Career Change – Step Beyond Your Fears
The legendary Chandler Bing (from F.R.I.E.N.D.S) may have said
“I am not great at the advice; can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”
Unknowingly, he did give us all great advice when it came to career change. He showed true courage when he left his high-paying job, which he hated forever, to follow something new in his thirties.
Even though many of us may not technically hate our jobs, we may often dream about doing something new or different. Every year we may be telling ourselves, this is the year I take a chance and dive in to do something different. As part of a new generation of workforce, we crave deeper connections and holistic well-being from the work we do, not just salary.
No matter what our reasons are, a lot of us resist taking that big step because of our fears.
Fear of Wasted Experience
Once we get a job in a certain pathway, we generally resist doing any drastic switches in that path. This ‘sunk cost fallacy’ is one of the greatest deterrents to trying something new. The thought of starting over from scratch makes us break out in cold sweat. But the fact is, no matter what our previous experience was and what our new aspirations are, there will most definitely be some transferrable skills.
We often underestimate the impact of soft skills we gain with any job. Communication skills, problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and leadership capabilities are essential for any new venture. In fact, with our experience, we may know what not to do, which is a critical skill to take with us. If we think closely, we may find more transferrable skills than we expected.
Practical Exercise
The following exercise has been adapted from the book Career Counselling Interventions Practice. This exercise in identifying transferrable skills works better if you are working with someone else, like your career counsellor, but can also be tried on your own. You will need,
a few chairs
few empty containers
a box of Lego
For each job you have held in the past, including paid or unpaid ones set aside a chair with an empty container in it. Start from the first chair with your box of Lego. Close your eyes and think about the job for which you set aside that chair. For every skill you learnt or developed or perfected in that job which could be useful in your new career, drop a Lego into that chair’s container. The skill could be as simple as how to hammer a nail (a very important life skill) to how to create a full-blown mobile app. After you have moved through each job, collect the Legos from each container together. You will be surprised at how much they all equate to and how many you can take forward to your new chosen career.
The physical feel of the Legos gives a tangibility to how much knowledge you have acquired rather than just thinking about it in your head!
Fear of Failure
Even when we are moving sideways in our careers with loads of reusable skills, the fear of failing in a new venture prevents many of us from taking even the first step. More than the failure, we fear the shame and embarrassment that comes from that failure. Failing financially is another major deterrent for many. Apart from money troubles, losing the respect of our friends or family and proving our nay-sayers right also weighs heavily on our minds.
Practical Exercise
The following exercise is adapted from Fear Setting TED Talk by Tim Ferriss to confront our fears. It is recommended that you do this exercise every quarter. You will need three blank sheets of paper or the below template on your favourite electronic device.
The first set is for identifying and mitigating your fears; the second is to pivot and think only of positive outcomes; the final one is to understand the implications of doing nothing. Use the following templates to document each of the three sets with an example in each.
Set 1 – Fear Listing
Set 2 – Success Listing
Set 3 – Inaction Listing
Doing this exercise will not only help you understand your fears, but prioritise them, tackle what you can change, and accept what you cannot. It will also force you to look at the positive side of this change and how your life will be if everything goes right. Finally, it makes you understand the consequences of inaction. Having all of these written down will help you re-evaluate your choices and literally face your fears.
Fear of Perception
Most of the time friends and family expect us to hold on to a secure job, a known company preferably one with name recognition. The ones who take the untrodden path are considered daring. In such a scenario, our change of careers can sometimes be viewed by some as downright rebellious. This fear of what others might think or say can keep us in our comfort zone for longer than we would care to admit.
Practical Exercise
In the book Rethinking Positive Thinking, Gabrielle Oettingen introduced the WOOP exercise, which has been slightly adapted below for our situation. This exercise consists of a 4-step visualisation process culminating in a positive vocal response at the end.
1. Wish – Visualise the end goal that you want to achieve.
I want to open a new restaurant.
2. Outcome – Visualise how you will feel when your wish comes true.
I will feel satisfied that I have done something I love.
3. Obstacle – Visualise what you think other people might say when you start on this journey.
My friends may make fun of me saying there are thousands of restaurants.
4. Positive Thinking – Visualise what others might say when you succeed.
My friends will say I’ve beaten incredible odds and succeeded in establishing a great restaurant.
As a final step, you say the following aloud – I wish to <<your wish>> so that <<your outcome>>. If <<your obstacle>>, then when I am successful <<your positive thinking>>.
For example, you will say out loud –
I wish to open a new restaurant so that I will feel satisfied that I have done something I love. If my friends make fun of me saying there are thousands of restaurants, then when I am successful, my friends will say I’ve beaten incredible odds and succeeded in establishing a great restaurant.
According to Gabrielle, it’s not helpful to just think positively and expect everyone to be supportive of our endeavours. Rather, the WOOP exercise allows us to acknowledge that everyone may not approve of our dream. The positivity comes from imagining how that same person might react if we indeed succeed.
That said, we must explain our vision to someone close to us and ensure they are in our corner. We might show them our three sets of ‘Fear Setting’ or walk them through our business plan. When the going gets tough, it’s important to have someone we can rely on, rather than get into the us vs the world mindset.
Fear of Being Too Old
Another common fear that plagues us is that we are now too old to change careers. No matter how much we say to ourselves that age is just a number, we are unable to convince ourselves. If you had done the ‘Career Counselling Interventions Practice’, you would already know how your age and experience have given you hordes of transferrable skills.
According to an Indeed survey, 49% of their users have made a dramatic career change and the average age of those people is 39 years! If you need further convincing that age is an advantage, you can read up more on the following people who successfully changed careers in their 30s and 40s.
Milind Soman, a model and actor, switched careers in his 40s to become a successful entrepreneur and fitness promoter!
Colonel Sanders, founder of the hugely successful food chain, KFC, went through many careers like law, insurance salesman, railroad worker, gas station operator etc before finally starting his first restaurant in his 40s. He in fact founded KFC when he was 62!
Vera Wang was a figure skater who became an editor of Vogue after failing to make it into the US Olympics figure skating team. She did not start designing her own clothing line until she was 40. Her wedding dresses have gained popularity internationally and innumerable celebrities have worn her gowns!
So, what are you waiting for? Your international acclaim might just be around the corner. If you want to run through any of the exercises together or want to talk more about your career shift, please feel free to contact me.
Stay tuned for our next blog on how to balance passion with practicality when embarking on your career switch journey!
