Wondering if it’s time to change careers? It’s a scary move, but sometimes a career change is necessary if you want to have a better life.
Whether you’re feeling burnt out with your current job, wanting to earn more, or simply curious about doing something else, changing careers could be one of the best decisions you make for yourself.
However, there’s no denying that it’s a huge step, and many people may find it hard to make the decision and act on it. And even when you’ve made up your mind, it can be hard to know where to start this life-changing process.
In this article, we’ll go through the common mental blocks that prevent people from attempting a career change and what steps you can take to ensure that your next career is more fulfilling and contributes to your personal and professional growth.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- When is it time to change careers?
- How to overcome limiting beliefs
- The benefits of a career change
- Seven tips for a successful career change
When Is It Time To Change Careers?
Everyone feels lukewarm about their jobs at some point. However, if you regularly experience any of these symptoms, it’s a sign that your career may have stagnated.
If you recognize any of these red flags, it’s time to look for something better.
1) You experience Sunday night dread
Do you feel anxious at the end of every weekend? If you dread Monday mornings or feel stressed whenever it’s time to get back to work, that’s a sign to look for a new job.
A stressful period at work may be temporary, but if you routinely feel anxious about being back at work, it means your job is already affecting your wellbeing.
2) Your health is suffering
Do you have frequent headaches? Do you suffer from insomnia, chest pains, or heart palpitations? Have you been taking more sick days than usual?
If work is starting to affect your health, it’s time to get out. No amount of money is worth compromising your wellbeing for. Your career is supposed to enhance your overall quality of life, not take away from it.
3) You’re only there for the money
Being financially secure is important. However, earning lots of money at the expense of your happiness and overall development isn’t worth it.
Chances are, you’ll be spending most of your time at work. Ask yourself, what are you getting for trading in years of your life? If it’s just money and you’re not growing personally and professionally, you’re being shortchanged.
4) Your job is affecting your self-esteem
How do you feel about the work that you do? If it makes you doubt yourself and/or you’re reluctant to tell people about it, that’s another red flag.
Not feeling proud of the work you do means that either you’re disconnected from it or it doesn’t resonate with who you are as a person. Worse still is when your job directly contradicts your values, which can negatively impact your self-esteem.
If your job doesn’t make you feel good about yourself or boost your confidence, it’s time to move on
5) You’ve lost your passion and enthusiasm for your job
No one is 100% on top of their work every day. All of us have days when we lack the energy and enthusiasm to do our jobs.
However, if you’re constantly feeling unenthusiastic about work, it means that something’s wrong. Low energy levels signal that you’re no longer engaged in what you do, and this apathy could spill over to other aspects of your life.
6) Your job no longer challenges you
Once you’ve spent enough time in a certain role, you become competent enough that the work becomes routine; it feels like you’re on autopilot and just going through the motions every day.
Feeling unchallenged is a sign that you’re no longer growing, both personally and professionally. At this point, it’s crucial to switch things up or move on to something more challenging to expand your potential.
These six signs are some of the glaring red flags that indicate it’s time to move on to a new career. However, even if you recognize these red flags, it doesn’t change the fact that switching careers can be daunting
If you feel stuck even though you’re not happy with your current job, it may be because of the limiting beliefs you hold. These fears could be paralyzing and prevent you from even considering a career change.
The thoughts you think directly shape your reality, and the good news is, you can change your beliefs. You have the power to change your life, and you can adopt more empowering beliefs by simply changing your perspective.
Here are some of the most common limiting beliefs potential career-changers possess (and why they aren’t true).
Limiting Beliefs That Stop You Making a Career Change
1) “It’s the only thing I know,” or, “I’m too old to change jobs now.”
Many people have this limiting belief that they’re unable to switch to a completely new career or job. However, science says this isn’t true—regardless of your age, the human brain actually never stops learning.
Even if you wanted to do something completely different from what you do now, your mind can adapt and learn new skills.
And if you need further proof that it’s never too late to switch careers, here is a list of people who successfully changed their careers later in life.
2) “I won’t find another job that pays me as well.”
You may have been lucky enough to land a job that pays you well, and as a result, you may be reluctant to leave it. But ask yourself this—is the money worth staying in a job you hate?
