Change direction

“Career satisfaction does not come from WHAT you do. It comes from WHO you get to be while you're doing it.”
Laura Berman Fortgang

As we all know, having a child changes everything. We may go from being passionate about our careers to suddenly feeling that they mean very little. We may find ourselves not wanting to go out to work at all, or wanting a different kind of work that fits better with family life. We may take a few years out from the workplace and then realise that we’ve lost the confidence we once had. Or we may just find that suddenly our new perspective on life opens up new ideas and opportunities. All of these scenarios are common amongst mums ... and mean that a change of direction is common too. Having children forces most women to ‘press pause’ on their careers and, whether that pause lasts for weeks, months or years, it creates a space in which we can reassess our choices and, sometimes, find that we want or need to make new ones.

So how do you go about making sure that a change of direction is a change in the right direction? Here are our top ten tips:

1. Discover your passions
2. Play to your strengths
3. Do your research
4. Update your CV
5. Get some experience
6. Enlist support
7. Manage your money
8. Create a vision and a plan
9. Be flexible
10. Be patient and enjoy the journey

1. Discover your passions

You're going to be far more successful in your new career if you're doing something you really love. What are your passions? What interests do you have? When do you get fired up and when do you start to glaze over? If you can identify what makes you tick, you'll be nearer to finding your dream career. Questions are incredibly powerful tools to stimulate the imagination, focus the mind and open the heart. For example, you may have been passionate about something as a child but have long since forgotten how much you enjoyed it. Provided you open yourself up to it, a good question can help you get in touch with your deepest desires. Use the 10 questions below to help you discover the work you would love to do. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, just listen to your instinctive responses …

• If you won the lottery or somehow had your financial needs taken care of, how would you want to spend your life? What would be the purpose of your life?
• If you only did work that inspired and delighted you, what would you want to do?
• If all work was equally paid and had the same status, what work would you love to do?
• If you felt free, had no fear and no guilt, what work would you love to create or do?
• If you were told you only had six months to live, would you do the same work? If not, what would you do instead?
• What has your heart always called you to do or be in your work?
• As a child, what did you most often dream of doing or being when you grew up? What happened to these dreams and ideas?
• What gives you the greatest sense of joy, aliveness, motivation or excitement?
• If you had no doubt that you could be financially rewarded for doing what you most love and enjoy, what would you do then?
• If you knew you had all the support you needed, what would you begin creating?

2. Play to your strengths

We’re all better at some things than others. One of the keys to being happy at work is making sure that, whatever you do, it plays to your natural strengths as far as possible. It seems basic, but start by making a list of what you are good at. Write down everything you do (or used to do) in an average week at work, however basic a task, and then start thinking about which skills you excel at and which don’t come quite as easily. Generally, when you find something easy and achieve good results when doing it, it’s a sign that you’re naturally talented in this area. That doesn’t mean to say that you can’t apply yourself and achieve good results in other areas, but they won’t feel like such a comfortable fit. Also have a think about hidden talents you're not currently using, but would like to use in the future.

Don't assume you know all there is to know about yourself. There are umpteen different psychometric tests out there that will help you find out what your aptitudes are. Some even suggest suitable careers. However, if you do decide to test yourself, make sure that you’re honest with your answers. The tests won’t help you otherwise.

3. Do your research

Once you've got an idea of the kind of career you'd like to aim for, you can then start thinking about what you’ll need to do in order to reach your goal. What skills do you need to get into that field? How can you go about getting them? Are there online courses or evening courses you could do?

Speak to people who already work in that field and, if you don't have any contacts, go on to relevant message boards or for extra help speak to a careers advisor at a local college or university. Attend conferences or networking events. Keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the industry you’re heading towards. Sign up for trade magazines and email newsletters. Read the job sections in the papers and online to find out how many jobs are around and how fast-moving the market is. Get as good a feel as you can for what’s going on, what opportunities there might be and the best way to get your foot in the door!

4. Update your CV

The next step is to take a long hard look at your CV, in the light of all the thinking you’ve just done. Make sure you bring it fully up-to-date, of course, but also tailor it to suit the new career you’re after. Highlight the skills and experience you feel are particularly relevant to that. Consider what you have learnt and the talents you display during your time at home with your family as well. Being a parent and managing a household involve loads of transferable skills. For example, the following transferable skills are often overlooked by career changers but are desired by almost every employer:

• IT literacy
• Numeracy
• Leadership
• Problem-solving
• Research and analysis
• Foreign languages
• Presentation skills
• Planning and organisation
• Commitment and perseverence

If you need some help with your CV, ask someone you respect to take a look at it and give you some feedback. When you’re lacking in confidence, it’s easy to downplay your strengths, or just not to see them at all. Another person’s perspective can really help. And you can always seek advice from the experts. There are plenty of books in the library about CV writing, plus workshops you can go on and careers advisors / recruitment agencies who would be willing to help.

