You may have been thinking about transitioning to the career you want to work in. You may even have started taking a few steps to look into it. However, transitioning to a dream career is an important, and critical process.
I recently made the leap to the career I really want, from corporate life to being a full-time writer and entrepreneur. For the conservative accountant by trade that I am, it’s a BIG career transition. Yet it’s one that I’ve been anticipating for many years now. I’ve read so much about career transitions, and asked so many questions about it from others who went through it before I did, that when it was time to undergo my own, I had way too much information and not enough structure.
Here’s the thing about career transitions. They’re very personal, and quite complex. You have to make them your own, which means you also have to sift through all the available information out there, and turn it into simple steps you can follow. You know what they say about how to eat an elephant, piece by piece. Well, this is one BIG elephant, and you may want to tackle it piece by piece.
From my own experience and sifting through the gazillion types of advice available, here’s what I learnt about simplifying the career transition process down to seven manageable steps:
Get clear about your “Why”
This is a step that so many of us miss, because we’re too busy worrying about the logistics, finances, or other technical factors of career transitions. However, having awareness about where you stand at work and in life can mean a world of difference between a successful career transition and one that leaves you wanting for more.
Before starting anything new, especially something as new as a career transition, you want to identify your “why”. The last thing you want is to end up somewhere you hate more than where you initially were.
What to do: Ask yourself why you really want to do what you want to do? How will this make your life and career better? What are the risks and/or rewards involved?
Know what to expect
One of the biggest mistakes we make when doing a career transition is not being clear on what to expect. What does your new career consist in? Will you be using your skills and network to successfully transition from one career, or one job to the other?
It’s not just about following your bliss, and seeing where it will take you. Actually, according to scientific researcher and computer scientist Cal Newport, there’s a lower probability of being fulfilled in the long-term when you follow your passions then when using your existing career skills.
What to do: Research your prospective career and gather as much information as possible. Make an inventory of skills and connections in your prospective career and seek ways to connect with them.
Take your emotions into account
Very little is being said about the emotional toll it takes to undergo a career transition. It’s important to make space and room for your emotions during your transition There will be a certain amount of nostalgia as you leave one career, or job to another. There will also be a certain learning curve needed to adapt to your new career and environment.
One mistake I made when transitioning careers was to discount the role of my emotions. Instead, I tried to repress them, or blamed myself for them. I later learnt they’re a normal part of the process, and should be acknowledged for a better transition.
What to do:Acknowledge your feelings and use them as GPS to guide you through the process. Your emotions will serve you as a guide while you transition, pointing you to what fulfills you and what frustrates you. Being kind to yourself through the process will also help you ease into the challenges at hand.
Figure out the “How”
Once you’ve figured out your ‘Why”, and know what to expect, start working on your action plan. What are your goals when transitioning careers? How much time do you expect to need to meet your goals?
What to do: Write down each goal, focusing on the primary ones. Detail the steps necessary to accomplish these goals, such as trainings you’ll need to attend, events you’ll need to attend, people you’ll need to connect, etc. For each step, devise tasks to accomplish daily or weekly. This will help you get started, stay productive, while giving you the motivation you need to accomplish more.
Mind your brand
Your personal and professional brand shifts with each career transition. It’s not that you need to change who you are when transitioning to the career you want. As you progress and evolve, so does your personal and professional brand. Don’t hide all this progress, instead be willing to show and leverage it as you step on new grounds.
What to do: Adjust your resume, social media profiles (especially your Linked In profile), to reflect your evolving professional brand. Do not be afraid to show up as you are!
Track your progress!
Transitioning to the career you want is a process. It involves some ups and downs, as well as times when you may be accomplishing more than at other times. Track your progress, and learn from the process.
What to do: Keep a running list of tasks and deliverables associated with your transition. Assign yourself some deadlines and milestones to meet, and track your progress against these.
Get the support you need!
Last but not least, any type of career change or transition requires you to have the support you need to help you through it. Mobilize your posse, and share your journey’s ups and downs with your close family and friends. Take a break every now and then, and grab a drink with your favorite girlfriends.
