5 Steps to Changing Your Career

Many people want to change careers, but find themselves stuck in a rut, afraid to fail and unable to start the change process. Sunshine Topping offers these steps to launch your career transformation.

1. Understand your motivations: List those motivations, starting with why you want to change your career. Are you pursuing your heart’s desire or fleeing from a bad situation? In many cases, it isn’t a career change people want, it’s simply a different work environment.

2. Research: Interview people who work in the field that interests you to understand the day-to-day functions. After my children were born, I thought I wanted to switch careers and teach. After speaking with several teachers, I realized that I just wanted my perception of a teacher’s schedule, which isn’t reality.

3. Self-Assess: Inventory the skills required for your new career and match them against yours. Be brutally honest as you note the gaps between what you have and what you need, then devise a plan to get up to speed. This may take time and money; however, if you’re clear about your motivations, you’ll see this as a necessary investment in your future career happiness.

4. Develop your story: Hiring managers and human resource departments will want to know why you’re making this change. If you’ve completed the previous steps, you’ll have a good, clear story to tell.

5. No regrets: A career change may mean less pay and higher learning curves, at least at the beginning. Don’t let your fear of failure create regret. If fear creeps up, break out your list of motivations. Reward yourself for your courage. Not many people are daring enough to take the time and effort to find genuine fulfillment at work!.

Sunshine Topping
VP Human Resources
Hawaiian Telcom