How to Make A Career Change | Part I - Should I quit my job?

This is the first part of my insights and observations on how to make a career change from one industry to another. I'm going to cover from making the decision, to deciding what industry/roles are right for you, right to how to succeed in the change.

My Story:

As you can see from my previous posts, I recently left one of the big 4 accountancy firms where I was a graduate trainee accountant. I successfully made a career move to Human Resources and can honestly say I love my job, it is a much better fit for me and I no longer get the "Sunday night" feeling that I had every working night when I was an accountant. Having invested so much time, perspiration and money in my education, from secondary school to studying Economics at University, to obtaining what my social circles regarded as one of the best graduate roles around, it was so difficult deciding to leave. This decision was compounded by the fact I'd invested 1.5 years into the scheme that would have been complete in 3 years, and after completion I'd be a qualified accountant, able to see a salary of £40k ish a year at 24 years old and economic stability for the future - not bad?

Reading back over what I have just written it feels like a no-brainer, I was still young (still am, I hope!) and hadn't had that much career experience, so starting afresh doesn't look like too much of a biggie.. however, so much was invested in me (mainly by my family), and I was so lucky in obtaining a great education, I felt I needed to, and wanted so much to make a success of my career so I desperately wanted to stick out the graduate role. There are people out there who have been in careers for much longer and are far wiser than myself who have made the change successfully, so my feat pales in comparison. However every experience to each person is relative to what they have already experienced, so to my short career, this was the biggest decision ever!

What is success for you?

Some of the most helpful careers advice I found was.. imagine your life in 5, or 10 years time. What would you like it to look like? What would success mean to you in those 5 or 10 years? And really consider whether your current role could bring this for you.

In time I found that I can create my own definition of success, as can we all. Success for me is having a career and life that I love, where I am contributing positively to the world, and sharing amazing experiences with people that I love. I know success for some of my friends is their monetary/career achievements, success for others may be in raising a family, or sporting achievements. It's taken time for me to realise that and also to appreciate how great it is that as humans we are lucky enough to even have these choices!

In defining my own success, I eventually realised that accountancy role was not success for me.. and the below are all considerations I had when considering if staying in my current role was an option:

- LONG TERM: does the role help satisfy what you see as your purpose in life? Could you contribute more to the world/your own happiness in another job? If this role does fit in to your long term plan, it may be worth harbouring the short term discomfort for a long term gain.

- If today was your last day in the world, would you be content with what you did today? (Good Steve Jobs quote..) Consider this post on making decisions for more than this.

If this role does not fit in to your long term plan, and you serious consider leaving, then move on to Part II - how to decide what career to move to, and practicalities of moving.

If this role fulfils your long term purpose and you do decide to stay, then the following tips may help increase your fulfilment in the short term:

• Consider volunteering for (shock horror) more work! I found volunteering for events such as recruitment events, meeting new joiners and making myself have a large role in coaching these, getting involved in diversity events, joining in with sports teams and the women's group, and charity events all really helped me enjoy the role much more. All these were organised in work time, so sending and receiving emails about these thoroughly brightened my work day. They have the added benefits of being relevant to my career move (I moved to a recruitment specialism of HR, therefore could talk about big 4 recruitment in my interviews for a HR role.. this can also be applied to your situation, I'll give more examples in the next post)

• Work out exactly what it is that makes you dread work. For example, is it a specific project/colleague/client or the general atmosphere of your work environment? If it is changeable and will have a large impact on your fulfilment, try your best to change it. If it is not changeable, then do your best to stay positive and think what you could learn from each situation. Difficult colleagues are everywhere (more prevalent in some workplaces, so you may be unlucky!) therefore see it as a great way to develop your people skills and patience. If the atmosphere may be different at a bigger or smaller company in your industry, consider making that move.

• Also consider secondments/horizontal movement at your current company if possible. I would advise not shouting about your lack of contentment in your current role (it may be obvious to those who know you well, so I'd advise not taking too long over your decision to leave!), but being really open and positive about ALL opportunities and your company will stand you in good stead.

Remember - so many people become used to mediocrity and do not push their own boundaries or comfort zone, for fear of the unknown. Make the jump and push your boundaries - life is what you make it!