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Know Thyself: Launch a Business Doing What You Love
June 18, 2010
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“Julie and Julia” and your career -Part One
June 17, 2010
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Know Thyself: and Then Forget What You Know
June 15, 2010
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Know Thyself: Feeling Gracious? Or is It Something Else?
June 11, 2010
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Know Thyself: Emotional Intelligence and Your Viability as a Job Candidate.
June 8, 2010
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Know Thyself: Put Your Best You Forward.
June 4, 2010
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How to Make Career Change Your Reality
April 26, 2010 | Author: Allyn Horne | Filed under: The Networking Habit
The bad news first: although changing careers mid-stream is possible—and, in fact, is being successfully accomplished by professionals all over the world—a mid-life career change takes time. According to Dr. Herminia Ibarra, INSEAD Professor of Leadership and Learning, former Harvard Business School faculty member, and author of Working Identify: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, making the switch takes three years, on average.
Why so long? In “Moving Out,” her seven-minute video lecture on the topic of the mid-career switch, Dr. Ibarra explains that the process of career change is messy, chaotic, non-linear, and often unpleasant because, while you can probably articulate what it is you don’t want to do, you might not yet have a handle on what a reinvented you will look like.
The good news: not to worry; it takes time to figure out your new path. However, Dr. Ibarra also warns against introspection in lieu of action, suggesting that if you wait until you know for sure what you want to do, you might not ever move forward. Instead, she says, take the experimental approach, trying new things, meeting new people, exploring new paths.
Specifically, Dr. Ibarra suggests three actions to help you make a meaningful career switch:
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Allocate a small percentage of your time to new activities that give you a chance to see what fits and what doesn’t. For instance, if you’re thinking about the possibility of teaching, offer your knowledge and expertise to an area high school, community college, or trade school. Or, depending upon your topic, propose a community-based class to a local non-profit. With a master’s or better, you could also adjunct at four-year school, whether bricks and mortar or online. During this trial, you might find that teaching isn’t for you—or that it’s all you thought it would be and more. In either case, a minor investment of time now will help you zero-in on your new calling.
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Expand your network, but look outside of your usual circles. As Dr. Ibarra explains, the people you know now are fully invested in the “old” you; they might not be able to see you in what they consider out-of-the-box roles or professions. New friends, colleagues, and associates, though, have no such preconceptions; to them, you are a blank slate—they will see in you in whatever way you paint yourself. Whether you’re an engineer presenting yourself as a bookmaker, a marketing executive reinventing yourself as a medical professional, or an accountant turned author, no one among your new circle will be the wiser. Broadening your network also opens your mind to the many other ways in which people earn their livings, giving you new ideas and alternate avenues to explore.
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Create and practice your story to present yourself as a credible entrant. Build a case that sells gatekeepers, hirers, and funders on why their investment in you makes sense. And practice! As Dr. Ibarra shares, the difference between an individual who presents an ad-libbed versus a rehearsed story is tremendous. If your story isn’t flowing smoothly, practice, practice, and then practice some more.
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