Perhaps you are part of the 50% of American workers who want a job or career change. Something happened during the Pandemic and Protests that made you desire change. What was it? And if, after reflection, you think change is your choice, how do you manage it well?
We think that a simple acronym might help:
Pause – Assess – Create.
PAUSE. Reflect on your thoughts and feelings. What happened or what didn’t happen during the past year and a half that has caused you to be dissatisfied? The more you can qualify and quantify the dissatisfaction, the better your results will be. When you are changing job roles, we want you to ascertain that your issue is primarily “out there” and not “in here.”
What do you want your new job role to look like? Take time to dream big. What’s your list of 20 things that you want? And what is your priority? Often the “list of 20” begins with what you don’t want. What – or who – frustrated you in your current role? Once you get those thoughts out of your head and on a piece of paper, turn the ‘I don’t want’ into ‘What I want.’ Framing positive language is an important step in the process.
ASSESS. In this step, you step out of emotions and desires and into practicality. You’ve made your list of what you desire. Now look at yourself – your knowledge, skills, experience, and network. What do you have, and what do you need? And what is realistically being offered in the marketplace? As you assess, give thought to timing and your sense of urgency. What’s required? If you have a trusted advisor, this is a good time to ask questions about how your skills and promotional goals would be viewed by recruiters.
CREATE. You’ve determined what you want. You’ve assessed and perhaps readjusted to have a nice stretch goal that feels achievable. Write down the goal. Include the what, the when, the why, and the when. All of it.
Using your business skills, create your straightforward plan.
- Who do you need to connect with?
- What needs refreshing? (Your resume? LinkedIn? Interview skills?)
- What are your specific goals each week, and what is the deliverable?
- How will you monitor your energy and success? Who will hold you accountable?
If it’s time to move on, we want you to be very successful in the transition. You deserve the best career, and the world needs your best work.
Each step in this straightforward process helps you move closer to what Steve Jobs once said about working: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
If you find this helpful and want to know more, please get in touch! I’m here for you! Contact me. We offer job transition assistance, we have some great referral partners, and we have two books to recommend. Crush Your Career by Dee Ann Turner and The 2-hour Job Search by Steve Dalton.
Keep us posted!
