Over the last few months, my five-year-old son has alternately told me that when he’s older he wants to be a policeman, a builder and to do what his Daddy does for work. (For the record, I’m not sure he actually knows what my job entails!)

When I was in school and considering my own work future, I had planned to become a PE teacher; but this quickly changed after completing work experience programs. Fortunately, I was able to easily change the direction of my career plans, largely due to my age and lack of real commitments.

However, it has me thinking of how, in the UK at least, from the age of 14 a student is expected to start making decisions on their longer-term plans and identifying which classes they enjoy and need to focus on to forge a career. By 18, a student is expected to choose a subject they want to specialise in for the next 3-4 years at university, with an aim of working for the next “x” number of years in their chosen field of expertise.

So if the average individual works over 12,000 days in their lifetime, typically spending more time at work than with their loved ones and family, this becomes a hefty responsibility at school age for any student to make a decision that they will potentially have to live with for the rest of their lives. And with so much of our lives spent at work, dare I say that choosing the right career and working environment could be a bigger decision than choosing the right life partner?

Why change to a new trade or profession?

I am regularly contacted by ex-colleagues, HR executives, business leaders and friends (and friends of friends) – all seeking advice when they fall out of love with their chosen profession or trade. In many cases the overriding issue has been with their company culture, work scope, leadership clashes, or missed development opportunities – usually issues which they are able to address. However, I’m starting to notice a growing number of people, saying it is their working within their profession or trade that is causing dissatisfaction.

I’m hearing and reading many references to the impact of Coronavirus on the way employees think about their work fulfillment, including a recent Harvard Business Review article, with one Professor stating “not surprisingly, the current pandemic has led many people to wonder about changing careers.” It also noted that 50% of people who responded to an online poll disclosed they had used the time to try new things or learn skills during the pandemic. Within my own social and professional networks, I’m hearing many people questioning whether their current career can ever give them the flexibility of work hours, or work location that is desired. Some are questioning whether they even want to be tied to one employer, or tied to a formal employment contract with the traditional demands of work output and competitive performance. Others are yearning to do work that is more “meaningful” and serving the greater good, rather than contributing to corporate profits.

In the digital world we live in, we are able to access the business world at the touch of a button and see many success stories of people changing careers or building a new enterprise of their own from scratch. Social media “influencers” promoting their overnight fortunes and lavish lifestyles, magazine articles on successful entrepreneurs, news reports on business moguls/celebrities - all too often blazing a message of “anyone can do this and be successful”. For some people seeking an “easier” or more glamorous work life, who want more control over their work environments and decision making, or for those who simply want a shot at chasing a whole new scale of financial rewards, these types of media stories are compelling.

7 considerations before changing your career

Whatever the motivator for change, saying “I want to do what that person does for work”, or “I don’t want to do this anymore” or “I hate doing my current job” is the easy bit; but creating a long term roadmap is going to be vital for anyone planning a successful and sustainable career transition. And before making drastic changes, there are certainly useful considerations to be made inclusive of:

Transitioning earlier in your career can be easier. You may not have invested so much time, energy and money in developing into an expert in your field, so won’t necessarily feel the same pressures (from yourself and well-meaning others) on abandoning “everything I worked for”.
Whilst money may not be the biggest driver in your decision, it is likely your responsibilities and commitments have grown over time and it can be hard to start from scratch when you have mortgage payments looming – it helps if you can ensure that you (and any dependents) are set up financially to allow for the career transition.
If you are unsure what your next job looks like there are multiple personality and career assessments online which could help identify your strengths – there are many arguments for orienting your work towards these, including a recent article from Gallup which noted that “employees who know and use their strengths every day have higher energy and greater confidence. They are more likely to achieve their goals and are more effective at growing as individuals”
Use LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed to review the positions with your chosen disciplines and understand which roles could appeal to you.
Understand what qualifications or certifications are needed for the role and be honest on whether you have the time, energy, commitment and funding available to achieve those.
Reach out to people who are doing the jobs you’d love to do – with the right approach most folks are happy to share insights and advice. This is especially important for jobs that seem “easy” and/or seem like minimal effort for high reward.
Identify potential businesses within your local remit that would typically hire for the jobs you’re interested in – you need to assess whether there is even a job market available to you, or maybe you need to relocate, or become self-employed if you are confident of “creating” a market for yourself.

Identifying and securing a new position within your new choice of career path can be a lengthy process. But once you are clear on the direction you are looking to take don’t be afraid to explore internal opportunities that could provide the skills and experience to support your career transition.

4 tips to make a career change easier

This could include proactively looking to build relationships with a relevant department or team, volunteering for internal projects to acquire transferable skills, or undertaking additional qualifications.
And remember that the credit and goodwill you have acquired during the time with your current employer could help with your career transition. Your network may be valuable scouts for new role vacancies or provide valuable references to new hiring leaders. Your network contacts could well be your new clients or employees in your new enterprise.
Trying to transition by going through any traditional recruitment process could put you at a disadvantage as you will be competing against experienced professionals within your chosen field. Instead, I suspect that throughout your career replanning and transition process, being proactive is going to be key for this move.
Leveraging your networks will be vital as well – whether this is through your social groups, or your network on LinkedIn, or contacts at prospective new businesses. Every new connection managed carefully, will allow you to stand out in the crowd and give you access and dialogue to people who could directly contribute to you achieving success in your new choice of career.

There are plenty of stories touted of “overnight successes”, and quoted instances of “anyone can do this because it is easy”. However, I suspect the truth may be nearer to that cited by Benjamin Franklin who so famously said “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. Certainly, there is nothing to stop anyone from changing their work pathway on a whim, but I suspect that an authentic introspection of why you want to change, what type of job will make you happy, and undertaking preparation for a career transition, might be the edge that gives you the best possible chance of success.

Considering a complete change of work and career?

Why change to a new trade or profession?

7 considerations before changing your career

4 tips to make a career change easier

Carter Morris Talent Solutions