“I can’t possibly change my career…” Oh yes you can!

Making the ‘impossible’, possible

On my fridge, there’s a photo of a man painting out the ‘I’ and ‘M’ of the word ‘Impossible’.  Every time my son sees it, he tells me that it’s not possible to do everything, and his example is that humans can’t fly.  However, I believe we can, we just need the relevant tools to do it and, in the case of flying, nerves of steel and a wingsuit.

To change careers, you need courage and the metaphorical equivalent of a wingsuit. It might not be easy at first or very quick, and you may have to retrain, start at a lower level, or go in from a different angle, but with vision, flexibility, determination, and inner strength, it really IS possible.

A case in point is one of my clients who had a varied career that has taken her from HR to Sales and Marketing to an Estate Agency.  Along that journey, she’s taken a couple of detours and trained to be a Massage Therapist and Mindfulness Coach. If you take a moment to look at each of those roles, you wouldn’t think there were any similarities but delve a little deeper and you’ll find enough connections that demonstrate how possible it is to pivot and change direction.

Transferrable skills across varied professions and careers

HR is very people-oriented and being able to connect to people is a vital quality to being successful in that role.  Being successful at sales and marketing means that you need to understand people, how they think and what they desire or need.  An Estate Agent demands the ability to relate to people, to influence them to sell their house with you or encourage them to buy a house from you.

So, when you are thinking of your dream role(s), dig deep, explore, and see where you can make the connections between the experience you already have to the experience that is desired or needed.  Remember, those job descriptions are just words, that have been beautified to make the role sound more interesting and exciting to ‘sell’ it to you.  Look past these words and find the facts of who they are really looking for.

Stepping out of your comfort zone

What I really admire about my client is that she has taken it that step further – she’s stepped out of her comfort zone and tried something entirely new and has successfully created her own business selling homemade Pesto. She’s found something that she genuinely loves doing and wants it to succeed.  If you think about it, there are lots of cross over skills with her previous roles: a connection to people, a curiosity to give people what they want/need, the ability to sell and market.  With no background in food, other than a love of cooking, she has used her passion, the skills she has learnt on her career journey so far and the ones that she has taught herself.

She has only been doing this since the middle of last year and she’s already got products on shelves and invested in premises to increase her production.  She still has a lot to learn, but with her determination and drive to push herself, I know that she will succeed.  Most notably, she was willing to give it a try, to put herself out there and make it happen. She has put on her wingsuit and is flying.

So, what’s your ‘impossible’, because if you need help removing the ‘I’ and the ‘M” I’ve got a wingsuit in your size that you can borrow.

Get in touch to see how I can help YOU find your new career.