How many of you actually thoroughly enjoy your job, day in day out? How many of you have sat daydreaming about something you would really rather be doing to earn a living; other careers or lost opportunities? Well now you may have been pushed to make a career change through redundancy news or intolerable working conditions and from a personal point of view, although the prospect terrified me, I was also very excited about moving on.
You may be thinking that when you’re young, you have a myriad of choices ahead of you, and seriously, you do at any age. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, you can still make a career change choice that will enhance your life even if it appears to be a huge step!
The first reaction from most of us is to start looking for another similar job because of our comfort zones. Think positively – Why not look at the bigger picture and use this as an opportunity to try something different (age has no barrier to starting something new apart from your own negativity).
You may be thinking, where do you even begin to find something that you will be good at doing and really enjoy? The truth is plenty of people have made career changes later on in life. Many professional athletes HAVE to make career choices once they are no longer able to play sports at a competitive level. You may feel that is easy as they have the money, the notability and guidance to help them along the way and you may be right. But, what about the Moms who are now able to return to and achieve goals outside of the home environment? Many of these multi-tasking Moms stay on top of their careers by undertaking further home study and many have challenged their boundaries and learnt something entirely new!
Deal with immediate practicalities. Make a list of your monthly expenses and present income, if any. Have you got credit cards or loans that could be paid off in order to immediately reduce monthly outgoings? Everyone in the family may have to experience a little discomfort and pull their belt in. Consider how long your redundancy money or savings will last if you use it to pay off monthly bills? What unemployment benefits are claimable? These are things that you need to know if you are going to really control your situation, rather than letting it control you. You need to be master of your own destiny. Sit down and make a list of things you could actively be doing to bring in extra money while you are waiting to get that interview. It’s even possible that an idea for a short term way of making money could turn into a new full time business!
So, perhaps now is the time to start that new business you have always dreamed about? Perhaps you can write that book you always wanted to write. The advice is to take some time out and smell the roses. The career change of your dreams could be right around the corner and it’s time for you to take action and go for it!