Am I Brave Enough to Make a Career Change?
Bravery. In recent news, there are so many examples. Health care workers…civil rights leaders…researchers working towards a vaccine. These people are brave.
The world as we once knew it changed, causing millions to lose jobs, change jobs, and re-evaluate jobs. For many, it’s been a time of self-reflection.
When in your life have you been truly brave? Career-wise, this might mean starting your own company, moving to a different state for a job, or following an inner itch to change your career entirely.
Are you brave enough to make a career change?
Evaluating Your Own Skills and Personality
It’s never easy to start over. Starting over means challenging yourself with new processes, navigating new systems, and simply being the “new person.” Depending on the change, it may mean a financial step backwards that some do not have the luxury to even consider.
But if you could do what you have always wanted to do (hypothetically at least), what would it be?
For those wanting to go down an entirely different path, there are many free career aptitude tests online. Some of the well-reviewed ones include the Princeton Review Career Quiz, MyPlan.com, and the MAPP Career Test. These resources prompt you to consider tasks you prefer to do each day and to also consider your career motivations and values. They can help guide your path or spark a new area of interest.
For any job seeker, the Myers-Briggs Type indicator is always useful to help decide how you best pull energy. Are you more introverted or extraverted, more sensing or intuitive, a thinker or a feeler, or a judger or perceiver?
Ask yourself questions such as: What have I liked best about my past jobs? Which tasks motivate me the most? Do I enjoy collaborating with other people or working on my own? Which roles give me opportunity to advance?
Tap into your intuition when you’re considering a career chagne.
Setting Goals based on Who is Hiring
Once you know what you value, it is time to set career goals. Dr. Will Meeks, Psychology Today, explains the difference between defining values and actual goal setting: In regular language, a goal is a) identifying something that you want and b) are willing to stick with a course of action to achieve. This is different from a “value,” because a value is something we find important but does not have a specific course that we are committed to. For example, you can value being healthy and make some choices that are in line with that, but a goal related to health would be to “lose 10 pounds by December 31st.”
Based on our values, we set specific, smart goals. SMART is an easy acronym to help with goal setting. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based. In today’s job market, relevant and time-based should be highly considered.
Who is hiring? As of April 2020, areas of hiring growth include health care sectors, online retail, delivery services, and insurance providers. Companies with the most open jobs include: Amazon, Lowes, Genentech, KPMG, Intuit, and Whole Foods, among others (Jessica Dickler, CNBC). SaaS and B2B Technology companies are always innovating new services and solutions. They continue to hire qualified talent in areas of sales and marketing, product marketers & mangers, IT, analytics, general management and strategic leadership roles. As you research on your own or with the help of a recruiter, consider also how businesses have adapted during the pandemic.
Change Means Risk
Whether or not now is the right time for you to consider a career change, perhaps it is the time to step back and evaluate your career values. Or maybe it’s time to set your long and short-term SMART goals.
The definition of brave in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear or difficulty: having or showing courage.”
At Artemis Consultants, we are here to help job seekers explore options, and to help companies find their ideal candidate. We encourage setting up a consultation to discuss your values, experience, skills, and passion. Being brave starts with a first step.
Like this article? Please comment or share.
