We are living in a changing world so we must create a new way of life. The COVID-19 experience has transformed our lives and changed all of us in some way. It’s taken away many things, but for some it has also given us time and space to re-evaluate our personal and professional life. It has given us the time to think and reflect, about who we are and what we want, think about work, is this really the job I want to be doing? Am I making the most of my career?
This shift brought new opportunities and it has opened our eyes to the new possibilities that we couldn’t see before. We had to re-adjust our priorities with our new situation and preferences. It made the impossible possible for us!
As lockdowns can bring a much needed flexibility for many people’s working lives. We now know many jobs can be done from the comfort of our home with less stress, saving time and money on commuting, and still get our job done with often even greater productivity, performance and impact to our organisation. We have proven we are far more capable to adapt, be resilient and agile and that we believe in what we are doing, and last but not least we have realised how creative we can be.
The UK Government has predicted that by the end of the furlough scheme, 7-10 million workers will have been furloughed from their job role. With the free time and freedom employees have had to look over their skills and careers, many have been rethinking their work choice and whether they want to return to their job at all or even make a career pivot.
Now with more options available, we may have a greater expectation from ourselves and our employers to get more from our career, roles and organisation. New trends are on rise such as working from home, working part-time, hybrid and flexible working hours or some will decide to start their own business for complete autonomy. Considering we’ll be working about 90,000 hours in our life, it is very important to do what we love and are passionate about!
If you are thinking of changing industries or doing a completely different job, I suggest to take your time and ask yourself the following questions before you make a move;
What made you decide to pursue a career in your industry? This question can help you to understand what has changed since you started your last job that prompted you to seek something new.
How passionate are you about your current role/career? This elaborates on how motivated you are to make a change.
What aspects of your career do you enjoy, and what do you wish you could change or stop entirely? It describes how you want to make an impact and what skills you have that helps you with the execution.
What is your purpose and values? What do you want to get out of your new career? It helps you start seeing what opportunities out there that aligns with your values. It is then you can start to create a job search plan around your values and what is important to you, instead of wasting your energy settling for the job you don’t desire.
But what is working to make a purposeful shift in a new, related direction. Here are some useful tips to help you make an informed decision if you are thinking of changing your career:
Think outside the box: You need to step out of your comfort zone and think outside the box. Look at both the personal and professional skills you have, your transferable skills such as training, creativity, natural leadership skills, etc. What are the gaps in your skills and how can you fill in those gaps? You also need to be clear about your expectations.
Do your search and gather data: I suggest you don’t dive straight into the deep end. Do your homework, you need to do your research and gather some data. Those included job opportunities, companies, trends and market demands. Consider investigating the desired company’s culture, a good company culture shows that the business is reputation-led, employee centric and its result driven.
Map out your journey: Create a list of what you need and draw a clear map of where you are right now and where you want to be, including the small steps you need to take, timeline and anyone involved.
Keep good company: Career change is hard and even scary for some; it comes with a lot of uncertainty. But if you surround yourself with positive people who cheer for you, support you and help you when you need the most, you tend to accomplish more.
Stay motivated: Motivation is the key to success when you want to change your career. It is very important to ensure that you create a little bit of motivation every day.
Best of luck!
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