How To Jump Start Your Career Change (Even When Your Goals Are Not Clear)

A Career Change Guide on how to Handle the Career Impasse.

When you want to change careers, it can be a beautiful disaster- especially when you cannot say what you want to do next. This paradox is the dreaded career impasse. You know that your job is no longer challenging, you do not see any room for development, but you are ready to move on.

A career impasse is when you are at that critical stage where you would never use the word satisfied to define how you feel about your job. At the same time, you are not able to say what exactly you want- what can make you satisfied. You are not alone. Many Aussies currently experience this, but how do you move on?

Acknowledge it.
First, admit that you want a change, but you have no idea how that change looks. On this path toward fulfilment, many factors will account for the choices you make or don’t make. Try not to get derailed by any single one. Acknowledge them all.
Employees worldwide struggle with career impasses.

You are possibly one of those employees who are just starting, and you are yet to figure it out. Or, maybe you are the one with many options, and you cannot settle on only one. Just acknowledge it. Own it.

Marie Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” If you acknowledge and understand where you are currently, you just took the first step to jumpstart your career change- even if you have no clue what’s next!

Start networking.

Ivan Misner gave this advice: “It’s not what you know or who you know. It is how well you know each other that counts.” Misner’s words are accurate to the bones. You may not know what you want to do now, but a career change is possible if you network. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” is to tell everyone you know that you are searching. Get to know people and ensure people know about you too.

There is nothing like getting people to experience your personality. Your resume can give hiring agents an idea of what you offer but not who you are. Connect with like-minded people. Think about movers and shakers in career paths that interest you and put yourself out there. Tracey Spicer said, “Sometimes challenges seem enormous, but if you can connect with others working towards the same goal, it becomes more achievable.” Align yourself with others. Re-invent and re-tool yourself.

Take Action.
Some of the factors affecting your inability to move forward with your plans are laziness, fear of self, and inactivity. Barak Obama says, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Change is a critical component of the verb act. If you cannot adjust your ways, you cannot take action.

If you are changing careers but still unsure, try volunteering. Do some pro bono work or lend your services to various institutions. Talk to people who work in areas that you find interesting. This way, you are sampling the opportunities available to you while trying to decide. If you do not like one place, move on. Gone are the days when you are obligated to choose one career path and stick with it.

Make a step in the right direction. Cease considering making a move- in your head. Make an intentional decision to go after what you think you want. The only way things will change is through your actions.

Some myths are out there concerning career changes. One is that “you are too old” to change and “no company is hiring old people.” Despite your age, learning is possible; and if education is possible, you can achieve all you desire. Another is that you should “pick a job and stick with it” or “grow roots.” Do the opposite until you are comfortable that you found the one that suits you. Katie Page said it best “I always wake up thinking ‘what’s next’.”