Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution’s Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

How do you go about changing careers? Changing jobs requires some self-discovery and answering some basic questions.

Here are some of the questions to consider before changing careers:

1. What is my dream job? This is one of the most important questions you need to answer. Think of it this way – what would you want to do, if you did not have to worry about money and commitments? If you can answer this, then you will know what your dream job is.

2. What do I value? Every person has a set of values. These values are personal and individualistic. These values are what determine our personalities. Consider this – if you value your freedom and you have a job that involves working irregular or late hours, this is going to hamper your productivity and work. When it comes to changing careers, knowing your values is paramount.

3. What are you passionate about? There are certain things that each one of us is passionate about. Things that make us feel good about ourselves and things that give us pleasure. If you can combine your passion with your career, then you have your dream job.

4. What are your interests? Interests are things that grab your attention, that keep you interested and productive. Once you know your interests, you can work towards building your career around them.

5. What are your talents? All of us have some talents, some things that we are naturally good at. These talents are with us since birth and need to be honed to perfection. Some natural talents are writing, painting, singing and crafts. When talents are worked into your career, your career becomes easier to handle.

6. What are your skills? Skills are things that you can do with ease. Skills are different from talents. Skills can be acquired and they are important to your career. Whatever your skills may be, you need to work on them.

7. What strengths do you have? Your strengths enable you to do the work at hand efficiently. Your strengths could be giving presentations or making speeches. Whatever it is, you need to use your strengths to your advantage.

8. What are your weaknesses? You need to identify your weaknesses just as much as you need to identify your strengths. Once you know your weaknesses, you can work on them to improve them.

9. What activities do you dislike? Are there some things that you dislike doing? It could be anything – may be you hate public speaking or you dislike writing. Whatever it maybe, once you identify these activities, you can work around them.

10. What environment do you work best in? Do you need to be surrounded by modern amenities and high raise buildings? Or would you rather work in a small office with people who are more like family rather than colleagues and competitors. Once you have identified your ideal environment, you can look for a career that allows you to work in the same environment.

Once you have determined the answers to these questions, the process of changing your career will be simpler and easier to handle.

By: Tony Jacowski

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Are you thinking about changing your career? Are you worried about how difficult the transition is going to be? Then you are not alone. Many people go through similar anticipation when thinking about attempting a career change. Your career is among the most important things in your life, and changing it is one of the most stressful decisions you will ever make.

Be Passionate

The reason why you would even consider a career change in the first place is probably because you feel passionate about something and want to pursue it. There is no sense in making a change if you are not going to be any happier than you already are. You may be earning a six-figure salary, but if it is not making you happy and if you are not content with what you are doing, then it might be a good time to switch. Changing careers should be about passion and personal fulfillment.

Do Your Research

Make sure that before you make the final decision you conduct a thorough research on available opportunities. You need to analyze what skills you have and what skills you may need to acquire for your new job. You should be confident about salary prospects and other relevant information. You may have lots of expectations about the career you want, but conducting the necessary research will help you look beyond this rosy picture. Work with a mentor, such as a career coach, before you make the final decision.

Career Exploration

Changing your career can be overwhelming. Explore your options before you decide to make a commitment. Start by categorizing the careers you are interested in. This helps in narrowing down your options. Then pick only those that interest you the most, putting the others aside. Ask yourself questions such as:

• Why am I exploring this career?

• Will I need additional training or education?

• What are the opportunities and risks in pursuing this career?

These questions will help give you some very important and necessary answers. You can’t really begin on the path to career change until you know why you want to change and how you will go about it. The fact is that changing careers can be very time consuming and expensive, and you don’t want to start the process flying blind.

Once you have all the information you need, you can focus on one career option and work toward achieving it. Listen to your heart and head and then make a balanced decision. Whatever you do, remember you need to be flexible and devote a lot of time and energy to jump start your efforts.

By: Heather Eagar

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