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Career Transition

Career Transition - 7 Powerful Strategies For a Successful Career Move

Career Transition

The idea of Career Transition is daunting to many. The reason is not because of all the obstacles or the struggles you might face when going through this journey, but because of the constant battle between what you should do and what you want to do. All the hassle the path could and will bring becomes secondary. And when you take steps to go through with this decision by following your passion and purpose, the feeling of fulfillment is unmatched. 

Now, convincing the mind and heart is the hardest part of this entire process. Your mind demands a rational reason and ways for this change while your heart caters to your feelings towards your current field and finding the right path. The mind and heart are organs that work together in an entirely abstract manner. These two must be aligned to truly be content with your career transition and accomplish the ultimate goal. When I was thinking about career transition and my own journey, I wondered how to make it as less perplexing for you as possible. To most, you can either satisfy your mind or your heart, and I can guide you on how to transition through both effectively. 

If you want to learn where does your internal and external life stand, you can take this free questionnaire to determine so.

Your External Perspective

Your mind will tell you that you need a better job at a better company to earn double or triple the amount of money you are now. Your mind disregards how you would feel about the career path you go down as long as you are making good money that will help you live a comfortable life. Your mind will have you focus on all the attractive offers a company gives that will alleviate your lifestyle and living conditions. So, when I write this article based on achieving a better career through your mind, it would include updating your LinkedIn, creating an attractive CV, getting experience in your desired career, and strategies and tips for you to make a successful career transition.

Career Transition

Your Internal Perspective

Now your heart is where you will be confused. Your heart will make you question your life’s purpose and how is your current job helping you in fulfilling it, if at all. Does your current job align with your values? How happy do you feel when you clock in for your job and are productive? So, if I write this article based on achieving a better career through your heart, I would write it from the perspective of recognizing and achieving your life’s purpose, your bigger picture, and ideas on how to find the right path for you and make decisions according to your values.

The Need For Balance During A Career Transition

Doesn’t it sound strange? You start your career transition and satisfy only one side? You work towards going through this change that can take up to years and, in the end, still not be entirely happy; does that not take you back to square one? You know where I am taking this now, don’t you? Balance!

That one word right there is the key to achieving internal happiness and external success. You need to find the right balance between your heart and mind. Millions out there make a career transition just to find a better job and later complain about feeling empty and drained and burned out. You need to listen and operate from the heart and align that with your new career. Because most people focus only on what they should do and not on their desires as well, they create a gap within themself. That gap is what we call the feeling of emptiness, which quickly fills itself with disappointment, depression, and anxiety. These are all signs of a potential mid-life crisis, and you do not want to find yourself stuck there forever.

If you feel there is a gap between your internal and external perspectives, you can take this quick check-up and find out so you can start working towards reducing it.

The Most Vital Question, Why?

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, went through quite a career transition. He was a hedge funder at a company in New York, living a comfortable life. He left many baffled because he decided to leave his job and become an entrepreneur. His heart believed in the success of the internet and how big it can be and convinced his mind to think the same. As many asked him the question, why? Hesitance took place, which makes room for self-doubt. He made a framework; what would he regret more at the age of 80? Not trying something he truly believed in and living with that regret, or giving it a go and having a chance of success there as well? He aligned his mind with his heart; he rationalized his desires, and while many were on the fence about it, he believed in himself and started his company Amazon at the young age of 30.

Once you start recognizing the need to change your career, the next step is to identify its reasons. You can start by asking yourself one simple question, why? Why are you looking to change your career? Is it because there are no more opportunities to grow in your current job? Or perhaps because you are suffering and you want a way out? Or does this question run deeper than just the surface-level issues?

Because you have been working for years in a job that barely brings you happiness, and you realize that it’s time for something more meaningful? That it’s time to find your true path in life?

These questions are difficult to answer, and sometimes you know the answer and are simply running away from it, or you could be having trouble pinpointing the exact reason. Since this is an important question that needs a sincere answer, do not be afraid of asking for external help. Enrolling yourself in philosophical counseling will force you to look deep into yourself, your mind and your heart. You will be analyzing all your inner struggle and will look for solutions. A trained philosophical counselor will help you implement techniques that encourage you to find the best way to change your career and be firm in your decisions.

