If you dream about career change or you have plans of a career shifting, but do not act on that dream, you may be operating under the assumption of a career switch myth. In this post, I expose 10 myths/sayings you have heard before about career change that simply are not true. Let us explore these job change myths one after the other.
You can not make a living doing something you really, truly love – 1st Career Shifting Myth
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This is the grand-daddy of career shifting myths, the belief that you cannot have a “practical” successful career doing something that you were passionate about. It has to be one or the other.
This myth is deeply rooted in fear. Fear that we have to sacrifice our happiness to make a living. Do not buy the fallacy that you can not earn a living by doing what you love.
When I first started coaching, I heard from plenty of people that it would be very difficult to make a living doing this work. I just decided to find coaches who were successful, and to learn from them (simple, eh?). Making a career change that suits your personality can be as easy as I have done. The thing is for you to believe in yourself and associate with professionals in that job change area.
If you find yourself buying into this misbeliefs of starting a new career, consider this question – As you look back on your life, what will you regret more? Following your passion or following your fears?
It is a tough job market/economy – 2nd Switch Jobs Myth
Even when the newspapers and other news sources say that unemployment numbers remain steady; job growth is at a standstill, or that we are experiencing slow economic recovery, not to mention downsizing and outsourcing, do not believe it. You can actually switch jobs and live a happier life provided that your present career does not give you the much peace you deserve.
It is a myth because it does not reflect the whole story, the fact that there is a different job market today. It is a changing economy. How we transition from job-to-job is different. Hiring practices have shifted. So the job market has changed, but that does not necessarily make it tougher. What makes it tougher is that we have been slower to change. We have held on to old practices and old behaviors. That is not to say that old ways still do not work, but they are just not as effective.
So I challenge you to just believe that there is a perfect job market for you to find work. I have had my college students try this, just for a week, and, more times than not, several of them find job leads or make important connections during the week.
Changing careers is risky – 3rd Starting a New Career Myth
What is riskier than leaving what you know to pursue the unknown? Changing careers means leaving behind a piece of your identity – your “I am a lawyer” response to the “what-do-you-do?” question. It might mean admitting to yourself that you made a mistake with an initial career choice. Or it might mean acknowledging that you are unsure of what is next. And smart people always know what is next, right?
Nope. Successful career changers often do not have a plan. Starting a new career decision should be made out of passion and strong desire to achieve all round success in life. In Working Identity: How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality by Herminia Ibarra, she provided evidence that waiting until you have a plan is actually riskier than just doing and experimenting.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, is riskier than not changing careers if you are longing to do so. Here is why: The longing won’t go away. It will always be there, under the surface, waiting for you to do something about it.
Always have a back-up plan – 4th Career Change Myth
Sometimes having a back-up plan is the smart and prudent course of action. Back-up plans are so grown-up and responsible. But what happens when you are standing with one foot in and one foot out? In my experience, we usually close the door and retreat. We are reluctant to commit to ourselves, and we end up denying ourselves the satisfaction of playing full-out, getting dirty and sweaty. We end up with feelings of regret and the nagging “What if?” question.
Back-up plans diffuse our energy when it comes to making a career change. Diffused energy equals diffused results. Give all that you have got to your dream/passion/risk and you have got a better chance of being successful.
There is a perfect job out there for everyone – 5th Job Change Myth
How long have you been searching for yours? You just know, deep inside, that there is an ideal job that is perfect for you out there. It matches your personality, skills, and interests to a tee. And it pays well. If only you could figure it out. If only you knew what it was.
Is there a perfect job out there for you? No. And here is the good news – there are more jobs than you can imagine that would be “perfect” for you. Chances are you have even come very, very close to a few of those perfect jobs already. So what happened? And how do you recognize one of these so-called “perfect jobs”?
Ever see the perfect gift for someone, but it was months till his or her birthday? Then when you go to find the item later, you can not. Another lost opportunity and you, once again, berate yourself for not buying it when you first saw it.
