What is one sure-fire way to know it’s time for a career change? Hitting the snooze alarm every morning and dragging yourself to work. If you dread Mondays, let me assure you that it is time to find a more fulfilling job! These are all the signs you need. However, if you also have the feeling you haven’t tapped into your full potential, then you definitely need a new career. No question about it. Some people even have physical ailments signaling its time for a career change. For example, my back would constantly seize up while I was walking to work. Yet, it didn’t on the walk home—funny thing. My body was literally stopping me in my tracks and yet I’d force myself to keep on going. How many more clues do you need that it is time for a career change?
In our twenties, just about any job is exciting at first. But sometimes we land in a job more by accident than design. My first proper job after graduating was in banking. I took it because banking was one of the careers that included travel, and I really wanted to travel. In fact, I originally wanted to be a diplomat for the Foreign Service precisely because I wanted to live in foreign countries for extended periods of time. Ironically, the only place the bank sent me to travel was back to Georgetown to recruit on campus. Fun, but not exactly what I had in mind!
Although I was doing well in banking and was on the management fast track for success, I wasn’t happy. I had the feeling that there had to be something better that I could do with my life. Meanwhile, in my spare time, I was taking as many personal growth and development courses as I could. That was my real passion…figuring out how to be a better human. At the time, there was no such thing as life coaching. So it never occurred to me that I could be a professional life coach. The closest I could come was being a trainer in the courses I was taking. So I did that as a volunteer.
What should you consider before a career change?
Before you invest in the training you may need to switch careers, it would be wise and comforting to know that you are making the right decision. Why waste years of time and loads of money only to discover you aren’t thrilled with the new job?
As remote working is now a real thing, you may have even more options available than ever before. I was just swimming off the Devon coast of England with a Czechoslovakian woman who was doing marketing work for a big international company from the comfort of her home office. As long as she could get a good internet connection, she could live just about anywhere. Time zone considerations also matter, of course. Thanks to Covid, remote working is more prevalent and accepted than ever before.
However, too many options can make it even harder to figure out the most fulfilling career. Thankfully, we now have the tools to dramatically speed up the navel gazing process and help you figure out exactly what your brain is hard-wired to do.
At LifeCoach.com, we use the most up-to-date, confidential computerized online career tests. These tests explain your natural talents and abilities while also comparing you to the population at large. So, you can see if you really have a gift or not. I love these assessments because they have the power to reveal any hidden talents you have. You can go through life without ever tapping into your gifts if you aren’t aware of them and that is a real shame.
What’s even more exciting is that when people pursue their natural hard-wired talents, they quickly achieve mastery. As a result, they often end up not only being happier because their work now feels more like play, but also they make more money because mastery often brings dividends!
Of course, there are many low-tech ways to figure out what your next career move should be. For example, you could start with the blog on Creating a Career Vision. One of the most important steps to finding the right career is to do some work figuring out your core values, personal needs and requirements. These exercises are in the book, Coach Yourself to a New Career: 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life. However, you can get started with the free Personal Requirements Quiz and identify your top four personal and emotional needs as a starting point.
The great thing about finding your passions and ideal job in mid-life is that you still have a long working career ahead of you. So, it is worth changing directions so that you can enjoy your work and life. You might even feel that your job is so enjoyable that you never want to retire from it. That is the goal of life coaching. We want you to create a life and career so richly rewarding and fulfilling that you never want to quit.
If you aren’t happy at work, then you’ll probably complain about your boss and job regularly to friends and family. Complaining is not attractive. As a result, you’ll repel people and opportunities. The reverse is true for doing work you love. If you are enthusiastic and enjoy your job, it shows. Thus, you’ll have more energy for your family and friends and will be much more likely to attract better people and the next great opportunity. Success breeds success and everyone wants to be around the happy person.
There is no need to struggle on your own to figure this out. We have the most sophisticated career assessment tests and career coaching to help you find that happy and fulfilling job!
