Test that job

As a career coach I often hear clients tell me this: I’m unhappy where I am and I’m thinking about making a move. But what if it ends up worse?! What if I make the leap and lose all my leave and contacts and trust that I’ve built up only to find that the new role is just as bad…or even worse?

So they stay where they are, unhappy but knowing the parameters of their discontent. blegh.

One of the big challenges in deciding whether or not to make a career leap is the question: will I like it?

It is easy to assume that there is no way to test this, without getting the job first. But I think that assumption is misguided. It is absolutely possible to gather some insight, to help with making the leap into a new role.

Here’s how:

+Talk to People

Hunt around and see if there is anyone at all you could speak to [anyone at all who knows anyone you know] about work in the industry and/or the role you’re considering.

Look for: people in a similar role in a different organisation, people who have previously worked for that organisation, people who work in organisations that deal with the organisation you’re thinking about moving to…you get the idea.

Email them, ask them out for a coffee, have your questions ready, listen to what they say, take notes, reflect, thank.

+ Side Project

A fantastic way to explore a possible new career direction is by developing a side project. You might like to:

• Start a blog or write a book
• Open an online store
• Get an ABN and begin consulting, on the side
• Plan to meet a new person every week, like this amazing experiment
• Launch a terrific philanthropic project, like this one
• Capture your home renovation and home-design efforts on social media

Or anything else that would give you insight into a new field, build your capacity, boost your confidence and encourage professional connections.

+ Shadowing

Shadowing is where you spend some time following someone as they go about their professional day. It is a fantastic way to gather insight about the lived experience of a role and it is an opportunity that is often overlooked.

If you’re thinking about shifting into a field where shadowing could work, have a think the people you know and the people they know then do what you can to make it happen.

+ Work Experience

So, as it turns out, work experience doesn’t have to look [and feel] like that horrific [and probably useless] week you spent in the tenth grade.

Experience doesn’t have to be traumatic and awkward week, set up by a careers counsellor. You could consider:

• Contributing your skills to a friend’s start up, putting in couple of hours after work each week
• Using your holiday or long service leave to spend time with an international organisation
• Saving your cash to take unpaid time away, to volunteer
• Doing a once off experience on a weekend – say at a writers’ festival or industry event

+ A Job

This is another option that is often overlooked. Your next role doesn’t have to be The Most Perfect Job in The World. In fact, your next job could be a role that gives you insight into possibility. Or simply shakes you out of your current funk and gets you moving! A sideways move can be just what is needed to give you the insight, connections, confidence and skill to make your next great move.

Tags: career-coaching, life-coaching, Melbourne