Time to Reinvent Your Career Path?

In today’s day and age most of us have the privilege to intentionally choose a career path. What a gift!

Not only do we get to choose one, but we also can choose several. It’s never been easier to gain the knowledge and skills to change industries or change roles.

Have you opened and really explored that gift?

One of my clients is entering the third phase of her career. Phase one was about starting businesses and making money. The second was about serving a mission greater than her by managing a non-profit. Now she is looking for a job with purpose and balance as well as a job that fits her need to be working with people, on a team - face to face. On one of our calls she said, “I’m not ready to crawl into a hole and do nothing!” I applaud her for having the courage and the determination to do the work of discovering a career path that fits her current season of life.

Recently I listened to a webinar where a woman described the events around her career change. She had been in the marketing and communication industry at the time that Social Media was taking precedence in the market. She knew Social Media was not her thing. And she knew Social Media was going to be a central strategy for the future of her company. She called a spade a spade; and decided to move on. She explored some educational opportunities and ended up landing a job as where she could use her communications skills to be a fundraiser for a cause she believed in.

Another client of mine, who is planning her next move, put it this way, “When climbing a mountain and you come to a hard part, you don’t just start climbing, you think about it first. Then you make a strategy.” Something I love about this client is her forward thinking. She knows she has some big decisions ahead and she wants to get ready for them. She doesn’t want to shift into default mode and let life happen to her. I wish you could have heard the joy in her voice as she described one dream after another. “It would be really cool if…” “I would love to…”

Is it Your Time?

Here are some questions to help you discern if it’s time for a career change.

· Has your industry changed in ways you aren’t changing?

· Have your values changed? Do you want a career with more flexibility? A career that is motivated more by mission than money? Are you looking for better work life balance?

· Are you bored, wondering “Is this all there is to it?”

· Have you been asking yourself “How long can I keep doing this job?” (And, if you’re honest, you asked this same question last year?)

· How long have you been telling yourself, “I’ll do that when…”

· Has your awareness of your interests, talents, and abilities become more targeted leading you to realize you are not in the best fit job for you?

It’s never been easier to learn new skills, to chart a new path, to re-package your current experiences and skills towards a new mission or output.

Charles Sherman said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

Is it your time?

ICYMI – This is blog 3 of 4 in my series, Your Next Move, helping you reflect, reassess, reinvent, and recommit to being intentional about how you live your life. Check out the others here:

· Time to Change the Settings for Your Life?

· 3 Ways to Increase Your Life Satisfaction - TODAY

Ready to take some steps towards something new? Try my free mini course: 5 Simple Strategies to Step Forward