In the same way, expand your professional network to include potential mentors and colleagues who can help you through your transition.
What to do: Get out of your shell, and let others help and support you! Ask your close circle of family and friends to take some things off your plate, like child support or administrative tasks, for instance. Reach out to and connect with potential mentors and colleagues who can help you through the process.
Here’s my YouTube video on the topic:
In Conclusion:
Get clear about your “Why”
Know what to expect
Take your emotions into account
Figure out the “How”
Mind your brand
Track your progress!
Get the support you need!
How did you prepare to transition to the career you wanted? What would you add to this list?
We’re a few weeks/days away from the start of another year, and the New Year’s Resolutions/Goals Machine, as I like to call it, is in full swing. Resolutions are being made, gym memberships are being shopped around, and goals are being set everywhere…
But after a few years of resolving to get back into a size 2, or finally get that certification (to advance in that job that you hate anyways), or finding the love/soulmate/perfect car/dream home/optimal temperature, you start realizing that maybe the whole goal-setting process is a teeny-weeny bit flawed…
Even when it works, after much grunting on the elliptical at that local super-expensive gym (until January 31st, after which we take a well-deserved break), it leaves us feeling like we’ve just run a marathon…Exhausted, a bit deflated, and looking forward to French bread soaked in full-fat French Brie…
Fast-forward a few years, after reading Danielle Laporte’s Desire Map while eating French bread soaked in full-fat French Brie a few days before the New Year, and goals started looking so different and so much more appealing…
“You’re not chasing a goal, you’re chasing a feeling you hope reaching the goal will give you” – Danielle La Porte
This sentence alone on the front cover of La Porte’s best-seller changed my entire view of goals for the rest of my life… If we’re setting goals to feel better about ourselves ( hello super pricey gym membership, sweaty sessions and half-pounds shrinkage), why don’t we start with how we want to feel?
Instead of shooting goals in the dark on the board of our lives and careers, hoping and praying and wishing that somehow they’ll deliver those feelings wrapped up in elegant Crate and Barrel gift boxes right at your doorstep…
How many of us have sat on the eve of a New Year, drawing lofty goals in beautiful journals? Or putting out in the Universe our desires for better jobs, more money, a bigger wardrobe, Giselle’s body? Or even, for the most down-to-earth among us, longer life, more health and prosperity and abundance, along with all the positive mantras you remember from that spiritual yoga class?
Yet how many of us turn around to simply say things like: “ I want to feel happier”, “I wish to feel more joy at work”, “I desire to feel more fulfilled in my career”, “I wish to feel more peace and freedom”?
I know I didn’t, until now…Instead, I put a price tag on what I thought was peace and freedom. It would have to be a certain position, a certain salary, a certain size, or a certain type of accomplishment….And right then and there, the race to do more, be more, have more started all over again…
No wonder by January 31st, most of us are ready to throw in the towel, plop our curvy selves on the couch, and binge-watch old reruns of “Sex and the City” while eating French bread soaked in French Brie…
I remember meeting this high-level executive who was at the top of her corporate game. Her list of accomplishments, letters after her name and honors was too long to elaborate on…And she still wanted to do more, year after year…
When asked about what motivates her and why she keeps piling on accomplishment after accomplishment, she simply said: “I want to feel good”…Whether she really did or not, the point is, she had been motivated all those years by the simple aspiration of feeling a certain way…
In one of my favorite books “Ask and It Is Given”, authors Esther and Jerry Hicks talk about using our emotions and feelings as a GPS system for our lives. Whereas the rest of the world tells us to set solid, rigid goals and work towards with unstoppable tenacity, what it tells us is simply to rely on what we already know about who we are and how we want to feel good…
What makes us feel good is an indication that we’re going in the right direction, and what doesn’t may force us to rethink our life route…As simple as that…Maybe too simple for the ambitious go-getters, goal-diggers we are…But how about going simple for once?
So this year, in the midst of all the busy-ness and to-do’s, my good ol’ “New Year’s Goal List” is getting a much deserved break… And instead is being replaced with these three simple questions:
How Do I Want to Feel?
