IS THAT CAREER CHANGE RIGHT FOR YOU?

Listen to this post on the Optimal Start-Up podcast here

Is that career change right for you? Change is often difficult. In fact change can be the one thing that holds many people back from success. Making a change in any area of your life can leave many worried about failure? You might even worry that this choice might leave you very unhappy and regretting this choice.

Is that career change right for you?

How do you know if that career change is for the best or if you are better off staying where you are right now? The choice to make the change is not always clear cut and is rarely ever easy to make. What if the choice is between a job that you actually enjoy and a better opportunity that can ultimately lead to growth in your career? This is exactly the situation I found myself in recently and was not an easy choice to make.

Life is full of choices and unforgettable transitions. I have heard it said that in those transitions and changes are where life really happens. Maybe we are meant to experience these feelings of anxiety and uncertainty to help us better appreciate the sweetness of success and the joys of discovering who we are meant to be.

How do you know if a career change is right for you? What steps should you take to make sure that the professional path you proceed down is the right path for you?

Questions to ask before you make a career change

Below are just a few ways that I made the very difficult decision to leave my current position. These are a few questions I believe can be in almost any important choice you are trying to make about the future.

Question 1 : If I do not take this chance will I live with regret?

In my situation the job offer I received was an opportunity for a job that would not be available to me everyday. The job offer is a job that requires a degree and experience that I do not necessarily have. I have great experience in my field but not in the work that is done in this department. I see this opportunity as one that would not be available all the time and this just might be my only chance. In short I knew that the answer was yes I would regret this chance in life if I did not take it.

Question 2: Is it worth the struggle?

Is the money worth it? Is it worth struggling through some potentially difficult times? Can I look back on the experience and see how everything I fought for was worthwhile. Will it lead me to a brighter and possibly happier future? Struggling through change can be very hard sometimes but it can often be very rewarding too.

Question 3: How can this experience benefit me?

Will this experience lead me to a better place overall? Can I look back in a few years and see God's hand guiding me in this direction? Will I someday realize that this choice is the one opportunity that launched my life into a very different yet important direction?

None of these questions are easy to answer without actually making this difficult choice. Embarking on whatever new journey you are looking to take is ultimately the only way to know for sure. However if these questions will always be left unanswered and you will always wonder why not give it a chance? You might be pleasantly surprised and find greater joy in this new journey than you have ever experienced. Only time can tell for sure but if you wrestle with these questions I say take a chance and step out in faith.

Someone wise once said.....

"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)

Why I chose to make the change

I have struggled for years to find the right job. Not the perfect job but one with the right balance of a Good work environment, Good team to work with, a potential for growth and the right environment to do so. Also most importantly just enough joy sprinkled in to the day to day job challenges. That joy might be in the form of a great team that supports and encourages you or a job that you love doing. My current job has come as close as I have ever been to realizing that and this is why the decision I made this time was one of the most difficult career wise that I have had to make. When you are not uncomfortable where you are and you actually love your team and what you do it makes the transition so much tougher than ever.

Choosing growth and uncertainty

Growth is very important and can lead you down paths you have not yet experienced. That might sound scary but really it is just like every other choice you have made in the past. Just remember that each choice in life is what led you to where you are at this very moment. You would not be where you are today without a series of choices made in moments just like this one. As scary as the new career path might seem it is no different than any other chance you have taken so far. In making the choice to have faith in God and even in yourself you are choosing to live your fullest life. A life filled with faith and taking chances is ultimately the path that I want to follow. Because real life is experienced in the moments that challenge us more than anything else. The moments that require us to have faith and rely on our own abilities and God-given strengths.

Career changes are very difficult to make but are also very important for continued growth. For in every choice I have made and every path I have taken before I have not regretted a single one. I have seen clearly how each job change that I have made has been for the better and has led to growth within me. Sometimes that growth came in the form of knowing what I did not want in a career. Often it led to very difficult challenges that would push me to discover an issue within myself and lead to maturity in areas that I did not know I even needed. Even the worst jobs I have ever had helped me discover important truths in my life that were worth the pain.

If you have stayed with me through this entire post and still wonder if this career change is right for you? I highly recommend a few additional things that will help you make the best decision

Is that career change the right move now?

Make a list of pros and cons of making the transition. If the pros outweigh the cons then you have a pretty solid reason to make the change.

Ask yourself where you want to be in 5 years? If your answer is right where you are right now then the change might not be right for you. If you still have dreams of growth and advancement this might be the right opportunity for you.

Give yourself a few days if possible to wrestle with the idea of the change and what it will look like for your life. Pray on it. Talk with trusted friends and family members. Then make your decision based on a combination of those conversations and your own time of reflection.

The only person that can make the right decision for you is you. You must search within yourself for the right answers and ultimately trust your instincts. You will make the right choice! Whether this job leads to the growth you've always craved or just to another lesson learned it will still be the right choice for your life. I know it will be the right choice because you have carefully considered it each step of the way.

If you have lost your job recently you are not alone in this struggle. Trying to cope with the loss of a job is a huge challenge also. I wrote about my own experience with a previous layoff in the post I have linked to above.

I hope that in someway through my writing I can provide some encouragement transitioning into your upcoming career change.