What do you want to do as a career? It may surprise you to know people who have been working for decades cannot answer this question. But sometimes we’ve known all along what we want, it’s just that ambitions we had from an early age have become clouded over and forgotten.

I was leaving work one evening a few years ago, and was chatting with another colleague, who was likewise going home.

“Another day, another dollar?” I joked. He shook his head in despair, and wryly said that while he didn’t mind working for just a dollar, he would much rather have spent the day doing something more fulfilling.

“Oh? You don’t like being a sales analyst?” I enquired. He shook his head. “No, and nor the other dozen or so things I’ve done before this either.” He summed up his working life to date by saying, “I’ve done this, and I’ve done that, but I still don’t know what I really want to do!”

Although I could partially relate to his situation, his admission did surprise me. He would have been in his late forties, and while some people can take time to work out “what they want to do”, I’d have thought by his stage in his life he would have found a career that satisfied him.

I remember in my final years at high school being asked to give thought to what I’d like to do for a living when I left school. I could think of nothing. Even for my first few years in the working world, I was just “taking” jobs, thinking that I’d have a career epiphany sooner or later. And preferably sooner, if possible.

Whatever the case though, I thought I would find my desired career within “five or so years”, but certainly never be in the position of my former colleague, who was still trying to find his niche, almost 30 years after leaving school!

So how do we find that desired career? While some people seemingly know their career ambitions from the time they are “knee high to a grasshopper”, why are others struggling to find the merest hint of career direction decades later?

Ironically part of the answer could lie in those childhood dreams. When we are younger, we tend to be bolder in our thinking, and believe all manner of things are possible. It’s as we become older, and more cautious, that we start to discount our options and possibilities. We also tend to be more receptive to the comments, particularly the negative opinions, of those close to us.

How many times would you have someone say, “What? You want to be a… photographer? Well that’s a very hard field to get into, you’d be better off choosing something else!”

And so it goes. We hear disparaging thoughts like that, and begin to believe that we are wasting our time pursuing such “lofty” ambitions. Pretty soon we have narrowed the field down to a few “safe” career choices, and think we have made the “right” decision.

But what happened to those people, who as children, wanted to be entrepreneurs, photographers, film producers, journalists, or whatever it was they set their hearts on? And by the way, I’m not talking about the people who had the movie, and rock star ambitions, although one or two would have succeeded I’m sure!

I talking about the people who, at a young age, had a very clear, and shall we say, “down to earth”, career goal in their mind. Chances are they went on to do what they dreamed of. Why? Because they believed in their dream, and themselves, and were able to see passed the detracting comments of others. If they even listened to those comments in the first place!

So what was your dream growing up, and why are you not doing that now, today? For my part I knew I wanted to be a free agent of some sort, working in a field that was somehow creative. I used to read the Tintin books (don’t laugh, now!) as a boy, and thought Tintin, as a freelance reporter, had a pretty cool job, and lifestyle.

While Tintin embarked on all sorts of weird and wonderful adventures along the way, I realised early on, that aspect of his “career” may have been slightly far fetched, but being a freelance journalist, or writer, or content producer, wasn’t exactly that unrealistic an expectation.

That dream however just seemed to get lost somewhere for many years. Perhaps when I was younger, and spoke of this future possible career, I didn’t word myself carefully enough, and took too seriously the jibes that I was setting myself up for failure by trying to be the next Tintin! It was a comic book, not real life after all, how you base any career dreams on something like that?!

I wonder what my former colleague had dreamed of doing when he was a child? Despite declaring that he had “no idea” what he wanted to do, I’ll bet he did once. It’s just that he’s forgotten it, or let himself dismiss the thought long ago, after hearing a few ill-conceived and negative thoughts.

Of course not all childhood career dreams are achievable. And this can sometimes be due to reasons beyond an individual’s control. An old school friend for years had wanted to be a commercial pilot. Again, not an especially unrealistic ambition, but eye tests revealed he was colour blind, which at the time, was enough to rule that out as a career option.

