Are you afraid to change careers or change jobs within your field?  If so, you are not alone.  Just about everyone who embarks on career change experiences fear and anxiety at some point during the process.

Any big change we face in life will bring a whole host of fears to the surface.  And, fear can be a good thing.  Really!  It means you’re moving towards something big.

In order to make a successful career change, you have to effectively manage your fears.  If you don’t get you’re fears under control, they will eventually completely stall your progress.  A success strategy you can use here is what I call “filling in the blanks.” 

Chances are, you have a lot of questions about the new career you’re interested in.  There are probably a lot of aspects to it that seem like a mystery simply because you haven’t done it before.  Most likely you feel as though there are a lot of blanks that need to be filled in. 

Unfortunately, a lot of women let this lack of information completely stop them.  They are aware they have questions and concerns, but they haven’t taken the time to identify and write down the specific things they want to know.  Sometimes, they aren’t even sure how to articulate what they want to know.

For example, you may want to know information such as:

• What do people in this line of work do on a day to day basis?
• What is an “average” day like?  What is a “non-average” day like?
• What is the market demand for this profession?
• What additional training would I need to transition into this career?
• What is the salary range for this profession?

Filling in the blanks is a powerful step that will help you overcome your fear of career change.  Once you get your questions answered, you’ll be empowered to know whether it is the right career for you.  Or, at least you will have enough information to move on to the next step. 

So for now, your immediate next baby step is to schedule an appointment with yourself to identify the questions you need answered about the career options you are considering.
Until next week…

Warmly,
Maret

This entry was posted by Maret McCoy on February 18th, 2008 under Career with keywords .

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