Video #1: Avoid Career Change Mistakes

Video #2: Career Change Job Interview Tips

Buy a copy of How to Say It: Job Interviews

Written by Linda Matias a Certified Interview Coach and director of Certified Interview Coach Institute, How to Say It® Job Interviews provides job-winning words, phrases, and sample interview responses you need to interview successfully. Order How to Say It® Job Interviews and learn how to ace any job interview.

Is a Career Change Impossible
Also: Do You Have The Perfect Job?, Career Change: Does A Job For Life Still Exist?, Career Change: Tips to Making the Move

Books, articles, websites, career coaches, and so on have been going at you full strength to convince you that a career change is not only possible but in fact something you really should embark upon. Yet you remain unconvinced. After all, they don’t know your situation, right? You have certain obstacles and a lot of reasons why changing careers is simply not possible.

But don’t throw in the towel yet!

If you already know what you’d rather be doing instead of what you’re doing now, you’re already ahead of the game. So, why aren’t you doing it?

“Because it’s impossible,” you say. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is impossible. Let’s run it through a couple of simple tests to determine if this is true.

First of all, if it truly is impossible, then nobody else on the planet is doing it either. However, if anyone on the planet is doing what you want to do, then it’s possible.

The second test involves a little more work.

Finding a job you love and enjoy can be tough if you are going through the process alone. The answers you are seeking can also be delayed (sometimes taking years) if you do not have courage, clarity, and a plan of attack. 

• what should I do?

• should I quit my job?

• what is my plan of action?

• where do I begin?

All valid questions to ask, but what happens in many cases is we can’t seem to answer these questions by ourselves so we get overwhelmed and then stop looking for the answers. This is a recipe for disaster. Your career will not get better until you make it better, and making a job change involves your participation. Hate Your Job And Want To Get Out? 4 Weeks To Your Dream Job! Find out more. 

List everything that you would need that you don’t have now to make your career goal possible. After you’ve finished the list, go back to the first item on the list. For example, let’s say the first item on your list is “Get another degree.” Is this impossible? Of course not. If it were impossible, nobody would be getting any degrees, and all the universities would close up shop. But why do YOU think it’s impossible? Under this item, list everything you would need to get another degree.

Go to the first item under this new “sub-list” you’ve created under “Get another degree.” Let’s say the first item is “Find enough money.” Is it impossible to get enough money? No, it’s not impossible. There are too many success stories of people who started with nothing and ended up having their dreams come true to believe it’s impossible. Remember, if anyone on the planet is doing it or has done it, you can’t say it’s impossible.

So again, start a sub list under this item, and list everything you can think of to get enough money. You might list loans, launching a home-based business, saving more money, reducing your debt, moving to a smaller home, giving up cable TV– list everything!

You might argue that you won’t WANT to do all those difficult things on your list, like give up cable TV or take out a loan. That’s fine. You’re acknowledging that you have a choice. If you work every item on your list down to the smallest denominator like this, and you find that you’re not willing to consider them, then the truth is that you are not willing to choose to make a career change. You cannot say that it’s “impossible.” You must say “I choose not to.”

You can actually use this technique for anything you want. If you have a dream that you’ve been dismissing as “impossible,” you can run it through these tests, no matter what the dream is, whether it’s to own a yacht, lose 200 pounds, find your soul mate, own a BMW, build a dream house, or write a book.

Now, here’s the flip side of that list: When you realize that your dream really is possible, you can make the choice to make your dream come true. You’ve just created your to-do list by listing everything you need to make your dream happen.

Every time you come upon an obstacle or an “impossibility,” break it down. Ask yourself what you need or what needs to happen, and make that list. Add it to your to-do list, and get to work on it!

Also: Do You Have The Perfect Job?, Career Change: Does A Job For Life Still Exist?, Career Change: Tips to Making the Move