Avoiding the reactive nature of change
By Chris Fogarty – FiredUP Careers
This is one of the most common requests we get from clients in our career counseling practice. The reasons range from lack of ‘spark’ around their work, lack of interest in their work, desire for more meaningful work, all the way to absolute certainty that they absolutely HATE what they do. In all these cases, we embark with the client on an exploration of who they are, what they need, what they have to offer, and what is working and not working in their current career. We then come up with options and a plan to explore how to get ‘back’ what is missing, or to find opportunities that meet their desires. Making any career change requires a somewhat structured approach. Taking the time to do it right removes the ‘reactive’ nature of many career changes, reaction that is often followed by disappointment in your choice.
A STRUCTURED APPROACH
Initial Assessment and Goal Setting
Reflect on your professional and personal information, define what you’d like to accomplish, and develop a feasible career goal. “Change my career” is not enough. You’ve got to have more of a ‘mission’ around it, like “Look for a new opportunity to use my interest in working with people and my technical abilities to help others learn new technologies” or “Explore possibilities to take my current skill set to a new career that allows me to enjoy other parts of my life and at the same time grow my expertise and demand”. This is often a very difficult step. It requires really thinking about what it is that you want. Often this becomes much clearer after doing step number two. But an initial goal is important. You can modify it as you go.
Self-understanding
Explore your values, interests, strengths and experience. Look at how you like to work, how you want to interact with others, what environment makes you most satisfied and allows you to do your best work. Investigate how you think, act and feel about your work, and recognize external influencers with regard to your career goals. Looking at your past and present career experiences is a great way to uncover who you are and what you need. It’s often difficult to do this on your own, so you might want to engage a career coach to help you with this step. Alternately, search around for assessment tools that you can use on your own. This step is so important as it provides you with the criteria around YOU when investigating your career options.
Generating and investigating alternatives
Based on what you’ve learned, what does that perfect career look like? How would you restate your career goal? Using the information you’ve acquired, generate a list of possible options towards achieving your career goals. Identify the sources of information about each alternative in order to narrow the choices. This is where research and networking with others is critical.
Choosing an Option
At this stage, you will decide on which alternative makes the most sense for you and your goals. Use your criteria from step two to evaluate what you’ve learned about the options you’ve explored.
Planning and Implementation
Develop a plan toward achieving your goal and identify contingencies in case of setbacks.
Take intelligent action
You can make a smart career change, towards a career that meets your life and professional goals. Take a structured approach and delve into self-knowledge and external investigation to ensure the change you make is a great ‘match’ between you and your new career.
Author http://www.firedupcareers.com
Chris Fogarty believes in the power of passion. It is what drives her as a professional career consultant and it is what she instills in each of her clients. Chris is part of an impressive professional class. With a Masters Degree in Counseling and Career Management and her innate ability to find opportunity at every turn, Chris achieved success at the senior level in the computer and software industry. She served as a sought-after outside consultant to senior level management in a variety of industries and has successfully advanced change management systems, leadership development, career management, and management training programs for corporations all over the bay area. Today, as a partner in FiredUP Careers she draws on this first-hand experience help corporate professionals find focus and develop the insight they need to bring passion into their professional lives. Visit us at http://www.firedupcareers.com or our blog http://www.careeradvicetalk.com
