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Navigating Career Change Understanding the Six Phases of Change

Written by: Elizabeth Lengyel

Article Overview: Do you feel the need to change your career, your workplace, your relationships? Understanding the emotions and stages of change can assist you pull together a realistic action plan.

Navigating Career Change Understanding the Six Phases of Change

I’ve heard it said that the only person who really loves change is a wet baby! I’m not sure that’s completely accurate, since some people seem to thrive on change. Whether you love change or loathe it, the fact is that change is inherent in every career, job, and transition.

If you increasingly find yourself faced with change, or if you’ve been blindsided by change (such as a layoff or forced retirement), you must learn how to adapt. Whether you’re changing jobs, careers, or a relationship, the following summary of the six phases of transition may help you navigate the process.

1. Disheartened - You feel discontented with the way things are (for example, your job is not as enjoyable or engaging as it once was).

2. Anguish - This can be triggered by an abrupt transition caused by a sudden event that forces you into transition, such as a layoff without notice, or a gradual transition beginning with discontentment and spiraling downward until it evolves into a decision to make a change.

3. Reflection - During this period of self-examination, you may feel confused and adrift. As you reflect on your values, purpose, options and try on new possibilities, it can trigger a rollercoaster of emotions.

4. Vision - You begin to envision what you want and plan the next steps. For example, you envision the type of job you want to apply for or the kind of fulfilling work you want to do.

5. Action - You activate your plan, embracing and anchoring the change. You launch your job search in earnest by dusting off your resume, surfing the web and online job boards, and reconnecting with your network. Ultimately, you land your new job.

Caution! Your work isn’t finished yet.

6. Check up - I recommend that you conduct an annual work/life re-evaluation. Ask yourself whether your new work is still serving you and allowing you to optimize your potential. You may need to revisit or refine your plan.

When life changes occur, and they will, use these six phases to help you successfully navigate your change process.

Visit www.PeopleCoach.com to receive Career Boost, a free 7-part audio program, and to hear her invigorating weekly radio show: Career Juice! Refresh & Revitalize Your Work.

© Copyright - Elizabeth M. Lengyel, PeopleCoach, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Reprint guidelines: Feel free to reprint this article. You must include the above copyright notice and the author biography that accompanies this article. You may not sell this article or the content contained herein.

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Article Tags: abrupt transition, anguish, career job, caution, changing jobs, disheartened, emotions, job search, life changes, new job, possibilities, reconnecting, reflection, relationship, resume, retirement, self examination, wet baby



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Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: e-Commerce and e-Payment providers - Hi GT It is only fairly recently that people in South Africa have been able to get full use of Paypal as we were only able at one time to make payments but not receive them. Fortunately this has now changed. I have received money through Global X Change for one of the affiliate programs that I promote and have found them pretty good as the money is normally transferred directly into my bank account within 2-3 days and I have not had any problems with them. MichelleJ
Re: Obama Wants Social Security for Illegals - [quote="Alan Mater":3kaa8sg4] Obama WILL make changes... but they're not the changes we as a country need or should look forward to.[/quote:3kaa8sg4] Sad but this is exactly how I feel about it. Change is coming - but unless I'm really wrong, it is not a change this country needs. Amazing how much a good speaker with a good speech writer can do. If you paid attention to the things he said "off script" - much of it is frightening. Chris
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