Career Change

Right now in America, there are eleven letters striking fear into the hearts of millions. This isn’t ordinary fear, either. This isn’t the ‘Eek! It’s a spider’ stuff. This is the terrifying, up all night with the cold sweats, anxiety attacks requiring medication kind of fear. All caused by eleven simple letters arranged to spell out one of the most frightening phrases known to modern man: Career Change.

Career change can mean something as simple as just changing jobs or it can mean leaving one area of work and going into another find which may or may not be related to your previous work experiences. Career changes can be something that you initiate as you move between employers. It can be a very positive move for you and your family.

However, the kind of career change that keeps most people up at night is involuntary career change. This is the kind of career change that you read about in the papers—mass layoffs, corporate downsizing, and businesses going under. It’s frightening because these are events beyond your control. It’s the unexpected and the unknown personified and handing you a pink slip.

But you don’t have to be crippled by fear when faced with a career change. You can take control of your fear, move beyond it, and take yourself to a more successful place. While there are a number of paths leading down the road to success, there are a few steps you can take now to proactively prepare yourself for your next career change opportunity.

Preparing for Career Change

Preparing yourself in advance for any career change opportunities that come your way keeps you in control of your future and helps fight the fear associated with most career changes. Also, when you are prepared for change, you are also prepared for the opportunities that come your way disguised as hard work, set backs, and disappointments. While everyone else is reacting, you can be moving towards a more successful life by simply doing the following:

Knowing your strengths. Have a working knowledge of your strengths and talents. You can do this as part of your overall personal assessment. Keep a list of handy of all the things you can do—this will not only motivate you to expand the list, but it will also provide you will a physical reminder that you are a talented, capable individual.

Investing in yourself. You know you have the skills and abilities to be a top performer in the workplace. You also know that there are things you could be doing to be making more connections, building additional skills, and expanding your knowledge base. Don’t spend your nights sitting in front of the TV, listening to the nightly news tell you how bad things are out there. Identify the things you can do today, this week, and this month to invest in yourself.

Working toward your goals. You’ve set clear goals for where you want to be in life. Times of uncertainty in the broader world shouldn’t distract you from your personal objectives. If you find yourself giving in to fear and worry, do something that moves you closer to your goals. Consistent progress and focused action will keep you on the road to achieving your personal milestones at your current job and in your next career.