When I asked myself this simple question, it literally turned me inside out. What happens when you face yourself with the simple realization of who you are and how you want to feel/live/experience things, is that you also start realizing everything else that stands in your way.
Whether it’s the grueling job, or the unsatisfying relationship, or the low self-esteem, you start seeing in contrast all the stuff that needs to go. And then, all of a sudden, there’s more room for all the stuff that needs to come in…
What Can I Do to Feel This Way?
For you, wanting to feel better about yourself may be a matter of starting a fitness routine. Or ditching the boyfriend. Or starting over in your career. It’s different from person to person.
Yet asking yourself the question, the very revealing question of what you need to do/change/start/stop/continue to feel the way you truly want to feel opens the door for action…
Instead of looking for a job because you want more money, more recognition, or just a better parking spot, you may look for a job that makes you smile, makes you feel more fulfilled, mo’better….Or instead of starting yet another diet that may crash within a week or so, you may want to start taking care of yourself from the inside first, cleaning up your relationships, picking exercise you enjoy, laughing a little more…
What Are My Desires For Next Year?
As Danielle La Porte says it so well in The Desire Map, desires are powerful. “With clear desire, you can say yes to the right opportunities”. Danielle La Porte
So what are your true desires for this new year/phase/time of your life and career? You know how you want to feel, and you’re starting to have an idea about things you may want to do to feel that way. Now it’s time to get clear about it all…
Going through this process (and I’m still going through it) surprised me. Heck, it actually shocked the hell out of me. You may come to realize that you don’t really want what you think you want. That you may not even really want the promotion, or the car, or the relationship, or fitting into a size 2 and giving up on cake for the rest of your life…
Whatever the outcome of this seemingly simple process, it will shed light on a journey only you can take. Instead of fitting in and setting general goals like everyone else, it may just steer you towards a life and career with more meaning, more depth and more YOU-ness in them…
This year, as you set your goals in whatever area of your life, consider asking yourself these simple questions…They may just change the game for you…
We’re about three weeks away from one of the most charged and tense elections we’ve seen in the US. Which also means as neutral as we may want to be, it can be a bit of a challenge to spend over eight hours plus at work day in and day out, without thinking or uttering a single word about politics. I mean, there are only so much office gossip and shoe sales you can discuss during coffee breaks…
I have to admit, while I tried as hard as possible to zip it at the office about anything remotely politics-related, it hasn’t always been effective. Especially when your next cubicle’s co-worker’s political rants have you beating your own typing record. Or when someone says something about last night’s debate that reminds you you haven’t had your daily dose of caffeine (or chocolate, or whatever it takes to balance your blood sugar)…
Yes, experts widely recommend the “zip-it” approach when it comes to talking politics at work. And yes, grating people’s world views and most intimate opinions can seriously create divisiveness in the office. Not to mention generate more work for HR…
If you’re going to talk about politics at work, which unless you’re made of steel or are getting ready to move to Canada (oops), you might as well check a few do’s on your list of “things to do to keep your job“:
DO Check Yourself.
As in: be aware of what sets you off when it comes to discussing politics. Personal topics, such as women’s rights, or immigration, can hit close to home, and evoke strong emotions. Except the workplace is just not that place where you can let those strong emotions loose…
So know what sets you off before even starting, or reacting, to a sensitive conversation at work. Use this to control your own emotions and response. And if you can’t, recognize the emotional signs of upset in you, and be willing to walk away…fast!
DO check in with the other person.
It’s easy to assume that the other person, or the rest of the group, wants to launch into a touchy political subject. Or that we’re close enough to them to lay our personal views bare for all to see and hear. But that could also be a damaging assumption that could wreak havoc on your work relationships…
So if you must crack the political joke of the century, or express your concern over the looming immigration reform, make sure to check in first. As in, asking the other person if they’re open to such a discussion. A simple ” I’m open to discussing this issue, and am not trying to impose my views. Would it be ok if I explained how I view this situation, so I can better understand where you stand as well?” Yes, it’s called “diplomacy”, and it’s good for you too…
Do Check Your Facts.
