Let me tell you a secret…you deserve to find a career you really enjoy.
Believe me, many people agree with that opinion. But when it comes down to it, I struggle to put the time and effort into figuring out what I really want to do.
why is this? Well, at any given time, there are many reasons why people feel they can’t change careers. To be honest, some of these reasons seem legitimate, but in practice they are very difficult to deal with. Having worked in both HR and career coaching, I’ve heard a lot of different reasons why people can’t change careers. Possible reasons include:
- Financial Responsibility – You may feel like you have enormous financial obligations and cannot imagine how you will continue to meet them while you are changing jobs. The cost of returning to school may be an option you don’t want to consider.
- Family Responsibilities – You have people you can rely on, but you can’t prioritize changing jobs right now.
- Lack of Time – If you already have a demanding full-time job, how do you find a new career while working elsewhere?
- General Negativity/Indifference – Maybe you didn’t have much luck in your job search and only found jobs you didn’t like – Feeling impossible, why bother trying to find something you really love? You may wonder if there is a need.
- You may feel that time has run out and it is too late to change. I feel he should have started this process sooner, maybe five, ten, or twenty years ago. It’s too late, maybe you should give up.
These are just a few of the most common reasons we see. If you’re struggling with your career, the above reasons may resonate with you. You may find that more than one of the reasons listed above apply to you. Again, these are real challenges that people face every day, and it can certainly feel like a valid reason not to change jobs.
But the truth is… these reasons shouldn’t stop you from starting to find out what you really want to do and what you really enjoy. For the above reasons, nothing can stop you from growing your career or changing jobs.
Don’t get me wrong…these may be good reasons not to quit your job right now. When you explain to others (or yourself) that you intend to keep your job, they may seem perfectly sensible. These are great reasons why you shouldn’t drop everything and change careers right now.
But in truth, these reasons are really just challenges. A challenge you can overcome… 1) if you want to and 2) if you are willing to work on it. You are the one who is actually stopping you from changing jobs.
You can work on a career change no matter what else is going on in your life. The only thing you need to understand is that this is a process and not something that can be fixed overnight. It takes effort and time to figure out what you want out of your career. If you keep doing this effort, you will eventually see what you want.
Yes, even if you have kids and a busy home life, or a student loan or a large mortgage, you can still work on a career change. Even if you feel apathetic, negative, or depressed, you can still work on your career change.
Well, if you’re facing any of the above, there are more possibilities challenge Engage in career change activities. It may take time, it may require more effort and planning, and it may not be easy. But no one said it would be easy or that it would happen anytime soon.
So how do you do it? Well, you have to make career changes a priority and find a way to incorporate working on it into your daily life. You also have to find a way to be consistent and not give up when frustrated (trust me, it will get frustrating at some point).
Now, does this get any easier? No, not at all. There will be days when you get frustrated and want to give up on the whole process. It’s okay to rest for a while. As long as you don’t give up.
Will it be faster? No, probably not. Changing jobs is a process, not a split-second decision. And if you have other things going on in your life, you can’t devote 100% of your time to it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep working when you have time.
By the way, once you start working on the changes, you’ll start feeling better about your career. There’s a reason you’re frustrated. And working on identifying what it is and figuring out how to get over it is definitely a positive thing.
