If you feel like you are not making any important progress in your current career chances are that you will start thinking about making a career change. Maybe you’ve already looked into websites like ARC Resumes to help with crafting a professional resume so you can get into the career that you want to be in. If this thought has crossed your mind, you need to use these 10 questions to evaluate whether or not it is the right time for a career change. Once you’ve made the decision, get online to look for job vacancies that will make you happy!
- What’s the real reason you want to change your current job?
It is very important to think about your motives for wanting to change jobs. Which of these are your reasons?
– Bored and feeling stuck
– Not moving up the corporate ladder
– The job bores you and you have lost interest in that line of business
– Restructuring caused you to be in a different position
– Your real value is being undervalued
– Conflict between you and your manager or co-workers
– You feel like you are too young to just have that job up until retirement
– You just want something new
- Are you really ready to change your career completely?
Be very clear about what you’re currently doing and what about it does not sit well with you. It could be your boss, position, terms or colleagues. Narrow down to what can be done to make your working experience more pleasurable. Thinking deeply about such matters may help you realize that there is a lesser way of handling the issue and not undertaking a complete change in careers.
- What kind of job would you give your heart, soul and mind to?
Chances are that you already know what kind of job you’d love to do. To answer this question you have to think further into what your day to day job would involve. For instance:
– working from home
– traveling
– less administrative and paperwork duties
– less or more support and direction/ micro-management
– flexible working hours
– working alone or with a team
- Which values drive you?
Think about what really matters to you. Do you:
– want to make a difference?
– want to do good?
– want to feel important and have a high status?
– want to be recognized for exceptional enterprise and hard work?
- What are your key competencies and skills?
Self-evaluate yourself and come up with key competencies and skills that may be of value at your current job. Some include and are not limited to:
– people skills
– research skills
– fundraising know-how
– lecturing/teaching
– organizational skills
– brainstorming and getting ideas started up
- Do you want to put into use your key competencies and skills?
Every time one starts thinking about changing their career they want to up and go and leave everything they had behind. The reality is that you have to be sensible about the whole matter. A better alternative would be to think of a department where your skills and competencies can be put into good use.
- Where does your interest really lie?
If you really want to switch careers, make sure you have a clear picture of where your interest lies. Your reasons for changing careers may be because you want a better salary but at the end of it all the fat salary will not keep you interested in that new job. When all is said and done remember that you will have to report for this job day in day out. It’s therefore important that you are interested in what you do. For instance, if you have facility management skills, try looking for a career in that aspect. Working in your field of expertise could be extremely beneficial and may not seem like work at all.
- Are you really ready to start all the way from the bottom?
A complete overhaul in careers obviously means there will be implications both for yourself and people who depend on you. Chances are high that you will have to start from the bottom and you need to think about how that will affect your financial situation and your current status. You’ll also need to make sure that you have a strong internet connection so that you don’t miss out on any career opportunities. You could look into a variety of work from home internet options for the same purpose.
- Money Matters – How much will you need to earn?
Very very important! A career change may mean a change in income. How will this affect your finances? Really think about what can be cut off and what cannot to get a clear figure on just how much you need to earn in a year. With this figure, think about the new position or job and whether it will be sufficient to meet all your necessary needs.
- Will there be any regrets if you do not make that career change?
Truth be told, regrets come from not doing what should have been done. Fast forward to five or ten years to come and ask yourself, will you have regretted not making that all important career change?
