All set for a career change?

Are you finished with your present job? Is it time for a career change? If your answer is yes, then somewhere deep within yourself, submission of your resignation would be on the cards. But doing so on impulse is not really advisable.

You ought to be querying yourself so that you are better geared up to boost your prospects to achieve success in your new career. Here are some questions that you should be asking yourself:

·   What is that is prompting me to change? You have realized that your present job is not your cup of tea, but does that mean that you should change to an all-together new career? Actually, you need to evaluate the raison d'être of your discontentment and see if your problems can be overcome without leaving your present job. Will a change of set-up be of help? You may well conclude that your current work does not go with you and that it does not afford you opportunity and time to give wings to your passions. You will have to decide on a suitable line of action. .

·   What is that drives you? You need to be looking inwards to have a detailed insight of what inspires you. Unless you are clear of what serves to motivate you, you will never be able to perform anywhere, leave aside succeeding in your endeavours. Go down your memory lane to where you started from. You may realize that it was not really a bad decision then, but somewhere later, you went astray. You need to ensure that all grey areas related to your new career are transformed into shades of black and white.

·   How can I affect a change? You cannot jump off an aircraft and take your lessons in parachuting during descent. Quite a few people do so and suffer in the bargain. Aspects that warrant consideration are advancing towards the change that you seek, downsides en route, midterm corrections that may be necessary and lessons that you ought to be learning.  

·   What is the appropriate time for a change? Your decision to switch over has to be deliberate and well-evolved otherwise you will lose out on your vim mid-way and stagnate. You need to have a pragmatic image of yourself and your environment; it should not be that your impelling reasons are simply superficial. Related to the issue is also your current financial status to be able to sustain yourself in the eventuality of a period of unemployment that may follow. If you feel that the change can be done later, make a time schedule and take action as per it to attain what you seek to attain.

·   What will be my new career path? People have a tendency to give vent to their disenchantment by changing jobs and careers at the drop of a hat. Subsequently, they realize that they bypassed one problem to land up in a more terrible one. So, if you feel that changing a career is necessary, then you should be focusing yourself on it rather than escaping from your present one. Factors like better remuneration or prospects may be pertinent, however if job dissatisfaction happens to be the sole prompting reason, you will never be able to stay fixed on your goals and objectives. And hence you ought to know what stimulates you.

·   How can I remain focused? The best of Olympians have coaches who advise, supervise and ensure that you stick to a regimen.  Likewise, if you have a mentor, you will continue to be unbending with regard to your resolve. Periodic interaction with him will help you stay focused, besides offering you support and encouragement. Your mentor could well be a member of your family, a friend or even a trusted colleague.

Points highlighted above should not be misinterpreted as sacrosanct measures that will surely help you move towards your objectives. They are guidelines only to help you optimize your prospects and inherent attributes. It is you and you alone who has to take out the first step; and once you do, you will realize that your efforts in arriving at responses to the above questions were truly meaningful.