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8 Ways To Combat Career Change
by Mark Dean // EN MASSE PTY LTD

1. Exploring and Communicating With Others.

2. Accepting the Need to Change.

3. Defining Your Goals.

4. Identifying the Things to Change.

5. Change Within Your Current Role.

6. Letting Go of Fear.

7. Take Your Mind Off It.

8. Lights, Camera, Action

If you sleep on average around 7 hours per night, you will be asleep for around 2,548 hours per year. Of the remaining 6,188 hours, you could spend around 3,000 working. There is little wonder that the status of your working life has such a tremendous impact on how you feel on a day to day basis. The impact upon you of a potential career change can at times seem mind-blowing...

Here is a thought which might challenge and reassure you - confusion is a natural phenomenon which is a necessary part of the career change process! Much has been written about confusion, anxiety and depression resulting from change processes(1). There are even charts which depict the various emotional cycles people will typically experience when undergoing a change process (these also refer to confusion as a recurrent theme in any change process). The important thing to remember is that all change, whether experienced through positive or traumatic experiences, has the capacity to cause anxiety and confusion.

There are, however, things you can do to mitigate the impact of confusion during your career change process.

1. Exploring and Communicating With Others
Talking to people who have also undergone recent change processes can be helpful from a number of perspectives. First, once you hear stories from others who might identify with the full cycle of emotions you're experiencing, you might not feel so alone. Secondly, it can give you the opportunity to externalise and therefore clarify your own thinking processes.

No woman or man is an island, and it is important to seek help and advice in this part of the change process. Talk to friends, mentors and career coaches. In some instances, where there is a sudden trauma caused by an unexpected event such as a dismissal, or where there is a sustained period of intense anxiety, depression can also occur, and it can assist to bring on board additional professional counselling.

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2. Accepting the Need to Change
If you are thinking about a career change, then you are positively attracted by the prospect of obtaining something that is missing in your current professional life. This realisation can take place for a number of reasons, usually driven out of an acknowledgment that the current state of affairs is either failing to meet broader personal or business objectives (often evidenced by either the lack of fulfillment of a measurable goal, or by a sustained feeling or perception of dissatisfaction).

When is the appropriate time to embark upon a change process? There is no magical answer, and the key signals will be personal and depend on your own personality, tastes, experiences, interests and of course, current situation. Common sense tells us that when the status quo is either based on dysfunctional relationships which cause harm, or does not satisfy, excite or motivate us, then change is required. A word of caution - identifying the need for change can be a lengthy and involved process, and be aware that there are sometimes personal factors which impact on the ways in which we perceive our worlds, and the ways we manage our transactions with other people, employers and clients. It is also necessary to acknowledge that "the grass isn't always greener", and therefore close examination of what you are running from, or running to (including your personal motivations) is absolutely critical.

At functional level, very often people who are seeking to change career paths altogether are not currently performing job tasks which suit their personal preferences. Psychological testing, aimed at determining your individual preferences, can be a powerful tool in assisting to identify whether changes in your current professional lifestyle are required in order to realign your daily career activities to suit your natural preferences.

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3. Defining Your Goals
This is perhaps the most involved part of managing your career change, and a quality outcome which considers all aspects of your career drivers can take several weeks and even months of planning. By focusing on what is important to you, you will have an end in mind, and something to look forward to. Goal setting can assist you in finding the right pathway, and give you a framework against which to hold up all new opportunities. When looking at new prospects, ask yourself: "will this role/company give me the opportunity to progress my goals?".

As a guide, career goals should:

Motivate and excite you
Be challenging and allow for new learning opportunities and skills enhancement
Meet your financial requirements
Provide for mental satisfaction and stimulation
Address your individual preferences - psychological testing can assist in this process
Cover your needs for further education and training
Give you a sense of progression and achievement

Be measurable and realistic - how will you know if you've achieved your goal, unless it is both achievable and the outcome measurable?

