Do You Need a Job Change, or a Career Change?
In this blog:
I am loving today’s topic because it’s diving into a question that takes a lot of foresight to answer correctly for yourself. It’s the question of whether a job change, or a career change would best resolve the tension you may be experiencing in your work life.
So without further ado, let’s get into it!
In this episode I share:
How to know you’re ready for some sort of career transition
What questions to ask yourself to decide if changing jobs, or careers is the best route for you
Why career changing isn’t as daunting as it sounds
Do You Need a Job Change or a Career Change?
How to know you’re ready for some sort of career transition
Well, the first thing I have to say is… If you’re listening to this podcast episode, that may be a good sign you’re ready for a change!
I work with a lot of people navigating career changes in their lives. There are a lot of varying circumstances that lead people to seek change. Sometimes the change is out of necessity--they lost a job, had a change in their family that they need to accommodate, etc.
Other times, the time of transition is brought on from people nearing their “breaking point.” Whether they are feeling burnt out, lethargic, stressed to the max or bored out of their minds day after day, they know they are ready for a change.
Now, I agree that if you are waking up in the morning and already feeling depressed, anxious or resentful of what you have to do that day--you need a change.
However, it’s not the case that your job or career is necessarily what needs to change.
For most working people, work tends to be what they spend the largest proportion of their waking hours doing. So it’s an easy target when life gets out of balance.
If I had to narrow it down to one thing that the people share in common who have made the most successful, life transforming career changes, it would be this: They had clarity around their goals, and what they wanted to look different about their life.
Sometimes, developing goals and gaining that clarity happens through coaching. But the most successful career changers are the people who are able to say, “This is what’s not working in my life right now and how I want it to change.”
So that’s what I recommend you work on answering for yourself. Identify as clearly as possible what isn’t working in your life, and how you would like things to be different.
If the solution to that problem can be solved with either a new job or career, then you are ready to make a career transition!
What questions to ask yourself to decide if changing jobs, or careers is the best route for you
The next step is getting clarity on whether what you really need is a new job or a new career.
Changing jobs is a great solution for people whose problem is tied directly to things like the environment they are in, their boss, lack of advancement opportunities at the organization, and potentially pay. If you enjoy the actual work or tasks you do, moving to a new organization that meets your needs and desires is a great option!
However, if the problems you identify are related more to feeling like your work is monotonous, you’ve reached a ceiling of growth in your industry, or the work you are doing doesn’t align with your core values, then it’s more likely you’ll need a career change in order to see improvements in your quality of life.
Here is a series of questions to consider to help you nail down whether a job change or career change is more likely to be the best route for you.
How long have you been feeling the need for a change?
There is no magic number of weeks, months or years that qualifies you as being “ready” to make a change. Everyone is different. However, the length of time can give you insight into what’s driving your desire for change.
If you’ve been considering making a change for months, when did you first start feeling dissatisfied with your current situation? What triggered it? Was it hearing about a colleague's new opportunity? Was it being assigned a project you despise? Was it having to cancel dinner with your friends because yet again you had too much work on your plate?
The answer to what triggered your consideration of a change can tell you a lot about how to move forward.
If the answer is related more to your workplace’s culture (such as the norm being overwork, or the type of projects you get feeling redundant), it may be a sign to focus on a new job in an environment that suits you better.
On the other hand, if your answer is related more to the work you do (such as realizing your heart wasn’t into the industry, you don’t see opportunity for yourself longterm in the field, etc.), then it’s more likely you’re ready for a career change.
When are your feelings/thoughts strongest that you need a change?
This question helps you identify what triggers your discontentment and stress. Do you feel the most like quitting when your boss changes priorities on you again? A job change could help resolve that tension.
Do you not want to get out of bed because the anxiety of your day’s to-do list is just debilitating? Knowing if the workload is unique to your company or is standard in the industry will help inform which route would best suit you.
Do you get jealous when you see others having success in a career you always wanted but never tried? It’s probably time you make a career change and get started for yourself!
How do you feel about the projects you get to work on, or that are happening within your organization?
This question gets at an important distinction. The difference between the actual work you do, and the work you are a part of by being employed at your organization.
