The career change process takes time. Fulfillment and the achievement of your goals doesn't happen overnight.
Changing a career is a wonderful thing, if done correctly. It affects every part of your life. It involves having trust and taking steps.
Get in motion. Action leads to action. Build momentum. Steadiness of effort is the key. Set realistic goals related to your values, and since most things take longer than anticipated, build in extra time.
As soon as you can define a path that seems to hold possibilities for your future, begin exploring. Research via people and online. Talk to as many people as you can. If possible, have a try-out experience. Get involved as a volunteer in a work-related area of interest. Believe in the process—if it is working keep going; if not let it go. Remember, you have not wasted time, you have just narrowed down your list.
Persistence is key when making a career transition. Harmonize your ambition with a capacity for patience.
One needs to accept that progress will not always feel or look like you are moving ahead. Realizing that progress is not always forward is a huge reality. One step ahead and then one step back can happen. The important thing is that one needs to stay focused and determined and get right back on course. Progress can come at unpredictable times and in unexpected degrees.
It is an accomplishment that you keep trying. When you search for what you want and ask for what you want, you are going to gain confidence. Strength builds on strength.
Commitment to your goal and patience are key!!
If you do not search and you do not ask, you already know the answer. Try to imagine yourself sitting someplace several years from now. Which would make you feel better: Knowing that you tried, even if it was hard and challenging, or knowing that you did not try?
The career transition process is different for everyone and not easy; however, along the way you can master skills that will pay off for you for the rest of your life.
Lynn Berger is a Career Counselor and Coach specializing in helping people make the most of their lives and feel fulfilled. In her position she counsels people how to effectively transition to jobs and/or careers, balance their roles and responsibilities, and understand the choices before them. Her past experience includes working in the Human Resource and Consulting fields. Lynn received both her Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology and her Master of Education in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor and Master Career Counselor, and was recently awarded the Outstanding Career Practitioner Award from the New York State Career Development Association. Ms. Berger has appeared as a guest expert on radio and television shows across the country and has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsday,Businessweek.com, and Monster.com, etc. For more information about Lynn and her practice, you may consult her website at www.lynnberger.com.
Manny Frishberg
For more than 30 years Manny has been a professional journalist and writer.
