New Year
New Career BY AMALIA CHILIANIS
A
s you edge closer to the beginning of the new year, it’s natural to start thinking about the year ahead. While an arbitrary line in the sand, the new year brings a sense of hope and optimism, a time to think about what you want to change for the year ahead. A time to dream of new beginnings, a fresh start or gratitude for what you already have but some areas of your life that you still want to improve. Often one of the things we hope to change most is our career. However, you hesitate or have doubts, because you’re not sure how to make a change and if you do make a change, you want to make sure that it’s a positive one. As well as meeting your fundamental need for an income, your work can be enjoyable, provide for great satisfaction and can positively impact your happiness and wellbeing. The good news is, you are likely more ready and able to make a change than you think. So, if you are so inclined, put change career at the top of your New Year’s resolutions then use my five tips for successfully changing careers. 1 Pause & Reflect Hopefully you are taking some time out over the holiday period. Whether you aim to make a significant change in what you do for a living or just a small
shift, like same job new employer or same employer different role, I highly recommend you take some time to pause and reflect. If you look back on your working life so far, have you just gone along for the ride? Have you ever had a real break to stop thinking about pressures, expectations, judgements and responsibilities? You might intuitively know this to be true, that it’s often those times when you are not thinking about a problem or a challenge that solutions come to you. I highly recommend starting a meditation practice, but if this is a step too far for you, at least take time out for focused attention. Reflect on both the good and the bad elements of your career so far, what’s worked well, what hasn’t and write down why. 2 Work and Life priorities Work and life are inextricably linked, so embarking on a career change should include building a picture of what you want from both your career and the other priorities in your life. I recommend identifying a set of ingredients that you want in key components of your life such as physical health, relationships, home, emotional wellbeing, career, finances, passions & hobbies, spirituality and community. Reflect on these as they are for you now, and then how you would like
17
