Career change: 3 mistakes to avoid when creating a new career

This year has brought a whirlwind of change at a whole new magnitude. We also know it is not looking to go away just yet. 

For some people, this has provided an opportunity to rethink what they are doing. What life and career they want to build. For others, this change has been forced upon them.
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Whether you are facing redundancy, returning to work after a break or just not enjoying your job or career - embarking on a career change journey can be daunting. 
It is easy to be torn between the ideas of ‘what we want to do’ and ‘what we should do’ and for that very reason, we stay stuck and keep exploring idea after idea. Getting no closer to making the career change we want and need.
When it comes to successfully making a career change we need to take action forward but we also need to know what is holding us back. To help you figure out what is holding you back we’ve outlined three common reasons why people stay stuck and what to do instead.

​Reason 1: Thinking I don't Have the Time

Finding time can be tricky, most people are already juggling so many things, work, family and a home to look after. Therefore to find the time to sit down and figure out what you want career-wise can seem like an impossible task.

The truth is that it doesn't take a long time to relaunch your career. It only needs to take 15 minutes per day.

​You can find that time before the kids wake up. Or during lunch time. Maybe swap 15 of your Netflix time to work on your career change? Do whatever you need to do to find those 15 minutes to work on this so that you can find the right career and make your dream life happen. 

Think of where you'll be in a few months if you invest and carve out a little time everyday. 

​Reason 2: Looking for the perfect job

Finding the right career isn’t particularly hard or complicated but there are so many moving pieces and potential failure points along the way. What employment type to go for? What salary expectations do I have? Can I find a career that offers the right work-life balance?  These are just some of the many questions you’ll have to answer along the way.

Most people approach their career relaunch as finding ‘the perfect job’, a job with complete flexibility, full-time pay, the right stimulation, perfect amount of travel, and so on. Trying to find this job can easily become a never-ending journey.

Instead, it’s about finding the right career, a career that will help build your best life. To do that it is important that you separate out your career requirements from the things in your career that will be ‘nice to have’. 

Simply do this by writing down everything you would like for your career to bring you. When you have done that you put each item in either the ‘requirement’ column or the ‘nice to have’ column. 
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Lastly, remember to priortise all the items in each column that way assessing each career alternative will be a whole lot easier.

​Reason 3: Believing ‘I don't have the skills or experiences I need to make a complete career change’
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Making a career change can feel daunting. It's easy to think you don't have the skills or experience you need. You look at your CV and finding no experience for what you really want to be doing
The truth is you have what you need. Whether you are looking to get employed in a new industry, go for a completely different role or start your own business you have everything you need to get started. In addition to your professional skills you have a wealth of knowledge and experience that you have gained throughout your life, you only look in the right place to see it. 

Look back at your professional roles, map out ALL the skills you have gained. Ask yourself what skills each role brought you that relates to your new career. After that look at your life outside your CV, what projects and roles have you taken on. What skills have you developed from these. 

​Take the time to do this and you will surely see that you have everything you need to pursue the right career.

A crucial part of successfully making a career change is to take action. To help you on the way we have created ‘The Career Relaunch Toolkit’ you can grab your free copy here.
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Now, decide what you need to do next to make your career change happen!