There’s a lot of information available out there. Every time you scroll Facebook, log into your Instagram, or get ready to tweet something. And a lot of that information is not exactly accurate…
So before you launch into a sensitive conversation about politics at work, please consider checking your facts. If you’re not sure of the supporting figures backing up your argument, it’s ok to ask for a time-out until you can actually do some fact-checking of your own. Just politely stop the conversation, and say something to the effect of: ” I would like the opportunity to research this a bit further. Can we table this for now, and pick it up later when I can bring some more insight into the conversation?”
Are you checking for these three things before talking about politics at work? What has been your experience?
The last episode of the “House of Healing: The Myth of the Angry Black Woman” aired yesterday on OWN, and I have to say, I was glued to the screen. As in I was in internal talks with my bladder to hold off until the end of the episode…
In this four-part series, spiritual healer, minister and life coach, as well as a personal inspiration of mine, Iyanla Vanzant, tackles the very pervasive “angry black woman” stereotype. Eight African-American women from various professional and personal backgrounds were brought together in the “House of Healing”, where Iyanla helped them examine the pain and brokenness they all felt and acted out as “angry black women” as a result of abandonment and abusive pasts.
When I first came upon the initial episodes, I frankly thought this may be yet another one of the reality shows filling our screens these days. Yet, as I looked more closely, I was riveted to the screen, and most importantly to the stories of these women. As I listened to Lira recounting how she was abandoned by her father, or Chrystale dealing with being estranged from her mother, or Jaimeka coming to terms with her childhood trauma, I felt a disturbing, yet familiar sense of belonging.
Like so many Black women, I too was raised in a single-parent household where Mommy was both Mom and Dad. Where you had to be strong and tough, and being a daddy’s girl was for others, not for you. Where men were not to be trusted, and being realistic was more important than being happy. Which also means hiding the pain of abandonment and betrayal under a hard shell of self-sufficiency and bravery that can come off, and very often does, as “attitude”.
And can we talk about the fact that, according to a Black Women’s Blueprint study, 60% of Black girls have experienced sexual abuse from black men before the age of 18? Those are statistics that are often hidden by the code of silence in the Black community, yet merely start to reveal the trauma so many Black women silently conceal their entire lives. Those are the same women who are still grieving, and don’t know how, neither do have the adequate tools, to embody the love they’ve never received or experienced…The same women who may struggle to find life partners and husbands, and/or may be left raising kids on their own…The same women who may see a reflection of themselves in other women, and dislike them in the same way they dislike themselves…
Don’t get me wrong…This is not to excuse any questionable behavior in any way. Yet what Iyanla has achieved in this four-part event is show what’s really behind the curtains of so many Black women’s lives. To demonstrate that the “angry black woman” stereotype is not just a stereotype. That it’s actually a myth rooted in the fact that as a society, we haven’t yet fully grasped the depth and width of the experiences making up a vital layer of our society. That unless we can understand and hear the stories that are not always being told, we continue to deny them. And that once we can understand them, then we can all heal…
All of us, including the men in our lives, our partners, fathers, sons, brothers and cousins. I caught both the hubby and my father-in-law trying to conceal their emotions as they watched these women’s testimonies on-screen. And it made me smile inside…
Whether we want it or not, when one part of the fabric of society is affected, we’re all affected. Every time the “angry black woman” stereotype arises, whether at work, within our families, on TV, on social media or any other forum, we all suffer from it, starting with the so-called “angry black woman” herself. And instead of helping us all heal, it deepens the hurt and perpetuates the stigma.
As Iyanla puts it so well, “I’m not my sister’s keeper, I am my sister”. What we see in others exists in ourselves. When a fellow sister is hurt, her pain rolls over to us, leaving us hurt as well. When she heals, we all heal too.
And when we finally can see that there are no “angry black women”, but rather women who need to heal, women who need to be embraced, women silently screaming for help, then we can destroy the myth and welcome the peace.
So thank you, Ms. Vanzant, thank you for daring to lift the curtain on the sometimes ugly, yet always redemptive, truth behind the lives of so many women. As for you, “Angry Black Woman” myth, I’ve got two words for you: “Bye Felicia!”