I speak with a lot of people who mention really “believing in” their work, or the career path they’ve chosen. However, at the same time they are disengaged and burnt out by their jobs. Typically, my recommendation for people like this is that they look for other jobs to transition into at their same organization or within the industry. This would be considered a career change, because the nature and trajectory of your career would change even though you are staying in the same organization or industry.
However, if you find that the projects and skills you get to work on are the most interesting or motivating to you, then a job change to a different environment that allows you to work on similar projects may be the best route.
Do you know what your “perfect” promotion would be?
So, you’re not happy in your current situation. But, can you envision what your perfect promotion or job would look like? If you can, this can be hugely insightful.
Do you see people in your organization or industry doing your dream job? That means there’s a path for you. A job change via promotion at your company, or by applying to a higher-level position at another company is the best way to start making this happen.
Are you at a loss for what your dream job would look like, or where to find a role that would let you combine all the factors you love? It’s more likely that you need a career change and to do some exploration on what options are out there.
If you realize you don’t want your colleague’s jobs, your boss’ job, or your boss’ boss’ job--then it’s definitely a sign that you need to be looking outside of your current career to find a better fit for yourself.
How would you feel if tomorrow your field no longer existed?
This question is just food for thought. However, with Covid, I think we all got a shock to our system realizing how much can change in a moment’s notice.
If your field or industry disappeared, or became irrelevant tomorrow, how would you react?
Would it be heartbreaking to you that you no longer get to serve a certain clientele, or use specific knowledge related to your industry? If so, a job change is probably your best route.
If your world wouldn’t be shaken, and especially if you’d see the change as an opportunity to learn something new, then you will probably be best served by making a career change.
Why career changing isn’t as daunting as it sounds
The idea of changing careers can be extremely intimidating to some people. And while it’s understandable that changing careers might sound scary, I hope that what I share next helps you to see how possible--and life-changing--it can be.
Especially for creatives, and especially when we’re talking about the future of work economy… Career changing is likely to be more of the norm rather than the exception. And there's a good reason for that.
For established businesses and organizations to stay relevant, or for start-ups to break onto the scene, innovation is essential. While there are a lot of approaches and methodologies for creating an environment of innovation, one of the easiest ways to create it is through a diverse workforce.
Diversity means a lot of things, including diversity of background, education and ways of thinking.
Currently, our culture at large is going through a major reckoning regarding our awareness of, education about and solutions for creating more diversity in the workplace. While the necessary emphasis right now is on diversity as it pertains to people of color, the solutions that organizations adopt are going to help establish better grounds for diversity of all kinds.
This is just some background thought for you to help you understand why career changing really doesn’t need to be that daunting. Because the reality is, the way of thinking or problem-solving that you learned in your current industry may be just the “outside” view that other organizations need to solve their problems.
Career changers tend to be more creative in their thinking, more driven and generally more engaged at work. Why is this? Because they have actually done the work to know what it is they want, what motivates them and how they want to contribute to the world through their work.
Organizations and hiring managers are becoming more and more aware of this, too.
The task for you when you are seeking a career change isn’t to convince the company you want to work for that you have all of the relevant knowledge of their industry or business, but rather that you have the skills and awareness to position yourself as adding value in a new way to the talented workforce they’ve already built.
A lot of clients I work with encounter imposter syndrome when they decide to pursue a career change. While the situation is different for each person, what I help each of them realize is that they don’t ever need to pretend they are anything that they are not.
Both job changing and career changing are very holistic, genuine processes. A lot of times, my clients are stunned by how “good” they look on paper once we work on their resume, cover letter or LinkedIn--but all of that information is 100% truthful and came from them in the first place! And this is essential for them to have success making a change that actually improves their life.
Think about it: it is an incredibly different experience to “beef up” your resume and talk the talk in an interview and then end up in a new job feeling like a fraud than it is to accept a job offer given to you because the organization recognizing how valuable your skills/knowledge/experience are and is happy to train you on the aspects you need to grow in.
The bottom line here is that when you change careers, your different background can actually be an asset rather than a barrier. But in order for others to see that, you need to recognize it and believe it yourself.
