Are you bored with what you are doing? Got an itch to get into a new career? Not enjoying what you do? Is it a battle to get up in the morning and drag yourself to the office? Then maybe the time has come to start thinking about that potentially tumultuous decision: changing your career.
Sadly, very few of us manage to turn a passion into a career.
Doug Leather, MD, Bryan Hattingh Executive Services
The dictionary defines career as "an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person`s life, usually with opportunities for progress". This certainly is different from a job, defined as "a paid position of regular employment". Neither of these definitions implies anything to do with passion. The dictionary definition of "vocation" gets a little closer: "A strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation."
People who have a vocation are very lucky - they generally experience personal satisfaction as well as financial reward, if financial reward is important. The levels of motivation and self-esteem are naturally high. They do what they love doing and are normally good at it.
Sadly, very few of us manage to turn a passion into a career. Very often we make a career choice at a time of our lives when we only have a surreal understanding of what we want in a vocation. We are very often heavily influenced by others - parents, schools and even assumptions about our abilities and efficiencies. Most of us do something we are good at and keep our hobbies for after hours. How then is it best to determine when and if the average person needs a career change?
The push factors
Here are the "push" factors you should consider when deciding if it is time for a career change:
- Compare yourself to what you want to be and what you are right now. When I interview people I always ask them to tell me what they are best at, and then what they most enjoy doing. Quite often there is a significant difference between the two answers.
- What people are often best at is invariably based on an area of competency where they are either naturally strong or have been developed over a period of time. What people often most enjoy doing, or what they want to do, can be quite different - and the variance between these answers provides a valuable pointer on the path ahead.
- You have to ask yourself if you can still learn from the company or from the example of those around you. If you have absolutely nothing further to learn, then perhaps you are stagnating. Stagnation is the enemy of progress, of creativity, of further advancement. Stagnation is a good sign that the time has come to move on, either within or outside a company.
- You have to do "work that matters". How do you know if you are doing work that matters? Easy - if people pay for what you are doing and it has a deliverable, then you are adding value and are doing something that actually matters. This is important, and you should be asking yourself this all the time: am I making a difference or am I just treading water?
- Will you look back on your current moment in time as being the time of your life? Business guru Tom Peters first asked this incisive question, but it remains as true as ever. If you are not making a difference, if you are not able, say over a previous six-month period, to identify a difference you have made, or quantify the value you have added, then surely you are wasting your time. If you fall into this category, you should be reassessing your career and your role.
- Does your work and your work environment stimulate you? The test for this is as follows: if someone asked you about what you do, would you be excited or embarrassed to talk about it?
- Does the organisation that you work for have a plan for the future, something that inspires you? Do you see excitement in the longer term of being part of the achievement of that vision?
Once you have answered these questions, you should have a clearer understanding of where you are and if you need to go somewhere else.
Practical issues
Should you take a job because it pays less but means more? Conversely, should you take the job that pays the most?
Financial reward is a big driver for most people, but there are some serious issues to consider here. Before you can make this call, you need to understand yourself and have the requisite emotional maturity to be able to honestly evaluate yourself and the job in terms of its potential and your propensity to be successful. Always bear in mind: can the job be too much?
While it is always a good idea to stretch oneself, you need to be comfortable with your ability to handle the stretch. The road to success is paved with good failures. Too many bad failures and you may miss the turnoff.
In terms of choosing a new career, you have to clearly understand exactly what it is that you have to deliver. You must understand the "critical few deliverables". Too many people accept a new job without understanding these fundamentals and are then bitterly disappointed when they fail. Any "above industry" remuneration package is going to call for exceptional results.
Honestly evaluate your current skill set. If, in your current occupation, you find yourself being channelled into an area of intense specialisation, and you do not see a long-term sustainability inside that area of specialisation, then you need to acquire a broader range of skills.
Careers are not what they used to be; the job for life syndrome has virtually vanished. The New World digital economy has created a pace of change that has completely overturned the traditional "seniority through age and length of service" mold which previously held sway.
People are looking for rapid change, excitement and opportunity. In essence, the responsibility for a career has shifted from a paternalistic company that employed one for life, to the person. You are responsible for your career, no one else.
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