It is the time of year when many people are considering a career change. Anita Dickons (pictured) from Above the Line Thinking shares with us her top 5 tips for evaluating your role and making a career change.
Be honest with yourself:
While it sometimes takes a crisis for us to make a change in our lives, a good indication that you are no longer fulfilled is a lack of energy and enthusiasm on a daily basis. When the pain of desperation overrides the pain of action you’ll start moving towards your new career. Being self-aware can short cut this journey so you act sooner. If you take responsibility for where you are at it makes choice and change a possibility.
Blow your trumpet:
Start with a list of your skills, strengths, resources, learning, achievements, greatest lessons etc. It’s easy to compartmentalise our lives and not make links between them all. Remember you are all of those things and that is what you will take to the next chapter of your career not just what you are doing right now. If you were part of a netball team, remember the teamwork, stamina, courage, determination and so on that you used then. They are all resources you have and can draw on anytime you need them, you may just have forgotten they are there.
Find your passion:
There is no better feeling than doing what you love and loving what you do. So spend some time reconnecting with what you love to do. The quality of your life is based upon the questions you ask yourself. Think about what you’ve truly loved doing throughout your career. Ask yourself what would my ideal job look like? Dream, write, visualise your fantasy job and then explore how that could be possible.
Have a plan and a goal:
Once you have evaluated your options, take the time to set out a plan and ask yourself questions such as – do I need to retrain, do I need to develop specific skills; how can I do that? If I need to study how can I support that? What is my compelling reason why? Take the time to read, research and study this area or areas of interest. Look for mentors and people in your desired profession or skill area to speak with.
Reinvent your current role:
As an alternative to a completely new career path, it may pay to simply make a few changes to the role you currently have or look where you are able to experience new challenges, ways in which to contribute or to see where you feel you are able to serve best and what serves you best. You are never too old or too entrenched in any given profession to make a change. Focus on the experience that you’ve gained and the skills you have acquired rather than possible excuses for not moving forward.
About the Author
Anita Dickons is an NLP Master Practitioner specialising in helping people make positive change. Change your life by changing your thought is the motto Anita lives by. Anita knows what it is like to not live the life of your dreams, so after finding the keys to success she now shares them through Above the Line Thinking, which empowers you to have more choices, more chances at success and a better understanding of what makes you tick. For more information visit the website abovethelinethinking.com.au