In these rapidly evolving times, it can seem a little daunting to wonder what role we can play in the world as individuals. The workplace as we know it is changing and requiring us all to adapt as well. But with a few simple steps and a growth mindset, you can successfully develop your career.
My dad worked for 40 years in one single company. It’s unlikely the majority of us today will spend that long working for one single employer. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the average time spent by an employee at a company today is roughly about 4 years. That means you will most likely experience various different roles and have to regularly learn new skills to stay relevant in this new era.
This short snippet from a McKinsey & Company article on employment perfectly highlights these current changes:
In 2017, the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that as many as 375 million workers—or 14 percent of the global workforce—would have to switch occupations or acquire new skills by 2030 because of automation and artificial intelligence. In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 87 percent of executives said they were experiencing skill gaps in the workforce or expected them within a few years.
Today’s world is changing at a pace never seen before. It’s easy to feel threatened by everything that is transforming so rapidly. Entire industries have been disrupted. Where banking was always done in-person at a branch we can now access all these banking functions directly from our pockets via an app on our smartphones. To create a potential future where there is human life on other planets Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and others are involved in a space race. And finally, Robots have recently been servicing guests at a hotel in South Africa due to the pandemic. Evidently, times are changing and so we should prepare ourselves for that.
While the scale of change can seem a little crazy and scary I also find it exciting and full of opportunity. In this blog, I’ll share 9 steps that have helped me in making personal career changes. I started off studying mechanical engineering, I then shifted to technology consulting, before starting my own life coaching firm and then going back to study to become a software engineer.
My journey hasn’t been perfect but I’ve made it a goal to always learn along the way. By changing career lines I was able to discover different industries, different types of roles, and ultimately different ways to bring value to the market by serving people. The reason why I decided to share some of my learnings is that I currently love my job and the people I work with. Along my journey and all the pivots, I’ve learned a few lessons and I’ll share the most useful stuff that came out of it all.
Step #1: Hire a career coach to help guide you to your dream job
When I graduated from my coding bootcamp, as part of the program they offered a career coach to help me find my first software engineering job (I’ve written a longer blog about why you should hire a life coach). Having a career coach by my side was incredibly useful and was a major factor in how easily and quickly I was able to land a role in tech. Hiring a successful career coach can help you in the following ways:
The career coach will provide guidance and concrete steps you should take to ultimately receive job offers - that is their goal.
The coach can share great ways to create a portfolio of your skills and value and show you how to present these on your CV and LinkedIn.
The coach will help you polish up your CV (chances are your outdated CV is sitting under a pile of dust somewhere on your laptop).
They will help update your LinkedIn profile and make it more targeted towards the industry you are looking to join.
The coach will inspire confidence in you by highlighting your potential in ways that you might forget during the job search.
They will coach you and motivate you and keep you accountable to your goals.
The coach will check in from time to time and see where you are at on your journey. Job searching can be a lonely process at times so this can really make a difference and help keep your mindset in the right place.
Step 2#: You have access to the entire worldwide web. It’s time to do your research.
The internet is a playground filled with opportunities if you’re willing to find them. Find out what you like. Get curious. You are a few questions away from finding a new job or career track that is right for you. That might sound a little too optimistic but think about it. With Google at your fingertips, you can literally find out the answers to literally whatever it is that you want to know about a potential career change. Are you intrigued about management consulting or investment banking and you want to know more about the lifestyle or the really intense hours —> you’ll find specific answers to that on Google. Are you considering a switch to software engineering and wondering what that might look like or what skills you might need to make it happen —> the answers are on Google. Are you interested in working for a charity but have reservations about what that would entail or what the career structure might be like —> chances are the answer you are looking for is on Google. If you have a question chances are somewhere on the Internet lies the answer or at least a path to the answer.
Step #3: Take a risk. A new adventure could be exactly the spark your life needs
Every good hero movie starts with the main guy or girl being a little lost and going on a journey to discover their path. They are then tested and have to find a way to rise above their circmustances and become that hero. Well, the truth is all of us have the opportunity to go above and beyond and write our own hero stories. When I attended my coding bootcamp in London it was one of the most challenging periods of my life but the growth that took place over the course of those three months was massive. Today I can say that I happily work as a software engineer. Trying something new opened up so many doors for me. Take a bet on yourself and if you feel inspired and commit to the process you can make any successful career change you want. Victoria Cummings says it best at the Daily Positive:
“By taking risks, you give yourself permission to try things out, to learn, to fail, to grow and to explore. You get to test your limits and go beyond what you believed was possible. You can go after the things in life you really want!”
