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Stuck in the Wrong Career - Changing Career Ladders

Written by: Teresa Pool, PCC

Article Overview: Are you stuck in the wrong career? Do you ever wake up and wonder, "How did I get here?" Our careers often happen to us, rather than for us. Being in the wrong career often means living life on hold, waiting for something to change. These tips for leaping to another career ladder put YOU in charge!

Stuck in the Wrong Career - Changing Career Ladders

Do any of these sound familiar?

"When things settle down at work, I am going to spend some quality time with my wife."

"When I retire, I'm going to finally get around to touring Europe."

"When the kids are grown, I am going to start my own business."

"I'm going to learn how to fly a plane once I get some free time."

"When I get through with this project, I'm going to volunteer for a mission trip."

"One of these days I'm going to write a book of poetry."

"Maybe next year I'll take that woodworking class."

Are you stuck in the wrong career?

Do you ever wake up and wonder, "How did I get here?" Our careers often happen to us, rather than for us. Outside influences of chance and opportunity are often fueled by the excitement of the challenge and the ego boost of being "just what the company needs right now". These opportunities often result in a rapid rise to the top, but the top of what? In a soft job market, we may feel pressured to take whatever comes along;

years later finding ourselves in a career that doesn't remotely resemble what we envisioned.

The wake-up call may be triggered by a career crisis, life change, boredom, or even pending retirement. It may come on gradually as a growing sense of dissatisfaction or be felt like a great epiphany. A sidetracked job is often a factor in a mid-life crisis for both men and women as they mourn the loss of career expectations. The realization is often accompanied by a feeling of being stuck in the current state. "It's too late to change

careers midstream." "I can't afford to have the career I really want." "There is too much risk in making a change now." Then comes the heart-rending decision: "I'll just hang on until I retire. Then I'll be happy." Whether retirement is five or fifteen years away, this decision can seriously dampen the fire of passion for work and can noticeably dull professional edge.

So what is the secret of driving your career and leveraging the power of divine chance? How can you get back in the driver's seat and take your career where you want it to go? What will refuel your passion for work and hone your professional edge? Begin by reconnecting with what you really want. Designing the perfect career scenario for yourself will help re-ignite your fire. Use this energy to create momentum and develop a plan that will propel you forward towards what you really want. Each step gets you closer to your custom-designed career and further from the til-death-do-us-part job. Tips for powerful ladder leaping:

• Let go of "what might have been" thinking. Instead, focus on what powerful skills you have acquired while taking advantage of different pportunities. Begin a Unique Skills inventory on yourself. This is no time to be humble so showcase your special traits on paper. What unique skills do you have to offer that are not being utilized today?

• Know what success means to you. What career components fit with your own personal definition of success? Answer the following question: "I know how successful I am by how..."(A full exercise worksheet is available in the resource section below). This deceptively simple exercise shines the light on how your career can bring you the most personal satisfaction.

• Define what you really want. What pieces of your current career do not fit who you are today? What have your past roles taught you about your working style? What are you doing when you are most effective? Least effective? Using a combination of your Unique Skills, your Success Definition, working style and what you know you don't want, create a Perfect Job Description for yourself. Include role, environment, $, staff, hours, accomplishments, and how you will spend your time. Be specific!

• Make a change today! Find one small (or large) way to change your current job to better fit with your perfect job description. Challenge yourself to break the pattern of your current role in a way that has more meaning and substance for you. Crack that career cement!

• Hold all future job opportunities up against the model of your Perfect Job Description. For roles that don't fit where you want to be, ask yourself what is motivating you to consider it. It is about meeting a challenge? Making more money? Is there something you are trying to prove? Someone you are trying to please (other than yourself)? Compare how you want to make your career decisions with how you are making them.

• Create a strategy to get yourself from where you are today to your Perfect Job. What new skills will you need to acquire? Who do you need to bring into your professional community? Are adjustments needed to your living style or location? What barriers will you need to overcome? Write it down, with specific action steps to keep you moving.

Do what it takes to start your career ladder leap and take your life off of hold!

Related Articles
  FINDING THE RIGHT CAREER!
  The Secrets Of Finding Your Perfect Career
  Ten Beliefs that Must Be Overcome to Find A New Meaningful Career
  Career Change in an Economic Downturn
  Should you take a Homographic Approach to your Career Planning?

Article Tags: career change, Career ladder, career on hold, stuck career



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