Career Coaching: When Does a Career Change Make Sense?
Career Coaching: When Does a Career Change Make Sense?
Everyone has the occasional day from hell at work. A bad day might make you wish you could spike your coffee–and maybe everyone else’s just for kicks. A boring week might have you dreaming of poolside drinks and tan lines.
But if your job is making you hate life on the regular, and you can barely stand to hit snooze on your alarm each morning, it might be time for a shakeup. Feeling disconnected and uninspired at work is a common problem in the U.S., with 68% of workers reporting they feel disengaged, according to Gallup.
The good news is that making a career change is even easier than it used to be, with more options available when you’re feeling ambitious, or actually did spike that coffee. Oops.
It can also help drive your salary upward faster than staying in your existing role, especially if you feel like you’re at a dead end. When asked in a ZipRecruiter survey for The Wall Street Journal, 64% of respondents who had changed jobs said their current job pays more than their previous one.
How can you figure out the opportunities available to you, starting from where you are today? In this blog post about career coaching and changing careers, we’ll explore:
6 signs you’re ready for a career change
Power moves for career reinvention
How career coaching can help you plan your next move
Unhappy at Work? 6 Signs You’re Ready for a Career Change
If you’re feeling like it’s time to chuck grenades and get after what you’re really meant to do in life, you’re not alone. About 4 million people switched jobs in the U.S. each month from January to March 2022, according to Pew Research.
However, it’s natural to feel unsure about what could be next. Maybe you don’t see a future for yourself at your current company, or you haven’t found the right way to put your education to good use. A career change feels like it might be the only way to shake things up.
Let’s look at some of the signs you might be ready for a change:
number 1: Feeling unmotivated or uninspired
You may have a hard time handling your workload, or feel pessimistic about your future with your current employer.
number 2: Poor work-life balance
Work is starting to overflow into your personal life or drain you so much that your weekend heart rate doesn’t go above Netflix. Remember when music was what you did for fun on a Saturday night?
number 3: Frustration at work
Sometimes things don’t go right at work, and you need to handle tough situations. When you start feeling like every day has you on edge, you may be in need of a change.
number 4: Lack of future growth in current career path
There’s nowhere to go but up–but what if there’s no clear path upward from your current position? If there aren’t any roles that you want above you in your current company, or your industry has plateaued, it might be a good time to book it.
number 5: Current income not meeting your needs
Money pays for the things we want and need, and it’s an important part of the work equation. Does your job pay enough to manage your living expenses? Maybe you’re not quite in Louboutins just yet, but you should definitely be able to afford that daily latte everyone rants about.
number 6: Wanting more out of life
We grow out of situations all the time, and work is no different. Perhaps you feel like your values have changed, or maybe you have different goals for your life than you did when you were younger. It’s okay to want more, and it’s okay to go after it.
Power Moves for Career Reinvention
Now it’s time for the good stuff. It’s one thing to recognize when you’re stuck, and another to take decisive action to change the path ahead.
Need help moving past your mental roadblocks and understanding how to get where you want to go? Career coaching can help. You’ll gain helpful tools, a deeper understanding of your opportunities, and industry insights that can help spark your inspiration.
Let’s explore a few key steps to taking bigger strides forward.
Recognize the value of your talent and experience
Career coaching can be an eye-opener for those who have felt like their talents are going unnoticed, or those who aren’t sure just how valuable their experience will be in a new field.
Learn about opportunities to use transferable skills
When you focus on job titles and responsibilities, you might forget that you have been building a huge store of transferable skills. In many cases, you can reframe much of what you already know and apply it in new areas.
Target industries showing strong growth
Sometimes you may feel stuck because you’ve outgrown a position or company. In other cases, your industry may simply be running out of steam. With a little help, you can target a fast-growing industry and capitalize on the growth ahead.
Explore your feelings around earning power
A high-paying career doesn’t have to be out of reach. Some industries, like cybersecurity, are seeing a staggering talent gap. Companies in this industry need talented professionals, and average salaries could give you more freedom to build the life you want.
Learn to assess risk and act anyway
You may not have all the answers, but you do know you want to find them. That might be all you need to take the first step. Regardless of where you’re starting from, there’s a new path ahead that will energize and excite you. Get ready to do it scared.
How Career Coaching Can Help
Work should challenge you, but it shouldn’t suck your soul away. And a fulfilling career isn’t something other people get to have. Nope—it’s for you, too. You just need to be ready to grab it.
Career coaching can help you decide when the timing is right for a change. It can also offer valuable insights when you’re ready to make a move, but haven’t quite figured out how to turn your ambition into a thriving new career path. At the very least, it should offer you better insight into the paths available to you. At best, it could unlock the first steps into a high-paying career you’d never envisioned on your own.
Hungry for a career change? Know you want more? Expert assessments of what you bring to the table combined with strategic actions to drive your career forward can help you make bigger moves, faster.
With the proper tools and support, exploring the areas above becomes much easier as you get clear on your path. If the time is right for a change, career coaching will help you make your next move with confidence.
Career coaching can help move you from frustration to passion, and put some gas in your tank for the journey ahead. Sign up for our career workshop and get ready to roll.
