Sometimes we need to step back and consider our overall career direction. Merriam-Webster dictionary’s best career definition is: “A field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement in public, professional, or business life.”
A common fact cited by the Wall Street Journal indicates people will change careers as many as seven times in a lifetime.
The actual number is difficult to determine since a “career change” differs significantly from a job change and can be defined uniquely by the individual. However, for our purposes, we will define a career change to mean that you are considering a change with significant implications to at least two of the three Career Arcs of your Mastery, Freedom, and Legacy.
Mastery includes the core strengths or transferrable skills you have accumulated in your career. Freedom consists of a significant change in your financial outcome or use of your resources, most importantly time or location. Legacy includes your impact on others through your home, work, or community purpose.
In essence, you are considering a major career change if you are considering transforming what you will do with your skills and competency (Mastery), transforming what motivates you to do the work you like (Freedom), or who you feel should benefit from your work (Legacy).
If only one of these changes, then you are likely considering a job change and should use a different process that includes focusing on your professional and personal goals while making sure first to have a transparent discussion with your current company leadership.
However, to properly evaluate your career direction, you should step back and find clarity on where you are and how your values, purpose, and vision of success may have changed. Go deep into the explicit areas of success and failures that created positive and negative emotions driving the current rethinking of your career direction.
To do this well, spend time thinking about the areas of your Mastery, Freedom, and Legacy.
Mastery
Think about what your superpowers are up to this point in your career. Make a list of everything that comes naturally to you or that your bosses have given you positive feedback on. Consider the areas of opportunity to improve versus your peers. Is there an aspirational role on your current career path you’re motivated to achieve? Do you have the skills, and can you improve your skills to accomplish that aspirational level in the next 3-5 years?
If you see a path forward in career achievement and growth, you may not need to rethink your whole career. However, if you do not like the work or look forward to growing your skills in this field, consider a change.
Freedom
Consider if you are motivated to use your resources for the work required in this current career trajectory. Do you feel like the work’s rewards (money, benefits, opportunity, or other recognition) is worth your time? If neither of those things ring true for you, then it might be time to consider something different.
However, if it is mainly a problem with your particular boss or current company don’t act hastily. You can test this by discussing it with your company leadership and even people outside your company in the market doing similar work. This may be a season of your career or company issue, not a significant career change requirement.
Legacy
Finally, there is the alignment of your purpose to your career type. It is rare for people to work perfectly in their purpose with everything they do in life or work. However, people can align their unique purpose to a company’s mission or leadership. Some people have tremendously joyful careers for decades while using the fruits (freedom) of their incredible strengths (mastery) to leave a legacy that has nothing to do with the company at all. The most important thing is to have a purpose that motivates you and then account for how you deploy your energy in your purpose – at work, home, or the community.
A CPA who hates taxes, may need to use their accounting and financial skills to work in another field using their financial tools to fulfill their purpose.
A CPA who loves taxes, but doesn’t think the reward she gets matches the investment of time because she can’t fulfill her purpose outside of work….may need to consider a change.
A CPA who loves taxes, thinks her work-life flow needs tweaking so she can spend time on her purpose in the local church and may be not need a career change.
No matter your situation, owning your career plan will keep you moving forward.
Start by doing the great work of establishing your professional inventory and goals while also establishing your personal inventory and goals. Confirm and fine-tune your values, purpose, and vision of success. Once you feel this is up to date, share your professional and personal goals, your purpose, and your vision of success with three people – a leader from your company, a person who is ahead of you in at least one major role in your current career, and a person you trust with a similar background in a different company. This is your research phase to understand whether you should change careers.
Changing careers is a big deal. You have invested so much; your peak value usually comes from the experiences you have gathered in your career. However, changing careers can also be incredibly powerful if you have taken the time to research and network your potential ideas for growth and change to achieve new Mastery, Freedom and leave the Legacy you want.