What To Do When You
Don't Know What To Do Next In Your Career
Feeling like you
don't know what you want to do when you grow up? Here's a five-point plan.
Think about how many times a year you work on
something you really love. For product designer Daniel Kim, it’s about four per
year. In 2012, at a mentor’s memorial service, Kim did some tough math. With
roughly 25 years left in his career, he had time to work on just about 100 more
projects.
That may seem
like a lot, but Kim was CEO of online game company Nexon America at the time.
As such, he was removed from the design process, which is what he really loved
about his career, he says. He wasn’t feeling fulfilled, and the thought of the
finite number of projects he could potentially work on during the remainder of
his career spurred him to take action. In 2013, he and his family moved to
Seoul to take a position with Daylight Design.
The start of
solving most dilemmas is getting specific information about the situation.
"Instead of staying at Nexon and playing
the role of an executive at a pretty big company, I decided to look for a
different opportunity to roll up my sleeves and work as a designer again,"
he says.
Whether it’s lack
of satisfaction with work or a nagging feeling of, "I don’t know what I
want to be when I grow up, but this may not be it," such uncertainty is
common for adults who have achieved some measure of success, says Nicholas Dillon, The Believe
Coach.
When you hit that point in your career where
you’re a little lost and feel as though you may be on the wrong path, do you
just tough it out? Or do you take action to get to answers? How do you know
whether you need a small "reset" or a wholesale career reboot?
Experts explain how to the find answers.
The start of
solving most dilemmas is getting specific information about the situation.
Start by being mindful about your day, Dillon says. It may be useful to write
down your feelings about what is making you unhappy. If the issue is a person
with whom you have a conflict or specific tasks that you don’t enjoy, then you
may be able to make modifications
to improve the situation. However, if you are feeling like
you’re truly in the wrong career, more significant changes may be necessary.
As you hone in
on why you’re not feeling fulfilled, you can begin to integrate activities to
address those needs in your downtime, says life coach Talane Miedaner,
author of the best-selling book Coach
Yourself to a New Career. "The
good thing is your brain doesn't actually distinguish that much between work
and play," she says, "so you could do a hobby in the evening, like
how a lot of times people de-stress by cooking."
That’s not to
say that a perfect beef Wellington is going to solve your career woes, but
integrating creative and tactile experiences can make you happier overall,
Miedaner says. A study published in the September 2014 issue of the Journal
of Occupational and Organizational Psychology found that having creative experiences outside of work actually
improves job performance and creativity at work.
If you’re truly not fulfilled and efforts to
make the situation better aren’t working, it’s time to prepare for change,
Miedaner says. If you feel you’ve moved away from what you truly want to do,
then it’s time to get back in touch with it, she says. Schedule some
informational interviews or lunches with people who are happy in their careers
and doing things you think you might want to do. Ask questions.
Also, devote some time to building your new
network. Attend events or conferences that will put you in the midst of people
who are in your chosen field. Get as much exposure as possible to the areas in
which you want to move. This will both help you build contacts and see
opportunities.
Speaking with
people who are working in the field will help ensure you haven’t developed a
glamorized version of what you think you want to do without understanding the
realities. Some companies are creating internship programs for experienced
workers, while Pivot
Planet is a company that will help put you in
touch with people who work in your chosen field.
Before you make the leap, understand what you
need to know and learn it. Shannon Swindle had a good job in higher education
with a steady paycheck and benefits, but she was unhappy with how much time her
son had to be in daycare.
When she needed
to care for her ailing father, she felt the pressure mount and realized that
she needed a more flexible, creative setting that would give her more control
over her time. Her brothers had recently launched Utter Nonsense, a game company, and wanted someone to help them with marketing.
Swindle read everything she could on how to promote and publicize products. She
joined the company in 2014 and hasn’t looked back.
"It has changed my life," says
Swindle. "I’ve learned so many new skills. I have gained confidence,"
she explains, adding, "Now, I have time to become part of a
community." Swindle also says she has a new set of transferrable skills
that she can take to another company if she ever needs to do so in the future.
Not everyone can jump to a new job without
adequate preparation, Dillon says. Creating a plan is important for most people
to make a change and still be able to pay for food and shelter.
First, look at the reasons you’re staying in
your current job. You may be comfortable or feel trapped. What are the risks
that you’re willing to take to improve your situation? How can you overcome
some of the obstacles that stand in the way?
Then, look
at where
you want to go. Do you want to change your career entirely
or move to a new job within your area of expertise? You may have transferrable
skills or other experience working in your favor that may , Dillon says.
Feeling like you don’t know where you should
go next in your career is normal. Get a handle on whether you’re dealing with a
touch of burnout or are in need of a major overhaul, says Dillon. While they
require different approaches, both can be rectified.
GWEN MORAN
https://www.fastcompany.com/3064179/work-smart/what-to-do-when-you-dont-know-what-to-do-next-in-your-career
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