There could be many reasons you are thinking about a career change. Perhaps you are fed up with your current employment, it isn’t fulfilling or going anywhere? Perhaps you need more flexibility to work around family commitments? Or perhaps you have always dreamed of running your own business and being your own boss. Whatever your motivation for igniting a career change here are some ways to help you achieve it. 

 

 

Evaluate your current situation

 

Whether you write a list, a journal or draw a brain map find a way to evaluate your current state of affairs. Think about your current job, what you like, what you don’t like, what you are seeking to change and why. Then go on to think about job satisfaction and what the ideal working scenario might look like to you. 

It is also a good idea to include your skills, interests, values and relevant experience. This can be wide-ranging and not always a direct correlation to your current employment. Think about every aspect of your life from hobbies, prior experience,  volunteering, and so on and how this may be relevant. If you can correlate what skills you have that contributed to your success and enjoyment within a particular field. 

 

Consider alternative careers

 

After completing step 1 brainstorm a list of alternative careers that you think would match your wants, needs, skills, interests and previous experience. You may already have a specific career in mind but don’t be afraid to explore your options and look into the wider industry or niche to see if there is something more suitable that you might not have considered. By way of example you may be a skilled marketing executive looking to start their own agency, can you specialise further to make it work to your advantage? Perhaps you could offer social media marketing expertise by way of a Facebook ad agency? Or you may have a particular love for writing and producing quality content that you lend itself to a content marketing company? Don’t be afraid to explore every avenue available to you.

 

Make a plan 

 

Once you have an idea of the direction you are hoping to go in and why you need to make a plan to ensure it comes to fruition. To make a successful plan you need to define clear and manageable goals and milestones to complete within a particular time frame. You will need to consider things such as any education qualifications or certification you may need, whether you will need to undergo further training or professional development, can you benefit from networking or volunteering? You need to clearly list each step you need to take, how you are going to take it and by which point. The more specific and detailed your plan the greater chance you have of actually getting where you want to be. Finally, if things don’t always go plan or you are thrown a curveball then try not to panic, stop, take a breath and head back to the drawing board to determine how you can overcome this bump in the road.