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Congratulations! You are taking the first step
toward a happier work life. Apparently, the words
"career change" resonate with you, or you wouldn't
be reading this report.
Look
around your work space. Are you comfortable? What's
missing? Take a minute to see how many of these 17
signs hang on your personal career credenza. Do you
want to let them continue to hang there, or are you
ready to update them with cheerier scenes of how you
can work your passion to get the most from your work
life?
Circle
each sign that applies to YOU. Be honest with
yourself:
- You
feel tired when you get out of bed in the morning
just anticipating the day ahead.
- You
get more and frequent headaches, stomach problems or
other recurring physical ailments.
- You
steal time at work to surf Internet job boards
dreaming about - what if?
- You
gossip about the young guy in the office who got the
promotion you believed should have been yours.
- You
notice that your team doesn't listen to you as much
as they used to.
- You
feel eyes watching you behind your back and hear
words being said to your face that don't make any
sense.
- You
see layoffs hit with no stopping in sight and fear
that you'll be next.
- You
can't resist boss bashing with your fellow workers
and then wonder later if what you said will get back
to the wrong people - maybe even your boss.
- You
have a short-timer's calendar on your desk where you
cross off each day that gets you closer to vacation
or retirement.
- You
feel trapped like you're caught up in a snowball
rolling down the hill with no way to stop it.
- You
really don't like your job anymore, but don't know
how else to earn a living.
- You
envy your best friend who smiles a lot and talks
about her career with excitement in her voice.
- You
escape to television watching or Internet surfing or
video games on the weekend instead of doing fun
things with your family and friends.
- You
think about revising your resume but don't want to
take the time to do it or invest in a professional
resume writer to do it for you.
- You
are eating more, exercising less, and cry a lot or
punch holes in walls.
- You
feel lost, confused and don't know how to dig out of
the hole you're in.
- You
run up credit card debt rationalizing you just need
something new in your life to make you feel better
or you buy a new car you really can't afford.
What to Do About It
How many
signs did you circle? More than half? What are you
tolerating to keep you from a fulfilling career?
What do you need to do to embrace change?
Are you
ready to:
1) Face Ownership of the Problem?
It's easy
to get caught up in the blame game. However,
everyone does have choices. They may not always be
fun choices, but they are still choices. If work
isn't what you want it to be, how can you make it
so? It really boils down to two options: learn to
live with what you already have or figure out how to
change.
By
choosing the status quo, are you sacrificing
opportunities that you will regret later? Or are you
choosing to become passive and let changes happen to
you that you don't want (like termination) because
it's simpler than proactively moving forward on your
own?
2) Make Small Behavior Changes?
Human
nature tends to resist change. If you want to make
changes, but are not sure how to start, begin making
small changes to get used to what the change process
is all about.
Little
things like starting to walk 30 minutes per day or
reducing daily television watching hours can help
you reach mini-achievements to get you comfortable
in adapting to change. Choosing to change can create
excitement and hope. Making responsible changes can
become empowering!
3) Decide What's Most Important?
What are
your critical work values? Are they present in your
company's culture, or you do feel like you're a
traitor to your authentic self? Only when your
values are reflected in the environment in which you
work can you expect your best work to be
accomplished.
What
motivates you to work? Working alone or working as
part of a team? Short-range assignments or long-term
projects? How important are recognition,
spirituality, or a child-friendly workplace to your
desire to perform? Do you work for money or benefits
or because it makes you feel good to contribute?
Understand yourself; it will become clear what the
ideal work is for you.
4) Create a Plan and Work It?
Whatever
you decide to do to manage your career change,
results happen when you develop an action plan. The
more specific your plan, the better it is. Write it
down. Record your benchmarks. Track your progress.
Reward yourself for any achievement no matter how
small.
What
kinds of rewards? Let's say you are conducting a job
search by cold calling companies. (Not much fun,
huh?) As a reward for making 10 consecutive calls,
you might grab a cup of coffee and sit on the deck
for 15 minutes enjoying the squirrels in the
backyard, or take the dog for a 15-minute walk
around the block. Then you should feel refreshed to
resume your calls.
5) Get Support?
Look
around your city for job clubs organized and run by
churches or community centers for persons who are
unemployed. These groups meet to discuss job search
topics, share job leads and support each other in
their individual job searches. Although a great
support network, one should not rely solely on this,
as networking in the "working" world is critical to
attaining your next position.
Hiring a
qualified career coach or counselor can help you
stay on track with your goals. A trained
professional protects your interests and challenges
you to do your best. Relying on family and friends
is not always prudent for this purpose as they
usually have their own agendas that influence their
advice to you. A coach can point you in the right
direction for information, resources and new ideas.
Make
friends with change and watch career opportunities
begin to happen!
Meg
Montford, Master Certified Career Coach and Career
Management Fellow, partners with executives and
professionals to help them make friends with change
to effectively manage their careers. Contact her
through:
http://www.abilitiesenhanced.com.
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