Your career has been something you have worked hard at for a long time, and right now you may be questioning if you have gone as far as you can and if you need to change careers.
This can be a hard question even during “normal” times but right now in the middle of a global pandemic that choice can be even harder depending on the situation you are in.
What you need to keep in mind is that even though we are in a weakened economy there are still plenty of opportunities if you are ready to make a career change.
You may currently be one of the roughly 14.7% of the United States that is unemployed. Or maybe your industry took a hit and the company you worked for won’t survive the pandemic.
Or maybe you are just re-evaluating your life choices and you are ready for a new adventure.
The latest statistics say that a person will have 5-7 different careers in their lifetime, so if you are looking to make that change now you need to take into consideration a few things. Ask yourself:
- What is my risk tolerance?
- How can I choose and move into a new career path?
- How does lifelong learning, retraining, transferable skills, etc come into play?
You need to gauge your risk tolerance because you are already in stressful times. If you have a personality that is comfortable with risk and change, then this may be the time to test out new waters. If change doesn’t come as naturally for you, don’t panic. A useful technique is to look at the worst-case scenario and find a viable way to handle that worst-case scenario. Ask yourself, if “x” happens, what options do I have? Don’t think too much, just list them all. You’ll be surprised at what you uncover! Then put together a plan. Set goals and action steps. Work the plan. Finding a new career during this time can be done. Don’t forget the power of networking and informational interviews!!!
Also, during the process, you may need to adapt to how it will look different than you are traditionally used to. For instance, your interviews may be done via Zoom video call, new employee orientation may be online, you may be starting a new position and working from home so your training will be online instead of in person.
If you are choosing a new career path to move into take into account why you want that particular path so that you are sure you are going to enjoy it. Do you need more education for the new position you want? Do you have transferrable skills?
Your education, training, transferrable skills and life experience will all come into play when you are changing careers because they will all help you to show your potential employer how you can add value to their company.
I’d like to leave you with some food for thought from fellow Career Coach Susan Whitcomb:
“In God’s eyes, work appears to have four key purposes:
- A setting to write your life’s story
- An incubator in which to grow your faith
- A training ground to increase your capacity and influence
- A stage on which to reflect God’s image”
I hope that helps and if you would like me to review your resume or walk you through how to go about this “new normal” for interviewing and even approaching companies about a new position just reach out!
