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If you are
thinking about changing your career, here are some mistakes to avoid.
Changing your career because you hate the job you now have is not a smart
move. Just because you hate your current job doesnt mean that your career or
the industry you are currently in is wrong for you. It also doesnt mean that
changing your career will make the problems go away. You may hate your job
because you hate your micro managing boss, or because you were romantically
involved with a co-worker who has now scorned you. You might hate the
employer you currently have because they dont listen to your ideas or dont
encourage upward mobility. All these things may indicate it is time for
changing your job.
They dont necessarily indicate that it is time for changing your career.
It might also be that you hate your job because you need team skills or
people skills the lack of which will carry over to any job or career you are
considering changing too. The right counsellor or mentor - and perhaps even
your current immediate
supervisor can help you assess what, if
anything, you are lacking in these areas and how you can go about improving
these skills.
Changing a career solely because the money and the benefits are better in
the new career is almost always a mistake. Its such an old cliché, but its
very true that money just doesnt buy us happiness. What would happen if you
make that career change, take that new job and make a lot more money than
you do now – but you hate the new job? What might you spend that additional
money on? You might just end up paying the medical bills for your ulcer.
Keep in mind as well that those careers that pay those seven figure salaries
almost without exception involve living the job. How many corporate
executives do you know that work Monday through Friday, that schedule a two
week vacation that doesnt involve countless interruptions or even last
minute cancellations? Think carefully before changing your career for money.
It just might make you miserable.
Dont ever let others dictate your need for a career change. If your parents
wanted you to be a lawyer since you were two and youre feeling that the
social work job you love disappoints them, let them stay disappointed. Its
your life.
Its often the case, however, that their disappointment is not real but
rather something youve perceived incorrectly. Talk to them. Sit down and
explain why you love your career, why you enjoy your work. You may just find
that theyre happy for you. If that should not be the case – if your personal
partner, or your parents, or your friends, think you are better than what
you are currently achieving in your career, your allowing these small-minded
people to influence you will only destroy your relationship with them in the
end. There is nothing more destructive to a relationship than resentment and
no one more resentful than someone pushed into changing to a career they
dont want, dont enjoy and dont derive satisfaction from.
About the Author:
James Copper is a writer for
http://www.newcareerskills.co.uk where you can find help for
changing career |
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