Are you keen to make a career change?

Having a personal dream project, but you keep seeing obstacles that prevent you from making it happen?
I have been there several times, so I’m sharing with you my successful approach.

Whether it’s a well-paying job or the financial responsibility of those you love, the stakes can be high.

Fortunately, making the big leap doesn’t have to look like a daunting step! Many people have already experienced it and have succeeded in building a fulfilling life or career for themselves.

So, here are the 6 key steps you need to be aware of to get started.

1. The Reason: What’s the meaning of making a change?

It’s essential to visualise your goal, to stay focused despite the difficulties and to give your best. Each desire for change is driven by deep reasons, which must be clearly identified.

You have an idea that really matters to you because it has the potential to add meaning to your career or your life’s vision. Thanks to your underlying reasons, the doubts that accompany any project for change, will become levers for action. They will be transformed into opportunities to adjust the shot without getting discouraged!

It takes courage to get out of the shell. It takes confidence to leave the comfort of a regular monthly salary. However, this does not prevent more and more people from choosing to challenge themselves and step into the unknown, with the belief to act in accordance to their personal values. Working for companies without adhering to their values and without meaningful recognition is no longer an end in itself, it’s the beginning of a broader awakening process.

So what’s the reason you want to change your life now? Your “Why” is what will keep you going. Moreover, the reasons that push you to reframe your life and career can be multiple:

Have an activity in line with personal values,
Advance with new career ambitions,
Enrich learning and personal development,
Give back to the community,
Be more independent and flexible with time,
Advance towards self-realisation.

By sharing your ideas with others, you can sometimes feel that you have evolved, you think differently and that you’re moving against the current. That’s okay and it means it’s time to develop your plan.

2. The Plan: Break down the stages of change

Without a plan, we can’t talk about a project, we just stay in the realm of a dream.

Wanting to begin the ascent of Kilimanjaro without a roadmap would not occur to any mountaineer, even the most seasoned one. The level of preparation is the same when you have an objective as important as changing your professional life. You need to know your milestones and develop a concrete plan.

Short, medium and long term goals are the cornerstones that define the stages of a project.

Defining long-term goals serve to identify your key milestones in your plan, the main phases of the project. Then, you will have to break them down into medium goals and short-term goals that are more actionable on a weekly and daily basis.

The challenge in this process is “breaking down” the phases of the project into simpler and easily attainable objectives. The benefits you will reap from it, outreach the effort, as they allow you to keep track, stay engaged and fuel your motivation to succeed.

Every small step you take is a victory so don’t forget to celebrate small wins and reward yourself regularly!

3. The Spirit: Facing obstacles with a growth mindset

When deciding to change your life, the challenges may be different depending on your career path and your phase in life. However, no matter the moment you’re going through, doubts and uncertainties are common blockers to everybody.

Don’t believe that you’re going to start from scratch, you’re evolving and moving in another direction, armed with your personal experience. There will be mistakes. That said, with the right mindset, you can turn what some people call “failures” into real inspiration, for you and for others.

The biggest obstacle is yourself and a tendency to fixate the mindset with unhelpful self-judgement. Be kind to yourself, cultivate a growth mindset, be curious to learn and trust your instincts. Self-confidence will increase as you notice yourself progressing with your project for change.

“Be kind to yourself, cultivate a growth mindset, be curious to learn and trust your instincts.”

4. The Strategy: Project yourself into the future

Since life doesn’t always go as planned (nobody said it would be easy…), you have to constantly adjust your vision. An effective strategy is to regularly review your vision and your milestone plan, to always stay on course.

In order to adapt to new events on the ground, all you need to do is allow yourself 10 minutes a week for reflection.

What progress did I make this week? What actions had a strong positive impact and which are those with low impact?

Then, redefine your short and medium term goals based on the actions with the greatest impact.

What do I need to focus on next week? Define the top 5 new priorities.

10 minutes is quick. These observations will be very useful in adapting your vision in an iterative way and ensuring continuous progress towards your vision that drives the change.

5. The Action: Change requires one step at a time

Take action! One action at a time, right now. And build on it, every day.

Taking concrete action, however simple it may be, sets a precedent. Once you made the experience, it’s so much easier to repeat it, learn from it and improve it. Action is a positive energy, which has the power to keep you deeply alive. For me it’s the key ingredient to a happy and fulfilling life.

Little tip: go out and experiment!

The first time you have to perform an important action, choose a person who is not vital to your project and give it a go! The purpose of this experiment is to take note of any improvement points for the real-case action. This way, you take off any pressure and just go with the intent for learning, which also nurtures the development of a growth mindset.

And please note that things don’t need to be perfect. It’s not necessary to wait for the final, ideal situation before testing a new idea or a concept. Keep in mind the motto: Fail fast and learn fast!

“Action is a positive energy, which has the power to keep you deeply alive.”

6. The Network: develop and nurture relationships

Whether your life or career project is at an idea stage or already well underway, it’s never too early to develop your social network. By developing relationships with people who share similar interests, you’re planting seeds to create new opportunities in the long run. This is an opportunity to even make some valuable new encounters that should not be missed for your future growth.

Nurturing relationships and sharing your project for change with others can bring you a variety of benefits — just to name a few:

more creative ideas,
experienced advice,
moral encouragement and support,
enthusiasm to persevere,
inspirational testimonials,
and much more!

You’re not alone in your process of professional change. Building a network takes time, so you might as well be one step ahead…

The 6 key steps to make a career change