And assuming a situation like that doesn’t apply to you, as a first step in finding yourself a new career direction, think back, and recall your childhood dreams and thoughts. And remember not all of these ambitions are necessarily naive or far fetched, and even at a young age, you may have known more about yourself than you thought!

As I say, regard this as only a first step, and see what options or ideas it produces. I know it won’t work for everyone, and in the second part of this article, next Monday, we will examine some more methods of identifying career direction.

Heather Mundell

Heather worked in HR management for eight years, and after five years as a stay at home full-time parent, became a certified professional coach. In 2003 she founded her coaching business Dream Big Coaching Services.

What prompted you to change careers?

I changed careers from HR director to parent-at-home because being the full-time caretaker for my newborn was more important to me than human resources, and because I could financially. After my second daughter turned one, I started thinking about what I wanted in a career and what I was willing to contribute to it.

I didn’t have a passion for HR and felt that another director job wouldn’t allow me to spend the kind of time I wanted to with my kids. I researched different ideas and finally settled on coaching, because it was a perfect match for my talents, skills and values and because as a self-employed coach I could be in charge of my schedule.

What was the biggest challenge of the career change process?

The biggest challenge of the career change process was simply taking a leap into the unknown. I didn’t know when I left HR if I would be miserable at home with my daughter (at times I was!)

When I started my coaching business I had no idea whether I had what it took to get clients and make a go of it. Through both of these transitions I had to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, and learn how to ride the inevitable ups and downs.

To what degree were you able to utilise previous skills and experience in your new career? Did you need any new qualifications?

As a coach I rely on many of the skills I developed as an HR director (good listening, critical thinking, creative problem solving) and added a bunch of new ones (all of the coaching competencies as laid out by the International Coach Federation, plus entrepreneurial skills). I spent a year in a coach training program to become a certified professional coach.

What advice would you offer anyone considering a career change?

Decide what’s important to you in your life and then examine whether getting that really requires an entire career change. Do you want to work fewer hours? More challenge? Less stress? In many cases people can achieve the difference they are looking for without embarking on a complete career overhaul.

Sometimes changing jobs within the same company or changing jobs within the same industry can make a huge difference. Even taking on a different project or delegating out an old one can help. Spending more off hours engaged in something you’re passionate about generally improves your outlook at work as well.

If you know you’re interested in a career change, take your time and do your homework. Go back to your list of what you want in your life, make a list of the skills you enjoy using, and research different career options. You can do a lot of this on your own online,or from books, or you can get guidance from your college’s career development office (even if you’re an alumni) or a career coach.

And before you sign up for grad school, be sure it really is the ticket to what you want, rather than something you “hope” will get you the job you want. Too many people incur too much debt attending graduate programs that don’t end up yielding the results they were hoping for.

Having a career change plan, and knowing exactly what you are doing, and where you are going, not only makes the process a whole lot easier, it also keeps you motivated and focussed, especially during the inevitable periods of doubt and uncertainty that are bound to occur along the way.

Before I continue, the intention of this article is to briefly outline a career change plan. I have already covered some of the steps (which I will link to here), while more detailed articles covering other points will follow at a later time.

As with any itinerary or plan, it is a good idea to have it written out, for both reference and review, as you progress.

Step One. Having realised you want or need a change, you first need to seek the backing of your family and friends. This is especially important when a career change could entail some temporary lifestyle adjustments, as a result of reduced income, or less family time due to study requirements.

It will also be reassuring to know you can call on some moral support from time to time as well!

Step Two. Work out what you want to do. This step can, and in-fact should, take some time. The last thing you want to do, for instance, is sign up for expensive courses of study (particularly where full payment is required upfront), only to realise you made the wrong choice.

I know some people have difficulty with this step, and I will take a closer look at some of the methods of identifying new career direction in upcoming articles.