7 Strategies For a Successful Career Transition

Once you have found your reason and successfully connected your mind and heart, you can look for the following strategies for a successful career transition.

  1. Compatibility: Compatibility with the company is the first and foremost thing you need to gauge before you truly settle in and start working. Does the company’s work ethic, culture, values, and morals align with yours? Do the people working there have similar goals and views as you? You need to answer these questions and determine if there is compatibility. Do the office, and its people FEEL right to you?
  2. Patience: Patience is key to having a successful career transition. If you are hasty and end up signing up for anything that your mind and heart are not comfortable with, that will simply be counterproductive. To find the right opportunity in alignment with your purpose, you need to let life take its own course. However, patience here does not mean you do not look for any yourself. You do your part and let life do its part. Patience means waiting for the right opportunity while working on yourself and not losing hope.
  3. Network: Your intuition plays an important role in determining where you should go for networking. Networking has a significant role in choosing the right career path for yourself. If you get invited to a networking event or a Zoom networking call, and you THINK it’s not right, but you FEEL somehow need to attend that call, attend it! You might receive some valuable information or insight that can help guide you. The possibility of numerous opportunities you can encounter is endless.
  4. Success: Success is quite subjective, and it does not only differ from person to person but the definition of success for an individual changes over time as well. For this very reason, see where you stand right now in life. In regards to that, what does success mean to you from an inner and outer perspective? When talking about the inner perspective on success, it includes applying your purpose in your job and contributing to others and society overall. As for the outer perspective, success gets translated to monetary returns, job title, and achievements. Answering this question will help you realize what you expect from the transition.
  5. LinkedIn: Self-aware companies are always on the lookout for individuals who are not just walking aimlessly in life. Update your LinkedIn profile with a section on your purpose in life and what you do to live up to it. Write about what you are passionate about, your values, and your morals. This will be a good reflection of yourself as a person and a reliable employee.
  6. Recruiters: For a recruiter to understand what you want to go for in terms of passion and success is crucial. You need to convey and make sure they understand the path you have chosen to walk on and find a company that best suits it all. If the recruiter is focusing on placing you in a company just for the job and completely disregarding your requirements and expectations, it would be best to find another who will do so.
  7. Vision: You do not want to start your career transition with no vision blindly. Without a vision, you would be putting yourself in a situation that will have you stagnant in life. You need to know what is your desired end result. What exactly are you trying to accomplish in the future. Once you have a concrete idea of what you want, you work towards it more effectively. Another way you can think about this is what do you want to leave behind? What are the things weighing you down and hindering your life? Work towards leaving them in the past and move forward with a new plan. 

 

Finding Yourself During and After a Career Transition

A career transition does not happen overnight, it takes knowing yourself and what you want internally and externally to start working towards it. As said by Warren Buffet, investor, and philanthropist, once “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” To keep working in an environment that is sucking you dry, where you are losing your motivation, and you not gaining anything, to continue to work and invest would be foolish. It would mean living a life full of regrets; regrets for not doing what you knew would bring you much more fulfillment.

There will come times when you will waver and might think you are not cut out for this. This might seem like a huge change that you are now doubting yourself over. Seeing a philosophical counselor will help you stand firm in your decisions. By implementing techniques such as leadership philosophy and practical philosophy, you work towards strengthening your beliefs and principles by self-reflecting.

During this life, we lose ourselves along the way. A career transition is a journey toward finding yourself again; rediscovering and redefining yourself. You bridge the gap between your inner and outer world. To achieve this, you need to align your mind and heart. You look into what you strongly desire, look for your life’s purpose and align it with your outer world desires.

One step towards bringing about this change would be to find out the gap between what you pursue and what your real purpose is.

To learn how big the gap is today, you can take this 2-minute free questionnaire to discover your happiness level in your life and career. 

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