The ultimate Career Change Guide - for any age

The best time to plant a tree?
30 years ago.

2nd best time
Now!

Long gone are the times where we just had to finish a degree or apprentice, got into a company to climb the ladder to then retire and get the golden watch as thank you present as we exit. 

5 Careers. 17 Jobs. 1.8 years/role.

These are the predictions for an average millennial professional.

Gen Z and beyond? Who knows!

If change would be easy, everyone would do it when things are not 100% as we want them to be ...

In order to change, you need to let go of what you know and what's comfortable to you because what got you to where you are now, doesn't get you to where you want to be.

However, this is daunting as many associate their identity with their role, their relationship, their appearance ... you name it.

That's when the excuses come in.

For career changes - they are most often:
Too young, too old, too inexperienced or overqualified ...

But if you think your situation is unique and too hard basket to do anything about it, think again!

It has never been a better time to actually combine doing great with doing good. Quicker, cheaper and with enjoyment along the way!

We have all resources available to us.
Starting a business, educating yourself, connecting with relevant people ... it has never been easier (and cheaper) than ever before. 

The only issue?

It's not in the knowledge.
It's in the application.

No matter

👉your age
👉your education
 👉your family status
👉your health and wealth situation ...

you will always find an excuse to not get on with what you really want when it is too daunting and overwhelming.
And throwing yourself into something unknown sure is.

If you are in your 20s and you consider a career change, you have ...

 ... excitement and the drive to climb the ladder, make the big bucks and get recognition for what you do. And nothing can come and be done quick enough.

Nobody tells you the bad things that come with it or how the real world actually works.

The challenge is that a degree and formal education only gets you so far.

Fact is, there is more competition with similar qualifications and salary expectations and - without a unique position - you are more a commodity and the price is the deciding factor.

The question you should answer is ‘How do you do the best work when it doesn’t feel it’s the best for you?’

It’s a matter of looking it from an angle to see what you can get out of those lousy jobs to learn the lessons so you don’t have to get another lousy job.

Make relevant connections, learn the ropes, have as many side hustles as you can to get clarity about what you want, what you are good at and where you can make money long-term.

Success in your 20s is more setting the table than enjoying the feast.

If you are in your 30s and you consider a career change, you have ...

 ... huge life changes and go through significant changes.

Especially high performers put a massive amount of pressure on themselves to think they ‘should have figured it out by now’

In your 20s, you can experiment and float and then the 30s hit you and you think you have to magically ‘arrive’ unit you realise there is a gap of where you are supposed to be and where  you actually are.

It’s when expectations vs reality clash and you wish there was more overlap than what it is when people often panic.

They think they are too far in to make the change but at the same time, it’s too long to go to just stick it out as our life span increased significantly.

In fact, they have more time left being in the workforce than they have been in so far.

I get it because I was in the same boat - it can be really painful because you have invested so much into getting where you are, invested a lot of money, time and energy into this profession and industry to let it go and start over with something you now realise you really want.

What you need to realise is that this is
exactly the time where a lot of re-organisation, re-prioritisation and re-evaluation of your values
happens because this is when you highly likely

> invest in a new home

> commit to a relationship

> add a new family member to the mix

Be aware that what you value now is different to what mattered in the 20s.

The perceived limitation that most people put on themselves is sticking to what their previous versions of themselves was and what they wanted then rather than embracing and recognising that their real self has changed and they value something different now.

This is also the real challenge - acknowledging what you believed to be true and recognising what matters to be true now and allowing yourself to re-write your ideal life.

New priorities doesn’t mean you can’t have what you really want.
It's just a matter of defining them, creating them and getting them.

It’s the perception most have of what’s available to them and what really is available that limits them to branch outside their bubble.

Secret advantages are that you are already competent and experienced, you grew up with technology but also experienced ‘the time before’ the iPhone and Co became our consistent companion. 

It’s often the case that when 30 something year olds change career and come into an company much lower in the org chart than people would expect but they often climb the ladder much quicker because they so dedicated to make it work and use their experience to make an even bigger impact.

That was definitely my case - in fact, I excelled quicker in the first 18 months in my 2nd career than I did in the decade in my first. 

You’re old enough to know you can ask for help and if you don’t do it - what are you doing??

When you are in your 40s and you consider a career change ...
 

... you have a new chapter in front of you, where kids are usually more and more self sufficient and you can focus your time and energy on your own progression again - if you proactively initiate it! 

However, it is a funny age -

 ... you are too far into your career, you have reached a senior and most often comfortable position and also have a lot of responsibilities where you can’t just restart easily but at the same time.

But you also have too much time left to just accept the level you have achieved now and stick to an ok situation.

One of the biggest challenges however is that people are at this point into a job for several years and haven’t interviewed for a while, haven’t kept their skills sharp for getting a new job and the network intact to actually get it.

The biggest question to ask is ‘How do I get back out there?’

It’s like dating and it can be daunting.

The real challenge is figuring out how to do it and also what it actually is you can do because realising that you don’t like what you’re doing at this point but at the same time not knowing what you really want to do is painful.

Secret advantages of you in this age group are the years of experience and whether you know it or not - you do have a lot of networking contacts which are gold because this is where your next opportunity comes from.

However, it’s not a matter of 500+ LinkedIn contacts.
It can be your neighbour, your friend, your brother’s best friend.

At this point you usually do know a fair amount of people who can be a real advantage for you as you can reach out and make connection that are relevant for you to get to your next position.

Compared to when you are 20 and you just start out, you don’t have the number of connection nor the breath of experience which can be a real challenge then.

If you are struggling to making the change, key is
you don’t wait and hope something is going to change for you.

Because nothing will if you don’t initiate it. 

Nobody will show you the way nor will the desired promotion magically get offers to you.

Be pro-active and don’t just stick it out and hope something happens to you. Actively figure out what you want and then go and get it.

So what are you waiting for to make the pivot you want and get active to make your wishing a reality? 

Book in your FREE 30-min Strategy Call to see where you are now and discuss action steps you can take to get you where you really want to be!