Step Three. Start researching your proposed new career. Leave no stone unturned! Read books, magazines and websites, ask others for their impressions, or seek out a good careers advisor knowledgeable in your field of interest.

If possible, find a Career Insider, that is, someone already doing what you would like to, and arrange an information gathering meeting, or interview, with them.

Step Four. Now that you some clear direction, carefully take stock of your existing qualifications and assess your transferable skills. Compare your current skill-set with what your new career requires.

Would some short study courses be sufficient to make up any skills “short fall”, or is formal study, that is a degree, necessary? This question is important because the answer could have a bearing on your career change ambitions.

For example, an accountant wishing to become a journalist could do so with only a good portfolio of well written articles, rather than needing any additional qualifications. An accountant wishing to become a dentist however, would require the appropriate professional qualifications, requiring a sizable investment of time and money.

Step Five. Having worked out what skills and knowledge you have, against what you require, it is now time to create, and set in place, a career transfer strategy. This step could take some time, especially if long term study is required.

If however you are able to redeploy much of your existing knowledge and experience, and only require minimal re-skilling or short term study, you can start planning a pathway into, or looking for work in, your new career field.

In other words, you can start thinking about how to find work. For instance, will you apply for advertised roles? Or make direct approaches to employers? Or perhaps locate, and tap into, an industry network?

Step Six. Look forward to your first day of work in a brand new career!

To quickly summarise the plan:

• 1. Enlist the support of family and friends.
• 2. Find a new career direction.
• 3. Research and gather information, and ask is the change feasible?
• 4. Assess current qualifications and transferable skills - is further study needed?
• 5. Plan and execute a career transfer strategy.
• 6. Start work in your new career!

Remember this isn’t an attempt to overly simplify the career change process, but rather set out the major steps involved. How long the plan takes to complete depends on a large, and varying, number of factors, and may take anything from several months, to several years.

Some people may find certain parts of the plan easier to step through than others. While some may enjoy the learning and studying stages, they may have trouble finding the work they want. Others may have trouble gaining family support. These difficulties will vary from person to person.

Finally, ensure that you set reasonable time frames to achieve goals, and carry out regular reviews of the plan as you progress. If things are not working, look closely at the reasons why. Also be prepared to make adjustments for any changes in your personal or family circumstances, should the need arise.

I am in the process of compiling a Links page that will feature some of the resources that are included in the Check List posts, but as there are so many career change resources on-line, it will take sometime to arrange.

In the meantime here are a few more things worth checking out:

• The JobHuntersBible is the companion website to that career change “bible”, What Color Is Your Parachute?, which by the way, I will be reviewing here shortly. Although the book’s author, Richard Bolles calls the “JobHuntersBible” a supplement to “What Color Is Your Parachute?”, it is still brimming with career change and job hunting resources.
• Career changers in Australia will be interested in this. The Australian Government is offering a variety of packages to assist people over 25 who are considering a career change. This includes “Work Skills Vouchers” worth up to AUD$3000, so people can study new qualifications, and can be used at a number of Australian educational institutions. More information is available at the Skills for the Future website.
• Time for another quiz! This Career Change Quiz from About, features 12 questions, and offers a short commentary on each of your answers as you progress. Although the quiz prompts you stop taking it all together at various stages, depending on how you answer some questions, I’d nevertheless recommend answering all 12 questions. You leave no stone unturned that way!
• And another one. This time the question is Could you cut it as a creative? Do you have dreams or ambitions of say being an artist, web designer, or maybe a film director? Take the first step to finding out! You’ll need pen and paper for this one, as it’s not interactive. I scored 21, so hopefully by starting a blog called The InterChange Desk I am fulfilling my destiny!
• And finally I wanted to comment on this article that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald last week. Seven biggest self-help myths takes a swipe at self help books, and while the article presents a number of very good, and very valid points, I take exception with the writer’s opinion that your job should NOT make you happy. Michael Lallo writes, “often it’s unpleasant, difficult and tiring. But that’s why it’s called ‘work’.” He suggests work is to be tolerated, not enjoyed. I think there’d be a number of people who disagree with that stance. Perhaps he has not held down a job he didn’t like?