So maybe you have run into a perfect job in the past, but because of the timing, you passed by the opportunity. Or maybe you were so focused on something else, that you missed an obvious clue. Instead of dwelling on the past, which you can’t change, vow to keep your eyes open and to look beyond the obvious.
Asking “What is the best thing for me to do?” is the right question – 6th Best Career Change Jobs Myth
This is one of the most common questions asked when considering a career change or a career change jobs. It seems like a logical analysis – weigh the pros and cons and evaluate the balance.
Do not ask yourself this question!! It rarely leads you to the answers you are seeking. It will lead you to feeling overwhelmed with options (sound familiar?), or feeling like you have to choose what’s practical over what seems to be impractical.
The question that will lead you to answers is simple (but not easy!!) It is “What do I really want to do?” This is a very different question than “what is best?”
If you do not like your job, you are probably in the wrong career – 7th Starting a New Career Myth
Cause and effect, right? One way to tell if you are in the right career is whether or not you like your job. If you are dissatisfied with your job, it is probably a sign that you need to re-examine your whole career choice. This is frequently what I hear from new clients who have decided to work with a career coach. They know something is not right because they do not like their jobs. Their natural assumption is that their dissatisfaction is a symptom of a larger underlying issue – their career choice.
This is an example of false logic. Not liking your job might be telling you you are in the wrong job. It does not necessarily mean you are in the wrong career. It does not even mean you are in the wrong job. You could just be working for the wrong person or the wrong company. It takes a skillful approach to discern the source of discontent, and I think it is very hard to do it on your own (shameless plug for career coaches here!)
Everyone needs a mission statement – 8th How to Make a Career Change Myth
Do you know what your mission is? Mission statements are supposed to guide us, keep us on track, and help us move forward. But what if you don’t have one? Does that mean you are destined to never fulfill your potential career-wise?
A client who was a successful professional contacted me because she was at a career crossroads. She felt that if only she could find her mission in life, she would know which career path to take.
She had a clear goal for coaching – find her mission! Instead, the most amazing thing happened. She decided that she did not need a mission. She chose to trust that she was already fulfilling her mission statement, even though she did not know what it was. After the client shifted her focus from finding her mission to living her life, an amazing opportunity came her way and she pursued it.
Here’s a little tip: If your mission statement is elusive, stop chasing it. Be still and let it find you. And in the meantime, keep living your life and see what happens.
Expect a career epiphany – 9th New Career Myth
When you see a link to “Find Your Dream Job,” do you immediately click on it to see what is there? Do you look at every “Top Ten Career” list out there to see if anything catches your interest? Do you know your MBTI type? If you do, you might be falling prey to the career epiphany myth.
I would love, love, love it if most of my clients had a career epiphany that indicated to them, in crystal-clear terms, their next step. Instead, I see career “unfoldings” or a journey of discovery much more regularly. That is, being willing to not ignore the obvious, the pokes, the prods, and listen carefully to the whisper within. Yep, forget harp music and angels, for most of us, the career epiphany is a quiet whisper.
Ignoring your career dissatisfaction will make it go away – 10th
Oh, if only this worked in the long run!! Granted, it does work at first. When you find yourself beginning to question your career, you’ll find it is rather easy to push the thoughts aside and pretend they are not there. You know what I am talking about: the “what ifs” and the list of regrets.
Over time, the random thoughts become nagging thoughts. You spend more and more time daydreaming about options. You build your list of reasons to ignore your growing career dissatisfaction:
- you are too old. This is the case when considering a new career at 30, 35, 40 or 50.
- You do not want to take a pay cut.
- You do not want to go back to school. This affects starting a new career at 40 or 50.
- You missed your opportunity 5, 10, 15 years ago.
With clients in this situation, we work on identifying and challenging these fears. Sometimes the fear of change remains, but there becomes a greater commitment to living than to feeling the fear.
The Challenge: So now that you know that one or all of these myths have been holding you back, what are you waiting for?
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