Career Change

“When You’re Grown Up and Still Confused”

 

Career Change is often addressed several times in life; career change to climb the corporate ladder, career change to have more time off, or even career change to go after a dream or passion.

When kids can't answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" we laugh. As grownups, when we can't answer that question, we think, "I’ve got a problem. What's wrong with me?"

Career Change Confusion Actually career change is not as foreign to us nowadays, given the dizzying pace of change in the work world, confusion is far from surprising. Sixty percent of the job and career choices available today didn't exist when we were kids. On top of that, companies have been wildly transforming themselves. They’ve downsized, merged, expanded, reorganized, spun off, changed focus, and gone out of business, leaving a lot of bewildered employees in their wake.

As the companies have changed, we’ve changed to…thus, so must our career change with the times. We used to trust our employers to take care of us. We thought, “If only I do good work, my employer will raise my salary, promote me, and one day give me a nice pension.” But after our hard work and loyalty were “rewarded” by being thrown out on the sidewalk, we’re not so trusting…and career change is not so far off.

Career Change: Will it lead to career satisfaction? When thinking of a career change, we must determine what is important to us. We don’t want to haphazardly make a career change that will lead us away from career satisfaction. Some of us long for human interaction and meaning in an era that values technology and the bottom line. Others have become disillusioned as our professions have changed. Doctors and lawyers, for example, were once two of the most revered and satisfying professions. Now, many doctors say managed care has made medicine intolerable, while lawyers find themselves distrusted and the butt of countless lawyer jokes.

No wonder we’re confused!

Whether by choice or because we were forced to, many of us have found ourselves looking to reinvent ourselves and make a career change. But the traditional choices we find in the help wanted section don’t excite us. If we don’t want to be a butcher, baker, or a candlestick maker, what then? Surely, there must be other options.

As a career coach I am continually amazed that it often takes only a short conversation to discover that someone who claims to be totally confused actually knows clearly what they want. Why can’t they see it?

For one thing, moving to make a career change could be dangerous in trying something different. You could fail. Of course, you can also fail in traditional jobs, but there, you can always blame the bad boss, the unstable company, or the unpredictable economy. Bucking tradition exposes you to the wisecracks of your brother-in-law. Your mother may say, "I told you so." Your friends may think you've gone mad. Because of this, we conceal our hopes and dreams from the world, and even from ourselves.

Career Change Example 1. David was a talented marketing executive who had been looking for work for nine months without a single offer. Given his track record, companies should have been lining up to hire him. He said he was confused. As I talked to him, he criticized some of the people who had interviewed him and said, “I didn’t want to work for him or her anyway.” Sensing that this was more than sour grapes, I said, “Oh really?”

“Yeah, I’m tired of people who aren’t as smart as I am telling me what to do. I don’t want another boss.”

Well, that explained why no one had hired him. “What about your own business?” I asked.

As soon as I mentioned it, he knew exactly what kind of business he wanted. He wasn’t confused, he just wasn’t sure he could pull it off. Now, three years later, he loves his work and is making more money than he ever would have had he accepted a job.

Many times, people who say they are confused really have a "mission," a driving force that compels them to change something in the world or contribute something. It often springs from a desire to be of service. Ann was someone who had a mission, but didn’t realize it.

Career Change Example 2.
She was a brilliant woman who had goofed off in school and dropped out at age sixteen. After years of tolerating the mind-killing jobs she was able to find with her education, she said enough is enough. She went back and worked on her reading, got her GED, and then went to college.

Great accomplishment, but now what? She had several job offers, but none of them felt right. It became clear that learning to read well had opened a passion for knowledge, learning, and mastery. Instead of just helping some company sell more corn flakes, she realized that she wanted to help others like her to get on track with their lives and get great jobs. Ann is now directing a very successful program helping people make the transition from welfare to work.

The key before you make a career change is to look inside yourself. Frustration, confusion, paralysis, and feelings of hopelessness come from looking outside yourself for goals. If you can’t see it, get a sounding board to help you find it.

There’s no shame in being confused, but don’t stay that way. There are too many opportunities available today. More options are available than perhaps in the history of the world. So find what you want to do and go for it.