(Photo Credit @aaronburden)
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Yesterday, we discussed how to take stock of where you are in your career & then how to start envisioning your future. You can view that post here: Take Stock + Envision your Future
For many clients, that’s the fun part: looking towards a bright & successful future. And many job pivoters stay in that phase - and don’t progress forward to make that vision a reality.
Why? There are a host of reasons that can give someone pause when making a career pivot. It’s not the right time to make a move; you realize it’s not the right industry for you; a family situation delays your move, or an unexpected promotion comes your way and improves your current job situation. All of these are among the many valid reasons to stay where you are.
Today, I want to explore one common challenge to moving forward that is often overlooked but easily addressed: you, the job seeker, haven’t prepared the groundwork to give yourself the time and space to make this change.
The Reality: Job searching takes time
It happens all the time. A potential client says I’m ready to get a job in tech - can you fix my resume? The assumption is that all you need to do is change some words on a paper & that’s enough. Actually, it takes thoughtful review of your current situation & skills to map out a good plan for making a career change.
You will need to open up extra time & space in your life to make this pivot. How are you going to do that?
Map out the tradeoffs you are willing to make
Sit down and estimate how much time you can realistically devote each week to making this career change happen.
Then try to identify how much time it will take to make the pivot. You can guesstimate that it’ll take one month for every year you’ve worked - but this depends on how big a pivot you’re making, what your transferable skills are, and the networks you can leverage (we’ll cover these a bit more over the next few days). It’s good to have a realistic set of expectations.
Then write up a list of tradeoffs you’re willing to make with yourself, your spouse/partner/family, volunteer commitments, etc.
Maybe this means skipping the Friday night bar scene for a few months? Maybe this means getting takeout for the family every Sunday night so you can spend your evening on your career change? You might also try to postpone a trip that will be right in the middle of when you expect to start interviewing. Or it might mean you need to step back from a volunteer commitment for the next quarter or two.
Try not to view this as a punishment. This is a strategic choice you’re making to give yourself the necessary time to make this pivot successfully.
Have the conversations you need to have
Once you’ve identified what you need to succeed, you need to ensure that key members of your support network are aware of the choices you’re pursuing.
Tell the Fri night crowd not to tempt you for a few weeks - but that you’ll celebrate with them once you get the new gig. Talk to your partner/family and ensure they are on-board with this potential change. Seek out advice if you’re not sure whether you’ve estimated your timing correctly.
All of these conversations help you to gather the support you’ll need to slog through when you get frustrated. And admitting to these trusted folks that you’re looking to make a change makes it easier to start having the future networking conversations too.
Put it on the calendar
For me, nothing happens if it doesn’t appear on my calendar. Partly because I need the reminders, but partly because I’ve told myself that I’m dedicating a specific amount of time on a specific day and time to work on a project.
Add recurring appointments to your calendar to remind yourself to work on items related to this career pivot into tech. This is your commitment to yourself that you will make this happen.
You might be thinking these items are obvious, but humans tend to resist change, even when you do actually want the change to happen. These steps might only take 20-30 minutes but it’s surprising how important they are for long-term career change success.