Anyway that’s another week here at The InterChange Desk, thanks for taking the time to visit, and we’ll see you again on Monday. Have a great weekend! :)

If you want to be an accountant you go to university for three years. If you want to be a lawyer you go for six. There’s a lot to be said for these university type places isn’t there? Do a degree in your field of interest, and then get a job in your field of interest. Easy, right?

But not quite so if you want to be a… Rock Star. And that’s unfortunate because there’s a lot of people who would like the idea of becoming a Rock Star by doing a degree, in er, Rock Star-ery. If only it were that simple.

But no, it’s just a little harder than that. You need talent, ambition, persistence, charisma, and preferably an ability to work the media. Like Oasis used to. Bigger than the Beatles? Heck no, but did they stir up controversy (read: publicity) with those comments, or what?

As a Rock Star you also need a thick skin. And not just to stop bags developing under your eyes after partying for 21 days and nights non-stop (which is compulsory in this line of work, but the way). You need it so that when (your former friends) the media trash that “difficult second album”, you’ll take all it with a smile, and say “Well, third time lucky, then.”

Being a Rock Star isn’t just about zapping around the world, in a Learjet, playing sell out concerts in super-sized arenas. It’s about dealing with your fans ever declining expectations, as each album succeeding your brilliant “the next Beatles” like debut, slides further and further into mediocrity.

Being a Rock Star isn’t about penning Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” type classics with each and every album, it’s trying to work out there the creative spark went, and why you can’t write a single decent chorus, let alone song, anymore.

Nor is it about flying to tropical island paradises to record albums, or having queues of groupies waiting outside your hotel room, but rather never being able to walk along the street unrecognised, or being able to buy a coffee without getting mobbed. In fact, you can’t even enter the meat tray raffle at the local pub anymore, because if you win the press will say you rigged the contest!

So I ask, is it really for you? Being a Rock Star requires cool and attitude, something a university degree can neither teach, or impart.

Then again Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones considers the iconic band a business enterprise, not a creative collective. How’s that, then? The original bad boys of rock were in fact working to a business plan, not a desire to rebel.

Righto then, I’m cancelling the guitar lessons, and if I’m quick, I just may be able to grab one of the last places in this year’s accounting intake at the local university…

An illusion many career changers fall under all too quickly is the belief that the grass will be greener on the other side.

You’ve already decided you want out of your current, dead end career. You’ve seen the signs and symptoms of a career rut, and know that it is time to move on.

And already you can see light at the end of the tunnel! After a doing a few tests and quizzes to identify your skills and competencies, and reading a few books, you already have what you believe is a great a new career alternative in your sights.

And you’ve been doing your homework. Not only have you identified a batch of transferable skills, but you’ve also been considering various courses and study programs, that will bring your qualifications up to par, and propel you into that new dream career.

Well about now would be a very good time to put the brakes on your career change ambitions, and slow down, especially if you are considering spending any sort of money studying, or taking courses.

While taking a few aptitude and competency tests is one thing, you certainly should not view their results as being absolutely definitive. While they may provide a very good indication of the direction you should go in, you still need to gather far more information before committing yourself.

Suppose it is your new found desire to be a journalist. You’ve decided you like researching and writing, and would enjoy meeting and talking to people as part of the job. And you know journalists also work to some very tight deadlines, but that’s fine also. This is your dream after all.

But what else is involved in being a journalist, beyond seeing your name in the newspaper bylines everyday?

At this point in your career change planning, it would be a very good idea to speak to someone already working in the career field you are interested in. Lets call them “Career Insiders”. People already making careers out of what you dream of doing, and who can tell you exactly what to expect from such a career.

They will be able to tell what a day on the job is like. From the time they arrive for work, to the time they leave. They’ll be able to speak first hand of the ups and, more importantly, the downs, of the the job.

