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View Winners → Business Mar 25, 2022
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Do you feel unfulfilled in your career? Did you take a job you didn’t want because you needed it, and you’re still there, years later? Or maybe you’re in a career that suited you once but no longer does. Whatever the case, if you’ve been thinking about a career change, it can be tough to know where to start. On top of that, people may discourage you from doing so, particularly if you have a job that offers a lot of security or that looks desirable on the surface. However, if you aren’t happy, there are options.
Explore
If you’ve been reading job boards or even connecting with head hunters and still feeling uninspired, you may need to take a different approach. You might even think of it as being somewhat playful. Think about when you were a child and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up and how exciting the world of work seemed to you then. Try to think not in terms of specific job roles but about what you enjoy. Is it talking to people, studying rocks or being around animals? As you start to narrow down your interests, look into fields where you could delve into those interests. Take some courses, shadow a friend working on a job that you might want or do some volunteer work. All of this can help broaden your sense of what is possible. Only when you have done this should you start to narrow your view and realistically consider what your direction should be.
Review Your Resources
If you want to become an entrepreneur or you need to go back to school, you may want to take a look at your financial resources and ways to cut your expenses. Making a budget can help you with this. You might also have resources that you aren’t aware of, such as a life insurance policy. It may be possible to sell certain types of life insurance policies in what is known as a life settlement and get cash for them that you can put toward a business or your education. You need to make sure that you choose the right opportunity to pursue a life settlement through, so you may want to review a guide on how to evaluate these types of companies. Taking a look at your resources can also give you some insight into whether you can afford to take a pay cut in a new job.
Think Relationships
This is an excellent opportunity to evaluate your existing relationships and build new ones. First, if you are surrounded by people who are dissatisfied and unhappy but unwilling to do anything about it, you may want to consider finding people who will support your quest. Professional organizations, meetup groups and even life coaches or career counselors can help. In addition, building relationships can ultimately be how you find a new position that you love. Networking can go a long way in connecting you with opportunities you might never have heard about otherwise.
