The Career Transition: making it gracefully in 5 steps

Career Transitions: why do they matter?

Career transitions are going to happen throughout our lives. It’s expected we’ll be working for an average of 48 years, and that means it’s more than likely we’ll be making some changes during that time. In fact, it’s expected that the regular person will have 12 job changes in our lives.

That’s a whole lot of ch-ch-changes. And for younger generations, it’s even more.

These transitions aren’t always what you think. What likely comes first to mind is switching jobs. In fact, a transition may look more complicated (and fuzzier) than that.

A transition could also look like a promotion, becoming a manager, shifting roles within an organization, deciding to switch industries, relocating to be closer to extended family, taking a break from work, starting a new business venture, or shifting family needs.

Whatever you want to call it - we’ll all be experiencing transitions throughout our careers.

Since we’re all going to go through them, one of the best things you can do for yourself is figure out how to put yourself in the drivers seat rather than riding shotgun.

So buckle up. Let’s do this.

How many times have you found yourself in a transition without a clear map? You know that you want to make a change but are getting in the stuck of HOW to make a change. Well, fear not. These are the key steps you can take to gain clarity around what you’re looking for next.

Making a Career Transition in 5 Key Steps:

1. Reflect on the current state

As you’re considering making a shift, it’s essential to uncover and understand what you’ve been missing or desiring. Take time to sit down and put together your thoughts. What hasn’t been working in your current role? What hasn’t been working with your current organization?

Make sure that you actually write these things down. You’ve likely been swarming around in your head with thoughts that keep you from falling asleep. This is a time to get them out of your head.

2. Research the options

After you’ve understood more about your current state it’s time to get researching. You may have realized that you like where you are, but need better information to ask for a promotion. Or if that next step is a little bit funkier, say you want a different type of role or organization, the best step is to learn, learn, learn all that you can so that you can talk the talk.

3. Reach out to your network

So you’ve gotten the initial research done. You might have some companies you’d like to connect with. Or some roles that seem enticing. Or clarity around the type of organization you’d like to build. Whatever it is - it’s time to go find your helpers.

Set up informational interviews. They’re informal, informative, and they can be the untapped source of your next role.

The best part of these conversations is that you’ll begin to learn more about organizations, hierarchical structure, education requirements, company culture, professional growth opportunities, and get the lingo down to develop a targeted CV/Resume.

4. Review what you’ve learned

Now that you’ve had some chats, sit down with your learnings. Maybe you discovered the role you were attracted to isn’t quite the right fit - it could be the wrong pay, too difficult to break into, or potentially require additional education that you aren’t prepared to shell out the cash for. Whatever it is, you need to take the time to learn from these conversations.

This can be the most difficult part, and some of us get stuck here. Realizing that what you wanted isn’t as idyllic (or as easy) as you thought it would be can be frustrating.

Something that can help is to consider where you’re at, in comparison to where you want to be. By charting your own career path based on what you’ve learned, you can get ready to make changes.

Need more education for the dream job? Okay, how can we make that happen?

Is it a step back in pay? Crunch the numbers to make sure your budget can handle it.

Is it going to take longer than expected? Sure, that just means we have to squeeze all that we can out of our current role, and/or, create balance on the rollercoaster of frustrations you might be feeling.

Whatever you’ve learned, it’s more than you had just a few steps ago.

5. Round it out with your next steps

As this point you have a lot of information:

You know what’s working (and not working) in your current sphere of influence.

You have clarity around different roles, companies, and how to put them together.

You received “insider knowledge” from the folks who know what it’s like in the real world.

You took time to understand everything you received so far.

Now it’s time to keep going and figure out where you’d like to go from here:

• If you’re deciding to stay put: this actually happens very often. Sometimes going out there and having these chats breaks you out of the “grass is greener” mentality. If you’ve decided to stay - it’s time to think about how to work on some of what made you consider looking in the first place.

• If you’re ready to go, but missing something: charged up to take on this next thing, but realizing you might need more specialized skills or additional training? This is the time to make space for taking that continued education on while you’re working in your current capacity.

• If you’ve decided to make a shift or change: this is the time to take on action steps. With your enhanced knowledge, update your CV to include the right lingo and terminology. Prepare your elevator pitch and story - as well as how it applies to what comes next. And... start tapping your network beyond the regular job search. Happy applying.

You got this! And if you want to take the first step, take 5 minutes and try my 15 questions to career clarity.