The Invisible Mentor

During a period of incredible change, I though that I’d revisit  email interviews I conducted a few years ago where the interviewees explained how to switch careers. Read and let me know what you think.

Simon Grant

I have walked away from a career twice. The first time I did it for love (met a woman on holiday, moved to Sweden, worked washing dishes till I got a chance to start again in a Swedish company in a new industry). The second time I simply stopped having fun in my career and so quit and went backpacking for a year with my now wife, changed country again and had to start from (almost) scratch again.

In both cases and as a general guide, I think a successful transition is about understanding that you need to “earn your stripes” with those whom you start working with. You should never expect respect. Gaining respect is not just about what you know or the decisions you make, but, about the passion that you bring to your role and how you treat your co-workers. It’s not impossible, but it’s damn hard to be successful without the support and respect of your co-workers.

Nanci Govinder

Moving from one career to another is perhaps one of the most stressful and enjoyable experiences one can have in one’s professional life. Often people do not fulfill their true desires in terms of a career as they studied to do something and are fearful of change. I have made many transitions in my professional life and loved each step–from a scientist to a career in marketing and general management, to a research associate in an international business school to currently being a coach, teacher and speaker.

Here are some tips to change careers I would like to share with you:

Be clear about what you want

Deep down, we all know what we truly desire but are too afraid to even articulate it to ourselves. To get started, write down some things that you achieved between the ages of 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25. These must be things that bring a smile to your face when you recall them.

Write it down

This is a really important step as seeing your ‘dream’ on paper, starts the process of making it a reality. If you just talk about it or think about it, it remains just that, a pipe dream.

Find role models or mentors

During this process, people close to you tend to project their fears on you and tell you what a bad idea it is and how foolish you are to leave a ‘good job with good prospects blah, blah, blah.’ Don’t listen to them. They are just projecting their fears.

Transition part-time

We all have financial commitments and obligations and it can be a big step to make dramatic changes. Find ways to ease into your new career if you can. I reduced my full-time job to three days a week and spent the other two days working on my company and creating my network. When the time came to leave, I felt confident and at ease to work full time in my company.

List your fears

We all have fears. We are afraid of failure, being embarrassed, humiliated, being successful and so on. What are you afraid of? It’s important to state your fear and to realize that fear is just a thought or belief that you have

These are the tips that Simon and Nanci would like to share with you if you decided that you wanted a career change.

Let’s keep the conversation going, please comment. If you enjoy this blog please help to spread the word. Thank you!

No related posts.

Comments are closed.