Taken from: The Incredible Power of Taking Risks in Life
Step #4: Ask people that look really happy what they do for a living.
One of the best methods I ever heard of for finding a better career came from my sister. Early in her career, she joined a financial company which although it made her a lot of money did not meet her standards for a fulfilling and purposeful life. At some point, she decided to make a change and shake up her life. She went on a quest to discover the next best possible path for herself. To explore what exactly she would do in the next chapter of her life she decided to question friends and even strangers whenever she had the opportunity. She would ask them what they did and if they were passionate about it. This led to her finding her calling. All this method requires is asking people what makes them love their jobs.
Step #5: Find something that you would happily do for free and find a way to get paid for it.
We’ll keep this one short because it’s pretty straightforward. Mark Twain said it best:
“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Taken from: Goodreads
Step #6: Set up mini-experiments to find out what you like
Before jumping in, dip your feet in the water. It might feel like a daunting task to jump into something totally new. And your resistance to that is actually a good thing. That fear is protecting you from making a terrible career shift into something you might really not like. So why don’t you hedge your bets a little, take the risk out of the equation? By taking some courses online you can find out where your passions truly lie. At worst, you’ll discover a few areas you don’t want to work in.
Step #7: Be adaptable. Times are changing and so should you.
Being adaptable is one of the key tools to have in your arsenal. It allows you to shift your role in relation to the needs of the market. It allows you to learn new skills, to grow and to be open and even excited about new ways of working. In a world where technology is allowing us to advance ever faster into the future, knowing how to be comfortable with change is a key asset. A great way to become more adaptable is to force yourself to change. How? This can be at work. Ask for new responsibilities or to take on a new project that puts you out of your comfort zone. Outside of work, this could be taking salsa or bachata dancing lessons or jumping out of an airplane (only if you’re afraid of heights though - won’t be as helpful if you’re an adrenaline junky). When we are forced to evolve we find the power and the resourcefulness to make it happen. Keep that front of mind. You will rise to the occasion!
Step #8: WHY are you changing careers?
Motivation comes and goes but your purpose is here to stay. British-American author and inspirational speaker, Simon Sinek says, it best:
Whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee, a leader of a team, or are looking to find clarity on your next move, your WHY is the one constant that will guide you toward fulfillment in your work and life.
Taken from: Simon Sinek: Find Your Why
So the key question here is: “Why are you deciding to change careers/jobs now?”. Answering the following questions might help you dig a little deeper towards finding your “why”.
What are the things you have done in the past? What did you like and not like?
What are you curious about?
What are some daily activities you really enjoy?
Can you think of times where you’ve gone into a flow state, losing yourself in the task? That’s worth paying attention to.
All things being ideal.. what would your dream day-to-day work look like?
What are those things that you’ve wanted to do but put off?
What are YOUR driving factors (culture/people/money/wellness..etc)
Step #9: Network and engage with people in your circle of interest
Networking is an incredible way to improve your career and will have a net positive long-term impact on your life. It will give you options as you consider ways to develop your career. In today’s interconnected world you literally have access to so many people via digital channels. Each of these touchpoints can play a significant part in a successful career change. Whether it’s LinkedIn for a more professional dialogue or Twitter or Facebook for a more informal connection you can now reach out to anyone who inspires curiosity in you. LinkedIn’s modern search feature allows you to find people in specific industries or role-types. That is something I leveraged a ton while finding my job in tech. Searching by topic of interest on Twitter or Facebook also provides you with some key contacts that you can then reach out to.
So to wrap this up…
Remember that you’ll never be totally ready. So get started NOW and make that successful career change you’ve been thinking about.
In his Harvard Business Review article about startup growth, Alex Lazarow (global venture capitalist) talks about balanced growth. Finding the risk tolerance appropriate for achieving success. It applies to startups and importantly it also applies to us as individuals. If we constantly wait for things to be perfect or for ideal circumstances that day may never arrive. On the flip side of that argument if you don’t plan at all you might be setting yourself up for failure. So the sweet spot is working on a few of the points above. Get yourself in a position where you feel confident enough to make a successful career change.
Hire a career coach to give you that extra guidance.
You have access to the web - use it to do your research.
Take a risk and bet on yourself.
Find people who love what they do - ask them why they love what they do.
Find what you love to do and find a way to get paid for it.
Try a few mini-experiments with courses online.
Be adaptable and flexible - the right attitude goes a long way.
Answer some of the WHY questions in step 6 to discover your purpose.
Start growing your network (new connections can directly lead to a career change).
What do you think?