Careers centre
Career changes
You are just a few decisions away from a new vocation
Whether your attitude to life is “all change” or “small change”, it’s highly likely that at some point in your career trajectory you’ll start getting itchy feet. When this happens, be prepared to get the pen and paper out, and start asking yourself a few searching questions.
What to do if you feel like you need a career change
- Spend some time thinking about who you are, what you value and what you want out of life generally. Careers advice blogger Penelope Trunk suggests we are motivated by three things: winning, building relationships or honing a craft.
- Think about previous roles you have really enjoyed - what made them so special? Was it the tasks you were doing, the kind of people you worked with, the culture of the organisation? Try to be as specific as possible.
- Turning to roles that you have really disliked - what were the issues? Was the job too mundane, too stretching? Was your line manager a nightmare? Why?
- Start brainstorming ideas that interest you and some possible career options - it can be helpful to ask friends to help you (a glass of wine often helps get creative juices flowing!).
…Now that you have some idea of what you need (and what you need to avoid) in a job:
- Shortlist a few ideas, and start researching properly. Does the reality of the role match your expectations? Who can you talk to? Don’t be afraid to use your contacts – people love to help.
- Test the water: if a job as a teacher appeals, rather than immediately signing up for a PCGE, get a few days work experience in a school. Talk to the staff, sit in on a few lessons... is this something you'd like to do? This will raise your confidence that you're making the right choice, and it will also indicate on your CV that you’re not just changing careers on a whim.
- Remember that this doesn't have to be a lifetime choice. Although not jumping around too much is sensible in terms of career progression, not many people expect (or want) to stay in the same job for life these days. Even if you don’t stick at what you eventually choose forever, taking time to plan your next career move properly will set you up with the tools you need to make further choices.
Our section on defining your goals may also help give you an idea of how to translate your careers ideals into reality.
Many thanks to Tamsin Crook at Making Careers Work for her help with this article.
Whether your attitude to life is “all change” or “small change”, it’s highly likely that at some point in your career trajectory you’ll start getting itchy feet. When this happens, be prepared to get the pen and paper out, and start asking yourself a few searching questions.
What to do if you feel like you need a career change
- Spend some time thinking about who you are, what you value and what you want out of life generally. Careers advice blogger Penelope Trunk suggests we are motivated by three things: winning, building relationships or honing a craft.
- Think about previous roles you have really enjoyed - what made them so special? Was it the tasks you were doing, the kind of people you worked with, the culture of the organisation? Try to be as specific as possible.
- Turning to roles that you have really disliked - what were the issues? Was the job too mundane, too stretching? Was your line manager a nightmare? Why?
- Start brainstorming ideas that interest you and some possible career options - it can be helpful to ask friends to help you (a glass of wine often helps get creative juices flowing!).
…Now that you have some idea of what you need (and what you need to avoid) in a job: - Shortlist a few ideas, and start researching properly. Does the reality of the role match your expectations? Who can you talk to? Don’t be afraid to use your contacts – people love to help.
- Test the water: if a job as a teacher appeals, rather than immediately signing up for a PCGE, get a few days work experience in a school. Talk to the staff, sit in on a few lessons... is this something you'd like to do? This will raise your confidence that you're making the right choice, and it will also indicate on your CV that you’re not just changing careers on a whim.
- Remember that this doesn't have to be a lifetime choice. Although not jumping around too much is sensible in terms of career progression, not many people expect (or want) to stay in the same job for life these days. Even if you don’t stick at what you eventually choose forever, taking time to plan your next career move properly will set you up with the tools you need to make further choices.
Our section on defining your goals may also help give you an idea of how to translate your careers ideals into reality.
Many thanks to Tamsin Crook at Making Careers Work for her help with this article.