Your career shouldn’t just be about the size of your paycheck. According to renowned psychologist Frederick Herzberg, author of The Motivation to Work, higher-level psychological needs, such as achievement, recognition, and the nature of the work itself, are far more important to your wellbeing compared to how much you earn.
3) “If I start a new career, no one will hire me because I have no relevant experience.”
It may seem like employers are always looking for relevant experience, but it doesn’t mean that’s the only thing that matters. In fact, what’s more important is your personality and story.
As a career-changer, you’re someone who’s curious, passionate, and willing to take risks—qualities that are a great fit for many roles. In fact, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, doesn’t hire based on experience, he hires based on personality and cultural fit.
As someone who’s starting out in a new career, of course you don’t have any experience yet. However, don’t doubt your value—your enthusiasm, passion, and willingness to learn are equally important, if not more so, than just experience.
4) “I’m lucky I have a job at all. It’d be stupid to quit.”
Don’t let anyone “gratitude shame” you into staying at a job you hate. Gratitude shaming is when someone—or even yourself—tells you to be thankful for what you have and invalidates your desire to look for something better.
You can be thankful for what you have but also be willing to take risks to improve your circumstances. In fact, taking risks is the only way you can create new opportunities and a better life than what you have currently.
5) “I have a passion for that, but it will take too long and too much effort to switch careers again.”
Consider this—regardless of whether or not you work towards your target career, time will continue to pass you by. Five years from now, you may look back and wish that you had done something when you were younger and had more time.
If that’s the case, why not start now?
Another important point to consider is that your career should energize you. You excel at things which you’re passionate about and have high energy for. This higher engagement is ultimately what translates into more success and more money—it’s hard to succeed doing something that doesn’t excite and inspire you.
Staying at a job that doesn’t energize you anymore means that you’re putting in the bare minimum to get by. Over time, this could lead to reduced productivity and performance, which is detrimental to your career.
These are just some of the most common limiting beliefs for those looking to try something new. Empowering your mind before a career change can make a huge difference in your willingness and motivation to act on it.
Once you’re open to the idea of changing careers, a new world of exciting opportunities awaits you. Here are some of the best benefits of a career change:
Benefits of a Career Change
1) It’s an opportunity to stay relevant
With the world constantly changing, switching to a new career allows you to evolve with the times. The future may have looked promising in your field when you entered it, but changes in technology, the economy, or the industry can change that.
Switching careers allows you to enter an industry with a better outlook and ensures that you’ll always have relevant skills to match the latest trends.
2) It allows you to be happier and more satisfied
A recent Joblist survey reported that 77% of people who changed careers were happier, while 75% were more satisfied. Changing careers allows you to find a work environment that’s a better fit for you and your values.
3) You get to earn more money
Certain occupations do pay more than others. Although higher earnings won’t necessarily lead to job satisfaction, you want to be able to make a decent living. Changing careers allows you to enter other industries which have higher earning potential.
4) You want to learn and grow
Switching to a new job or career forces you to adapt to new situations and learn new skills. This is a great way to create a new and engaging environment for yourself, which helps your overall development.
7 Tips for a Successful Career Change
A career change can be an exciting change of pace, but it’s also important to properly prepare yourself. You want to avoid a situation where you fall into a financial crisis or end up in a career that’s worse than your current one.
These seven tips will help ensure that you have a successful transition, and that your next career is a better fit for you.
1) Be clear about what you want
You may feel unsatisfied with your current job, but be clear about what it is exactly that makes you unhappy. Do you have a problem with the work culture? Or do you disagree with the work itself?
Write down which aspects of your current job that you like and dislike. Having a clear idea of what’s important to you will be crucial in finding a better fit in your next career.
2) Perform a self-assessment
Use your work experience so far to identify your core skills and strengths. Based on your professional history, what type of work drives you the most? What do you enjoy doing?
For example, if you discovered that you prefer working with data, you might be more inclined towards analytical work. However, if you’re very sociable, you may prefer working with people.
Knowing your strengths and what drives you will help identify which career path would suit you best. You’ll also be able to present a stronger case for why you’re a good fit in your next interview.
3) Take a class and upgrade your skills
Switching careers is a great time to develop new skills, especially ones which may be relevant to your new career. Today there are plenty of online courses available which could help enrich your resume.