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4. Identifying the Things to Change
Now that you have created a set of career goals, it is time to formulate a strategy, or a pathway through which you can achieve your goals. For instance, if one of your goals is to obtain greater emotional fulfilment from your work, one strategy might be to breakdown all of the things which together, impact you on a typical day at work. Typically, these might include:

Where you work - the firm company, its philosophy, vision and values, and of course location? How does your employer treat or prioritise its people?
Your responsibilities - at a basic task level, what are the things you enjoy the most? What don't you enjoy?
Psychological testing can also assist in determining the types of daily activities with which you are most naturally aligned, and therefore in pointing towards a career path which will both minimise the prospect you will be "stressed out", and maximise your emotional and mental rewards.
Leadership behaviours - do you understand what is required of you to perform well? Do you receive regular feedback? Is a high degree of trust present?
People environment - what is the "working culture" of your employer? How do people interact?
Communication - do you receive regular information on new developments within your working group and broader company? Do you understand the company's overall mission, and the way it intends to achieve it, the role of your group in contributing to this, and what is required of you? Is your feedback sought/heard?
Ongoing professional development - does your employer provide you with regular opportunities to improve your technical, management/leadership, business development/relationship management and financial skills?

In many instances, the answers to these questions will also suggest answers to the broader question - what needs to be changed and how?

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5. Change Within Your Current Role
In some instances, once you have articulated those things which need changing, you will be able to create change directly while maintaining your current employment. Taking up opportunities to participate in feedback processes in an obvious example. Seeking information which will assist in understanding the requirements for candidature for internal promotions may also be on the agenda.

Where there are other people/companies involved, inevitably there will be some things which you cannot change. In these instances, it is important to identify whether those things are acceptable to you, or unacceptable, having regard to your own belief systems, values and career goals. Where the status quo is unacceptable and feedback is either unwelcome or will put your employment at unacceptable levels of risk, then it might be time to seek employment elsewhere. At least with your new framework of goals and strategies, you will be able to assess more consciously your potential fit with prospective new roles and employers.

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6. Letting Go of Fear
It is equally important to acknowledge the role of fear in undertaking career change processes. Here are some helpful notes in dealing with fear of change:

You can improve your self-esteem by making small positive changes in spite of fear. Confidence comes from conquering fear of change through action.
Emotional "come downs" can occur through any change process, and unexpected anxiety and even depression can result from either huge negative traumas or significant successes.
Successful exponents of change understand how fear of success can impinge upon the change process. They also recognise that success does not magically bestow happiness.
You have the power to choose your own outcomes and to create change. You can make new choices anytime.
Be conscious of self-criticism and keep it in check.
Treat yourself as well as you would treat your own best friend. As a rule of thumb, constructive self-feedback to yourself should be given with care and compassion. Statements based on an opportunity to improve are best. At least 75% of self reflection should be based upon positive affirmations.
Listen for signs in others that they need help too. When you are generous to others with your time and ears, in addition to helping others and enhancing your positive self perception, you will realise you are not alone, and some of your fears will simply dissipate (2).

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7. Take Your Mind Off It
Have you ever been told you think too much? Constantly focusing on what is missing in your career can create sustained anxiety and increased chances of confusion and even depression. Engaging in physically demanding activities such as gym, running, cycling or swimming can help you to focus on daily activities and break negative thinking habits. Similarly, other forms of social engagement and entertainment can have a positive effect.

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8. Lights, Camera, Action!
It is time to get moving. The conclusion of a change process involves resetting the way you do things. This is the action stage of managing your career change. At this stage, you will have identified an appropriate career path or employer, and will be on your way to re-skilling, or taking other active moves to reposition your employment or career path altogether. At the final stage, create an action plan, which sets out in detail the things you need to do in order to affect change. An action plan can contain as much detail as you like. The important thing to remember, is to set time frames or dates by which you will conclude each specific activity, and stick to it.

A typical list of activities might include:

Psychological testing - identify a provider who can both carry out the testing, and provide you with follow up advice on interpretation of the results, including your natural preferences and the types of tasks to which you are best suited
Researching job advertisements
Specific meetings with friends who have undergone successful career changes, naming who and when
Reworking your resume for specific job purpose
Making contact with industry/discipline specific recruitment consultancies to introduce yourself
Researching additional education opportunities where skilling up in a new area is required.

Conclusion
Whether it is forced upon you or undertaken voluntarily, on a grand scale or within the parameters of your existing employment, career changes can cause confusion and trauma. Developing a methodical approach to sorting out the key issues which matter most to you, talking it through with others, and implementing clear goal driven strategies, will help you to come through the change process for the better. Just remember, fear and confusion are normal human responses to change, and you must not let them stand in the way of your progression. Step by step, you have the power to make change work for you.

1. Williams D "Life events & career change: transition psychology in practice" Brit.Psych.Soc. Symposium, Jan 1999.
2. Adapted from O'Grady, D (1994) Taking the Fear Out of Change Holbrook. MD: Bob Adams

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