And up to this point, you would have been looking at a potential career based on its positives, so hearing about the not-so-glamourous aspects is exactly the sort of counter balance you need. If you can see your way through those, then you can be far more confident you are on the right path.

You’ll probably also learn a few other things from your “insider”, such as insights on the profession’s culture, and other things you may not have thought about.

An “insider” may be able to tell you more though. They may even be able to make an assessment of your suitability for such a career. Remember you are talking to someone who is in the know!

So how do you locate, or find, a “career insider”? What if you would like to speak with a journalist about their work? If you don’t know anyone directly, first ask around friends, neighbours, or other associates, for some leads. If that doesn’t yield results try contacting a local newspaper. Often newspapers print journalist’s email addresses with their articles, so you may be able to make an initial approach that way.

In my experience most people are happy to respond to requests for information, particularly if your tone is polite, and you are prepared to be flexible. And that can mean going the distance sometimes.

If someone can offer you 30 minutes of their time, and it means you have to be on the other side of town at eight o’clock in the morning, so be it. You need to remember someone is giving up their time to assist you, so the least you can do is fit in with their schedule.

Before you meet your career insider, make sure you are properly prepared. Ensure you have listed, that is written down, all your questions and be ready to take notes when they are answered. Be sure to offer your thanks at the end of the meeting. It may even be a nice gesture to follow this up with an email thank you as well.

Remember an “insider” may be more than just a source of valuable information, they could become a potential contact, and possibly even play some part in assisting you find work in your new career field.

Penelope Trunk

Penelope played volleyball for nine years and reached the US Professional Beach Volleyball Tour. She has since had three careers, working as an entrepreneur, professional writer, and software marketing executive, where she helped launch new businesses for Fortune 100 companies, and manage on-line marketing for a startup through its IPO.

What prompted you to change careers?

I changed careers from volleyball to software marketing when I realized that my learning curve had plateaued in volleyball. I was very good at marketing myself to sponsors. And while my tour rank remained pretty steady, my sponsors kept getting better and better.

That’s when I realized that I had more growth potential in marketing than in volleyball – it was time to move on. I picked software because I knew I could market anything, so I wanted to work in a field that was known for good salaries.

What was the biggest challenge of the career change process?

The biggest challenge is convincing myself I could really do it, and talking to people about my marketing career like I was really doing it. It took a long time for people who knew me well to see me as a marketing expert and not a volleyball player.

At first, when I’d go for interviews, I felt like a compete poser telling people I knew anything about marketing. But soon I realized that whatever I didn’t know I could learn quickly. I picked a field I was good at so I could learn it quickly.

To what degree were you able to utilise previous skills and experience in your new career? Did you need any new qualifications?

I read a lot. I gained a competitive edge in volleyball because I read more – about weight lifting, jump training, endurance, for example – than anyone else. I used that same tactic in marketing. I read a lot to make up for my lack of experience.

The most important skill I leveraged was learning something new. When I started playing beach volleyball I was not from California and all the natives had more experience on the beach than I did. I had to convince myself that I could learn something new quickly.

I had to figure out how to break into pickup games, convince coaches to work with me, and figure out when to let people know I need help and when to fake it. All these skills are important for any new career. They are skills that help you get your bearings in a totally new situation.

What advice would you offer anyone considering a career change?

Figure out what you have to leverage. Don’t start out completely new. Look back on your life at the things you have done in an outstanding way. That is where your talent is. Use that talent to make the career change, and then you have something to put on your resume for experience.

Don’t change to a career that will not be an outlet for talents you have not already shown. Each of us has a few outstanding talents - we don’t have unlimited, undiscovered talents, even though we wish we did. Work is the most interesting when we are doing it very well, learning quickly, very engaged.

These traits come from areas where we have some talent. (A good book on this idea is “Flow“.) So when you’re making a career change, be honest with yourself about where your talents lie. You’ll be happiest with your work if you cater to them.