5. Get some experience

Could you do voluntary work to gain some experience in your chosen field? For example, if you’re thinking of becoming a teacher, could you help out at a local school? If you want to become a physiotherapist, could you arrange to ‘shadow’ one to see exactly what they do? If you’re looking for a corporate role, could you write to the companies you are interested in to see if they’d take you on a short term work experience placement? Take a week’s holiday from your current job if need be. This is a great way to boost your CV whilst, at the same time, enabling you to find out whether you enjoy the work as much as you think you will. Do it before you take the plunge and change direction completely!

6. Enlist support

Once you know what you want to do, make sure that you enlist the support of the people who matter to you. Talk it through with your partner, children if they’re old enough, extended family and friends. Their help and encouragement will maximise your chances of success. And, let’s face it, your choices will probably have an impact on them. You may need practical assistance - for example, you may need your partner to baby-sit whilst you go to night school for a while. Or you may not be able to contribute the same amount towards the household income. You may have to spend more time away from home. And you’ll almost certainly need ongoing moral support. Be realistic about the changes that your decision will bring and, if you possibly can, ensure that your family and friends are behind you all the way.

7. Manage your money

Most changes of career involve some kind of financial implication and, usually, they mean less money for a while rather than more! However, many people give up on their career dreams because they are disappointed with prospective salaries. It’s easy to assume that you have to make at least as much money as you do now, whereas you could probably survive on far less if you wanted to enough. How many of us fork out for all kinds of non-necessities to compensate for the fact that we’re unhappy at work? For example, we pay for ready meals and take-aways because we’re too tired and fed up to cook a proper meal. We treat ourselves to a bottle of wine because we’ve had a bad day. We go on holidays to recover from work. And so on. Obviously, you still have to be able to pay for the essentials … you might just like to re-evaluate what they are!

If you don't have any savings or a partner who is willing to support you in the short term, make an appointment with a qualified independent financial advisor to evaluate how you could make a career switch and maintain your financial security.

8. Create a vision and a plan

Follow your dreams, but do it with a guide. First of all, create a vision of where you want to be in, say, three or five years’ time. Be as specific as you possibly can, so that it becomes very real in your mind. Think about all the details. What will you be doing? Where? With whom? When? How will you feel? What will you be able to see, hear, smell, touch and taste? Write all this down, and add drawings and pictures to help bring your vision to life on paper. Stick this up somewhere you’ll see it often, so that it keeps you motivated.

Next, write down how you plan to achieve your vision. Plot your path, step by step. If you find it easier, work backwards from your vision and ask yourself: “How did I get this? How did I achieve that? What would I need to have done?”

Set yourself some specific goals - for example, I will have begun an A-level course in psychology by the start of October 2008. Make sure that your plan is realistic - it’s better to have some ‘quick wins’ and feel motivated to continue, rather than falling at the first hurdle. Keep checking your progress and celebrating your achievements along the way.

9. Be flexible

It’s all very well having a plan, but not everything in life goes according to plan! You will learn a great deal on your journey towards your new career, and it may be that you change your mind about some things, or find alternative ways of achieving them. That’s fine. The trick is to be open to experiences and prepared to review your choices as you go along. There’s no point in stubbornly walking a road that doesn’t go where you want it to, simply because you said you would. Just make sure that you squeeze as much learning as you can from every situation! That way, nothing is ever wasted, it’s all part of the trip. And new opportunities can arise at every corner. The flipside of there being less job security these days is that there are more possibilities. Consider the benefits of a portfolio career!

10. Be patient and enjoy the journey

Very few people make a successful career change overnight. It takes patience and perseverance. You’ll probably face a few frustrations along the way. But, if you’re sure you’re on the right road, stick with it. Check that your expectations are realistic and that you’re not setting yourself up for disappointment. Keep re-visiting your vision and reminding yourself of why you want this change. Ask your nearest and dearest to help you stay motivated and focused. Give yourself credit for everything you’re learning and achieving, even if you’re still a long way from where you want to be. And, instead of getting downhearted at the distance, focus on enjoying the journey!