The theme of this years’ International Womens Day is ‘Be Bold for Change’ .
What can be “bolder” than changing careers? At this time of year we often begin to reflect on where we’re at, where we want to be etc. The ‘New Year New You’ momentum is dissipating and we begin to ask questions of ourselves. Does this resonate with you?
- Work is the same ‘ole, same ‘ole but what can I do?
- I would love a change but where would I start?
- Today was crazy busy but why do I feel like I got nothing done?
- I would love to change jobs but how can I when life is so busy with the kids?
Feedback from the women I meet is that this unrest can often trickle into their personal lives and the frustration and stress of being in a job that they don’t really like anymore. Changing job or even career is definitely on the cards but where to start? Recruitment Websites? Update a C.V.? And then, there’s the challenge of time “I’m already up to 90 with school runs/ nappies- where would I find the time to research a new job- I wouldn’t even know where to start!”
My advice is to start at the beginning which is around identifying your skills and interests. We are products of our environment which is constantly changing. As our priorities or circumstances change, we adapt accordingly. Thus, what may have attracted us to a position 5 years ago may not appeal to us anymore. If you want to change your career, it’s imperative to identify what ‘floats your boat’ now. Constructive evaluation is key to this process. But where or how to start?
Here are the tips I would like to share with you if you feel the need to professionally re- evaluate:
- Buy a notebook (create your own ‘Career Change 2017’ portfolio!)
- Reflect on your previous roles/ jobs and make a note (in aforementioned notebook!) of the aspects you enjoyed while working there- think specifically about the tasks and responsibilities, the environment and the people
- Make a note your top achievements in your career history and what gave you the greatest sense of pride
- Complete an interest inventory. These questionnaires are designed to capture your interests and map them onto career sectors! There are some great websites out there and I would recommend http://www.careersportal.ie/ and navigate to the ‘Self- Assessment’ section. Remember the input will determine the output so take the time and go with your gut!
- Psychometric Assessment is a fantastic resource to further understand your strengths and abilities (and areas for development!)- alot of the ‘good ones’ are licensed and thus, come at a fee but there are some nice freebies out there which will help to boost your awareness. I recommend http://www.humanmetrics.com/ and http://www.cmi-lmi.com/kingdomality.html
- Start looking for patterns in the feedback above and align this with your own notes from pointers 2 and 3 (above)
- Now, you have the opportunity to make informed choices about employment sectors/ roles or maybe you have now decided that you need to retrain? If this is the case, look no further than qualifax.ie which is a centralised resource for ALL COURSES running in Ireland. Enter your county, some keywords (again, based on your research) and away you go!
A career coach will assist you in this journey, provide support through your research, educate you on tips and tricks of the trade and offer you choices and resilience as you prepare to make the change.
Be Bold. Make a change. Grow. Succeed.
Good luck with it!
Gillian McGrath is a Cork based Life and Business coach who also specialising in career change. She is founder of www.changegrowsucceed.com. For more information, please contact her directly.
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