For a few weeks after I lost my sister, I lost my voice. Literally. I couldn’t speak, or write, or even think clearly for a while. Something inside of me went numb for some time, then rose in uncontrollable anger, then later subsided in the depths of my soul, (still) looking for peace and closure of some kind. If you’ve grieved for someone you’ve lost, physically or spiritually, you may be nodding as you’re reading…
In the wake of the recent shootings, I was reminded yet again what it feels like to deal with something you don’t understand, and grieve for a pain you can’t exactly put a qualifier on. And so are most of us witnessing, from close or far, the traumatic events of the past few months…
We may not personally know the victims or all of those involved. Yet our human voice intimately recognizes them, as it alternately goes numb, rises in anger, drops in sadness, and searches around for peace, understanding and closure…And very often, we’re not sure what to do with that voice. Not sure whether we should let it roam free, expressing itself as it feels when it feels it? Or whether to restrain it, using logic, reason and other grown-up mental boxes, only letting out what is politically correct enough? Or even if we should park it somewhere for a while, until we figure out what to do with all our feelings and emotions?
Every time humanity is violated, our human voices are awakened from their torpor, warning us of a need to restore peace and order in the fabric of life. We have an opportunity to use it to grieve, channel it to regain our power and inspire others. But we also can struggle with it, not quite sure how to push aside the walls of convenience and political correctness…
After my sister passed, I didn’t know what to do with my voice. I couldn’t be angry forever, or just choose to ignore the pain. Both alternatives certainly lessened the pain, but they also left me empty, unfulfilled and endlessly reaching for carbs. I could use it instead, but how? And what for? Would it even be worth it? It wouldn’t bring her back, or change the stark reality of things. What was the point?
I believe grief is not just a healing process, it’s also a transformative one. We often grieve without even realizing it, as we watch terrible news online, witness tragedy around us, or fill our time with busy work to avoid the hard stuff. What we don’t often do, is grab that grief by its ugly, slippery black collar, shake it, and let all the real good stuff come out of it through our voice.
Real good stuff that can help us not just regain our power, but multiply the positive effects of our voices as citizens, sisters, brothers, moms, dads, uncles, aunts, human beings:
Use Your Platform
We all have a platform. All.of.us. Whether it’s within our families, our circle of friends, at work, at church, on the subway…Wherever we may find ourselves at any moment can serve as a platform. One where we can live, embody and speak our truth, while still respecting the boundaries of others’ freedom and truth…
You may not have Beyonce or Issa Rae’s platform of millions of fans and followers. Yet, wherever you may be, you have a platform in which you can use your voice for good. Whether it’s starting a fund, or spreading understanding instead of hatred, or writing a blog post, you can effect change wherever you are.
Strategically direct your voice
When we think of using our voices, we may think of protesting or organizing movements. Which is all good and well, when done respectfully and in peace. But real power, real influence, is effected when we can not just use our voices, but control HOW we use them.
Having kids has taught me that authority and power doesn’t come from forcefully using my voice and exerting my influence. Power comes from strategically directing your voice. By owning your message and choosing the most effective, peaceful, high-impact medium to channel it. Remember Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile? Her calm and politeness had more effect than any protest in exposing an excruciatingly difficult situation.
For some of us, it’s through our art. For others, it’s through our material resources. For all of us, it’s first and foremost in how we choose to live our lives and embody the freedom and love that binds us all, regardless of race, gender, nationality and creed.
Face the Conflict
Let’s be real…Many of us would rather avoid difficult conversations, especially when they revolve around race, religion or politics. We’d rather turn a blind eye and deaf ear, if only not to deal with our own grief. Yet what we may not realize is that it also robs us of our power. There’s something inside you that gets smaller every time you let go of an opportunity to use your voice for good.
Facing the conflict isn’t about resorting to violence or letting anger take over. It’s about being willing to have the difficult, painful conversations so many of us avoid. It’s about taking the curtain down, and telling the truth about how we feel, without blame or condemnation. It’s saying “This hurts, and it has to change”.
How will you be using your voice to regain your power and effect change in the wake of the recent shootings?
