear a picture of what the job is actually like as you can.
2. Make A Plan
So you have your career goal, time to make a plan. Do you have any current qualifications that can lend themselves to your new career path? Will you need to study again? If so will you study full-time or part-time? Keep your job? Study around your job? Realistically, how long will your career transition take? What contacts can you make to help that transition?
Plans are great to keep you on track. Big fan of plans.
3. Consider Your Current Job
The only thing to keep in mind is that you will want your resume to look appealing once you reach the point of looking for jobs in your new career. As a first time student it’s kind of easy as no-one expects you to have too much work experience. Once you’ve been in the workforce for a while expectations are a bit different.
As much as possible, you want to leave your current job on good terms. Also consider how long you’ve been in the job and whether you have a lot of short turnovers on your resume before it.
4. Surround Yourself With Support
You can absolutely handle a career change, but it’s so much nicer to go through it surrounded by people who will support you. Gather your peeps up baby, they’ll be a godsend in the stressful times.