LinkedIn Premium—a subscription service with over 15,000 learning courses hosted by experts—is a good place to start. You could search for a course relevant to your target career and complete it entirely online. Once completed, LinkedIn automatically grants a digital certificate to download or display on your LinkedIn profile.
4) Do your homework
It’s possible to view alternative careers through rose-tinted glasses. You may jump into a new career only to find out that it is an even worse fit for you compared to your old one.
To avoid making this mistake, do your homework. Try to gain as much practical experience for the job you’re aiming for.
One way to do that is by looking for volunteer and freelance activities related to the target field. For example, if you want to work with animals, start by volunteering at the local shelter.
You could also do informational interviews with people who have experience with that particular role or shadow them to gain a deeper understanding of the work.
5) Network with those in your target career
Once you’ve done your homework and have decided which new career path you wish to pursue, it’s time to network with people in that industry.
Many career-changers start with job sites, recruitment consultants, and Google. However, these aren’t the best places for you to present your personality and story.
When starting a new career, you may not have the experience for the job you want and potential employers may dismiss your resume if they read it.
Connecting with people in the industry will give them a much better chance of getting to know you. Spending time building connections and relationships with people in your new field is more likely to translate into an opportunity.
6) Be practical and save up
Be optimistic about your career change, but also be practical about your approach. You may have responsibilities like a mortgage or a family to take care of, in which case it’s important to be adequately prepared.
Ideally, you’d want to save enough to take care of your expenses for the next six to nine months. You may not plan to be unemployed for that long, but you may also need to take some time off to upgrade a skill before hopping on to your next career.
If you don’t have that much in savings, consider working part-time in your target career while maintaining your current job. Or work on securing an offer in your target career before quitting—that way, you’ll always have a safety net to fall back on.
7) Consider all your options
If you don’t have a specific target career and you’re simply looking to do something different, don’t limit yourself!
Use the self-assessment you did earlier to brainstorm ideas for possible careers that cater to your strengths and interests. Network with as many professionals as you can and find out about the jobs in their industry.
You may be surprised to discover interesting career options that you hadn’t considered before.
The good thing about exploring careers that are off the beaten track is that there may be higher vacancies and better prospects simply because there’s less competition.
Want a Career Helping Others?
What makes a career fulfilling varies from person to person, but many agree that helping others is what makes a job truly rewarding.
If making a difference in someone else’s life is important to you, consider becoming a life coach or hypnotherapist. Both of these career options focus on helping others achieve their dreams and desired outcomes, which can be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding career choice.
One way to start is by becoming a Rapid Transformation Therapy® (RTT®) therapist. The RTT® training program can be carried out in-person or online and doesn’t require a degree or prior experience in therapy—much more important is great communication skills, empathy, and a calling to help others.
One thing that sets the RTT® training program apart from other training providers is that, not only does it train you in the powerful therapy techniques which facilitate amazing transformations, but it also provides the opportunity to learn essential marketing and business skills. You can learn how to set up your practice, choose a niche, and secure your first paying clients.
This certification program will teach you how to use the pioneering RTT® method, which draws together the most effective techniques from leading therapies, including CBT, NLP, and neuroplasticity, uniquely layering them in a way that can deliver phenomenal results.
RTT® was founded by internationally award-winning, qualified hypnotherapist Marisa Peer. Marisa developed RTT® from more than 30 years of careful and rigorous study, and it has helped tens of thousands of people overcome their own challenges and lead happier, more fulfilling lives.
As part of the training course, Marisa Peer is also offering live training elements, where you get the chance to meet her in person and practice your skills with the help of her expert training team. This hypnotherapy training is available at a variety of locations, including London, Florida, and California.
If you’d like to learn more about the program, download the free RTT® program prospectus to find out how you can find a job that brings you immense meaning and purpose by
Don’t Be Afraid of a Career Change
Regardless of where you are in your current career, it’s never too late to make a switch. Many people have successfully transitioned to career paths that are vastly different from the ones they started on.
The important thing to remember is that your career should be rewarding to you and contribute to your personal and professional growth. In this article, we’ve given you the blueprint of how to ensure that your career change is a success, so start working towards your dream career today!
