In this article, Career Coach Kiki Stanton shares tips to help anyone navigating a career change including how to own your personal and professional development and get the job satisfaction you have been looking for!
According to Kiki, it’s never too early, or too late, and we agree! The careers advice in this article is designed to empower you to make the leap no matter your age.
Kiki describes her approach to career coaching as a heart-centred approach. “Remember you have a heart in you, we are all unique and we all have a purpose. Seeking deeper insight and alignment, it’s time to make the career change. The time is right!
“After having experienced immense grief as a young child when losing our mum to cancer, me hating school, having had a successful career within recruitment and HR then experiencing burnout, retraining and starting over several times within my career, and also navigating a cancer journey of my own – all under the age of 40!”.
I ask you these four questions because how you answer them will determine how you read this article and what you take away and implement.
Our lives change. We change. The world changes. And it’s ok for us to change our jobs – careers evolve, develop, we un-learn, re-learn, grow, and take action.
In my 22-year career working within HR, Recruitment, Coaching and Training, I have seen careers transition, change, and people evolve. We no longer have a job for life, the world of work has developed into hybrid working, freelancing, multi-passionate work, and remote working.
Changing careers is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but whatever your reasons for wanting to do something different, a carefully planned move can turn out to be incredibly rewarding and purposeful. A new career, in a new job role, can put your life on the right track.
If you’ve got your heart set on changing careers, the first thing you’ll need to do is research for your job search. Even if it’s for just a few minutes on a day-to-day basis, dedicating some time to proper research will help you pick the right career.
For some careers you may need to consider further study or professional training. It’s never too late to retrain in another field or industry – having life experience behind you when heading back to university can work to your advantage in fulfilling career move.
One industry that values life experience is financial advice. When it comes to the financial services profession, there is often a perception that those with a certain level of experience or qualifications gained throughout a previous career are more suited to delivering robust financial advice.
In reality, it’s helpful to look at the average age of financial advisers as a reflection of the changing demographics and lifestyles of those pursuing this profession:
For example, Zac Cambourne, who transitioned from teacher to financial adviser at age 38, undertook a six-month programme at St. James’s Place Financial Adviser Academy where he achieved his Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and built up his technical knowledge and advisory skills as well.
It was a combination of the skills he acquired from teaching as well as the opportunity to gain qualifications through the Academy that allowed him to pivot his career and set up his own financial advice business.
If you’re happy with your current job and work conditions but you’d like a new challenge, you don’t necessarily have to change jobs – enquire with your HR department or manager about any available continuing professional development opportunities.
Once you know the path you’d like to pursue, you can start seeking opportunities. Update your professional profiles to clearly state your intention to change career paths or industries and give details of the skills and experience you have that will be well-suited.
The benefits of changing careers and finding fulfilling work can have a positive impact on your physical and mental health, your relationships, your self-esteem, and emotional well-being.
There is no set formula when it comes to changing careers – and that applies to age as well. The average person will now change careers five to seven times during their working life according to career change statistics.
Whether you’ve just started your working life and are looking to explore new options or you’ve spent significant time working in a particular role or profession and are ready to try something new, there could be a multitude of reasons why a person might decide to switch career paths:
Being proactive in your development – even if it can feel rudimentary to go back to basics and learning something new! – is key in ensuring you are ready for what comes next.
Start with self-reflection. Get to know your values, what matters most to you, and what kind of work brings you joy and satisfaction.
Self-develop, read, and listen to podcasts to develop your thinking. Think of your career as a process, not a ladder. You are the driver of your career – be proactive!
1. Embrace your strengths.
2. Identify your talents, skills, and career timeline from your life so far to present.
3. Get to know your authentic self (the inner you: “you can never establish a personal relationship without opening up your own heart”).
4. Know your skill gaps and get to work on them (develop yourself).
5. Map out your career development plan.
6. Create the consistency with your actions to develop and evolve your career plan.
7. Take action and be intentional with your career development plan.
8. Use positive affirmations to help you challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. Using them often, repeating them will help you believe in them. You can start to make positive changes.
9. Filter your thoughts, feed your thoughts, fight through your thoughts, focus on the present.
A career change does not just impact your professional life, but your personal one too. If you’re early on in your working life, it can be nerve-racking to launch a new venture that could impact your career for years to come.
If you’re a seasoned careerist, you might be apprehensive to steer away from a profession or role that you are comfortable with. However, changing careers should never be a head-vs-heart decision: moreover, it is important to address how you really feel about a career change before taking the leap. Remind yourself:
In short, no. It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young – a career change can be a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to take control of their own professional development. What does matter, however, is the following:
Once you have reflected on what matters to you, you are in a far stronger position to decide what you want, and how you want to get there:
This article was originally published on the St James’s Place website. You can read the original article and connect with Kiki here.
Find out more about the opportunities with St. James’s Place Financial Adviser Academy on their Featured Company Profile page.
You can also connect with SJP by editing your profile and updating your connect with featured companies preferences to start a conversation.
Read two inspirational real-life career change adviser stories “From Banking to Financial Advice” and “From Investment Banking to Financial Advice below.
