If you’re anything like me you’ve probably dreamed about being in a new career for a long time. I spent most of my 20’s and a good part of my 30’s pondering on a career change and daydreaming about the other things I could do. I even dipped my toe in a few times but quickly retreated back to the unhappy comfort of knowing what I was doing in my professional services marketing career and being paid well for it.
The more I talked about my intention to change careers, the more comfortable I became with it
It wasn’t until I had my first child that I decided enough was enough. Not only was I in a job that made me unhappy and stressed but that job was taking me away from my child. I realised that I had to really like my job if I was going to cut it as a working mum. So that’s when I committed to a career change.
We all know the word commitment, defined as an agreement or pledge to do something. A lot of us think about changing careers but in order to really make it happen we have to commit. Here are some ways that you can commit.
Tell others
Well, when two people get married they declare that commitment in front of others. I’m not suggesting you hold a career change commitment ceremony but telling others of your intention is one way of proving your commitment, both to them and yourself. When I finally committed to changing careers I told everyone dearest to me, and some not so dearest, such as the mum next to me at the swings. The more I talked about my intention to change careers, the more comfortable I became with it. Also, by telling my nearest and dearest I knew they would ask me about how it was going at a later date. That kept me accountable.
Don’t go it alone
This goes one step further than telling others. If you’re truly committed to changing careers you should consider working with others. This could be through using a coach or careers counsellor, joining a social media group for career changers or going to an event or workshop with like-minded people. When I started my career change process, I encountered a lot of self-doubt along the way but being able to talk to others who were in a similar situation, or understood where I was coming from really helped. For a lot of people work is just something we do to pay the bills. If you’re committed to changing careers it’s probably because you know it’s far more than that. You need to find your people if you’re going to keep the self-doubt at bay.
Invest
To be truly committed you need to invest, whether it’s time or money. Or both. Just as a successful marriage requires an investment of time, you will need to spend time on your career change. Some of us have more time than others so work out what you have available and schedule it in the calendar like a date night. For me, I felt fully committed to my career change after investing some money in a coach and using my Netflix time to spend on self-discovery exercises like my Working Mum Career Change Plan. Which brings me to my final thing that you must do if you’re committed to a career change.
Take action
As I said above, I spent a lot of time thinking about changing careers. It wasn’t until I combined commitment with action that things really happened for me. For some career change happens very quickly and for others you need to play a long-game. I first committed to my career change four years ago and whilst I’ve made a lot of progress I wouldn’t say I’m there yet. My commitment keeps me true to the cause but it’s my action that propels me forwards.
If you need help turning your career change dreams into commitment and action then book in for a working mum SOS with me.