Finding A New Career Direction: 6 Ways That Work

"Sometimes, in the winds of change, we find our true direction."
- Anonymous

In this ezine, we usually discuss how we can initiate changes ourselves to move in the direction of our dream career and our dream income. Sometimes, though, as this week's quotation suggests, change comes to us.

This change can come about in many ways.

For instance (and this is true for many in today's economy) we lose our job. Or we reach an intersection in our career where we come to a fork in the road, e.g., we're offered a promotion which entails a move to another city. Family circumstances change and our part-time job needs to become full time. And so on.

On the surface, these changes may seem to be random, but they seldom are. In my nearly 20 years experience in helping people find their right career niche, I heard again and again, "If I hadn't been forced to make this change, I never would have found my real vocation, or my dream career."

From the perspective of time, looking back, we can see that what seemed to be a disaster was really life saying, "It's time for you to go in THIS direction."

How many former autoworkers, for example, ever thought they would become nurses?

Many of them are because of a special program in the Detroit area offering retraining for autoworkers who have lost their jobs. When they are interviewed, some of them are still bemused, wondering how this happened. But they are not displeased. In fact, most of them see this opportunity to learn a whole new skill set and acquire education in a respected profession as an unexpected gift in what seemed at first a devastating setback.

Although it creates self-empowering momentum to act on our own behalf to uncover that dream career and dream income, it is also true that sometimes life hands us that very opportunity through some significant change.

So how do we mine for the gold in these big changes?

There are several key steps to go through:

First of all, it's important to not deny our initial feelings about the change. There is very often real grief and fear that have to be processed. If we've lost a job, we have to leave our work friends; we wonder what we'll do with our days; our income will be cut substantially and we wonder how we'll replace it or even better it.

So processing the feelings as they come up is primary. I had a client who told me that each night after her career transition class, she'd get on her treadmill and allow herself to cry as she processed her anger and grief. But, by the end of our 4-week program, she was no longer crying and had developed a whole new, optimistic mindset.

Next, we should ask ourselves some key questions: Is there something I've always wanted to do but never had the time for? Could this be the time to start a new business? How would I do that? Who would I need to talk to? Do I need new training? What kind of assistance could I get to go back to school?

Third, we should form an informal support group. Get together a group of 3-5 people-friends, former colleagues, relatives-to help you stay on track with your new career search or new business. They will prevent you from fooling yourself by keeping you accountable. They will also be your biggest supporters.

Fourth, explore what is new and interesting in the world and discover how your skills and abilities could fit with the new occupations and enterprises. Most new job growth is in small, entrepreneurial companies. Find them.

Fifth, ask yourself seriously where 'life' might be leading you through this unexpected change. If you ask the question in that way, rather than 'Why me?' you'll get a better answer.

Finally, develop a sense of fun! If you can look on this period as a time of exploration rather than as a time of gloom, you'll be sure to find that new career direction you've been seeking.