For new plants to flourish, any gardener knows you first have to create the best conditions for them to grow and thrive. Cultivating your career is no different – especially when you’re thinking about your next steps.

Whether considering a tweak to your existing role - job crafting – or making a clear career change, these are the ingredients that will set you up for success.

Mindset

This is about how you look at your potential career change, how you approach it, how far you believe in it and what you think it will take to achieve it.

Generally, it’s helpful to have an open mind, be receptive to the possibility of change, be open to fine-tuning your goal(s) depending on what you discover during the change process, be gentle with yourself during the process, and above all else - champion yourself.

More specifically, these kinds of mindsets will empower your career change:

Know that career reinvention can really happen, and that it can happen again whenever it needs to
Trust that you will rise to the challenge – because you know you have done just that in the past
Despite those inner doubts, trust what other people see in you
Don’t believe the voices in your head that want to persuade you to stay safe, small and stuck, that convince you that making changes will end in catastrophe
Feel the fear of trying something new – however small - and do it anyway
‘Failure’ isn’t a dead end – everything along the way will teach you what matters most to you and help you to redirect your journey
Try looking at the situation from a new angle

Self-awareness

I wonder how well you know yourself? Do you know what really matters most to you at this stage of your life and can you appreciate that you have many strengths to offer a new role? This knowledge will support and propel you as you make this transition. In particular:

Recognise the specific shared values and culture of an environment that will offer you the chance to thrive
Be confident that skills developed in a different setting are still hugely relevant
Claim your career and life successes, and appreciate that the attitudes that allowed you to achieve them can be harnessed again
Recognise what you value – and start expressing those things more in your life and work
Understand what makes work meaningful for you
Appreciate your strengths and the problems they can help solve
Know when you need help, and be brave enough to ask for it

Exploration

Go where your curiosity takes you, dive into topics and activities you love, and engage in tasks that energise you. If you don’t know what they might be, it’s time to find out. Here’s how:

Take opportunities to get involved in activities, causes or events that fascinate or mean something to you
Grab chances to develop skills along the way – even when they’re not related to your day job
Get outside your comfort zone every now and then – that’s where the magic, and the learning, often happen
Spend time with people who energise you, who support you, who make you laugh or who care for you
What boosts your energy? Do more of those things
Be curious – follow what intrigues you
Experiment or try something out

The right conditions

An open and positive mindset, self-awareness and the willingness to explore will combine to create the best conditions for a career change. They provide the fertile soil and the most nurturing weather.

These three pillars are also the frameworks underpinning the career change process I use to help clients move from dissatisfaction at work to an energizing new direction.

You can make that transition on your own of course, but sometimes it’s easier to bring a guide along to clear the path, help you uncover what your version of success looks like, remind you of what’s important to you, cheer you on, work through obstacles with you, reframe problems together, and celebrate when you set off for new pastures.

If you’re ready to start exploring – and regaining control of your work life -

why not use the orange button below to set up an initial free 30-minute consultation?