Career changes can be overwhelming, challenging, exciting, scary, fun or frustrating-and that’s just when it comes to deciding whether to change careers in the first place.
Whether or not to change careers is a major life decision to take, so it’s important to be sure that you’re making the right decision for you.
Should you change careers?
1. Is there really a problem with your career?
In order to answer the big question, ask yourself several other questions to help decide whether you’re ready to leave your current career:
Is my career making me happy?
Am I fulfilled in my career?
Is this my career because I enjoy it or because of the praise/ money/peer pressure /etc.?
Is my career stopping me from doing things I enjoy outside of work?
What’s my personal definition of future success in this career?
Am I confident of achieving my definition of future success in this career?
2. You might need new skills
Consider whether or not you’re willing to learn new skills. Chances are if you commit to changing careers you will need to learn new skills appropriate to your career choice.
3. Can you afford it?
It’d be nice if we didn’t have to consider money when thinking about work options, but unfortunately some of us do!
Take into account where you stand financially when considering a career change, but don’t stay with your current career just for the money if the work itself is making you unhappy. No amount of money equates to happiness.
4. Maybe your job search skills just need help
If you’re currently out of work, don’t jump to the conclusion that you need a career change just because you’re not finding any work within your current field. Re-assess your job search instead:
Review your CV to see if it’s relevant enough to the roles you’re applying for
Of course, being out of work may be just the motivation you need to make a career change, if it genuinely would be the right move for you. Even if you don’t currently have a job you can still assess how happy you are in your current career area by asking yourself the above questions about your previous positions.
Cartoon by Salvatore Iovene
Which career should you change to?
6. Follow your talent and passion
Think about what career you’d like to change to by considering what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about.
7. What about you impresses others
How do you define your talents and passions?
Start right back from your childhood. What did people praise you for? What did you end up spending most of your spare time doing?
Make a list and continue recalling your strengths and hobbies alaoubl the way through to the present day.
8. Full-time?
Consider not only the content of your ideal career but also the structure of it e.g. work out if you’d like to switch from full-time to part-time, or vice-versa.
9. Know your redlines
Get clear not only on what you want to do, but also on what you don’t want to do. What are you willing to negotiate over and what are you not?
10. Focus on one new direction only
By the way, if you think trying to pursue several career options at once is a good idea, it isn’t. The scattergun approach will probably result in missing all the targets.
If you focus on one career, one target- you’re more likely to get what you want.
Nisa Chitakasem is the founder of Position Ignition – a careers company dedicated to taking you to the next step in your career. For free advice, guidance and information on careers visit the Position Ignition Career Blog or find Nisa on Twitter @PosIgnition or Facebook.
Thanks to COVID-19, there's never been more demand for internships you can do from home, or with only a laptop and an Internet connection.
Not only that- companies have never been so willing to manage remote internship programs as they are now, but it's not like they have much of a choice.
Many of their employees are probably working from home too.
Having remote co-workers is a good thing for virtual interns because companies are more likely to provide remote employee services that they wouldn't have bothered with in the past, and co-workers are more likely to be sympathetic to interns in a similar situation.
But you need to get the remote internship first.
Here are the best places to find one.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
Best free and paid remote internship sites for 2020
It’s almost time to #ApplyInJuly for the U.S. Department of State: Virtual Student Federal Service internship program! Join Allen, our DOS Diplomat in Residence – South, for a Facebook Live on 6/30 at 2pm ET to get your questions answered. RSVP: https://ift.tt/34iGwPR
InsideSherpa runs company-sponsored virtual internships for university students to learn what its like to work in industry.
Hurray!! Completed the @Microsoft Engineering: Undergraduate & Masters Asia Virtual Experience Program and earned my certificate of completion. Thanks @InsideSherpa for the chance to learn what it’s really like to try out work @Microsoft – this has been an amazing experience. pic.twitter.com/BUPRjF4G7h
I’ve just completed the @LeoCussen Virtual Internship and earned my certificate of completion. Thanks @InsideSherpa for the chance to learn what it’s really like to try out work @LeoCussen – this has been an amazing way to kickstart my career
Chegg Internships brings students and employers together in one centralized location, providing tools and services for students to develop the real-world skills they will need upon graduation and for employers to find the best candidates.
Riipen is a platform that connects industry partners with educators to participate in short-term projects with students. We aim to empower emerging to talent to build skills and find jobs they love while helping companies grow and innovate.
ProSky gives you the ability to innovatively evaluate candidates and develop employees through succession pathways, so you can recruit, hire, and retain the best diverse talent & culture fit.
Virtual Internships delivers remote internships with companies of varying size, sector and industry. There are great opportunities for students and recent graduates to gain work experience and kickstart their career, with international or domestic roles!
From June 22 LikePay got 4 virtual interns, who are all foreigners joining our team from outside of Japan.
This is an interesting experience and a challenge for both interns and me trying to manage them…
Anyway it sounds interestinghttps://t.co/E4xTo1Vn3e?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss
Since 1997, CEA has helped thousands of students study abroad and intern abroad in 22 cities across 13 different countries. Where will you go for a semester or summer?
Head over to our Instagram stories today to see what a day in the life as a CEA Virtual Intern Abroad is like!
Mallory, an @OUAbroad student, takes us through her typical day as a digital marketing intern for a company in Florence, Italy. pic.twitter.com/jUTssaBrQ9
Global Experiences is the world's leading internship provider with programs in England, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Costa Rica, and the USA.
Study abroad with USAC, a non-profit consortium of US universities providing over 50 authentic, affordable, and academically focused study abroad programs in 26 countries.
For 17 Years United Planet offers volunteer opportunities in 35 countries to immerse you in local culture as you do your part to create a global community.
Hi, we’re Intern Abroad HQ! We connect students and young professionals with affordable intern abroad programs. Our programs include a guided reflection course, especially designed to combine personal development with professional competency building.
CRCC Asia is the leading provider of international Internship Programs in Asia. We offer placements abroad in 14 sectors including finance internships, business internships, marketing internships and more.
Symba is an all-in-one enterprise internship management platform. We help organizations execute internship programs with ease, from on-boarding to off-boarding, while ensuring valuable experiences for the interns.
Capital Placement offers global internship programmes for students and recent graduates, with one of our 1500+ partner companies, across 25+ industries.
Absolute Internship is an award-winning global internship program. We offer students the opportunity to gain work experience in incredible global cities!
Our social company, Puentes Abroad, bridges undergraduate students and recent graduates to unique academic, professional, and cultural opportunities with Argentine and Uruguayan companies and organizations.
NEXSTEP is led by a purpose-driven team of dedicated professionals from France, United States, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. We all united by shared values and a strong passion to innovate and advance the experiential learning or ‘beyond classroom’ education sector. Since 2008, this team has engaged, equipped and empowered students and professionals to reach their full potential through transformational experiences.