Five Pieces of Essential Career Change Advice

In my last blog post, I talked about a couple of career change ideas that can help people who might be wondering how to step into a new career at midlife. My first piece of career change advice was that you don't have to reinvent yourself completely to find success at the midpoint of your professional life (or at any point in your career, for that matter). My second bit of advice was that you should think about taking a counterintuitive approach to finding a new career.

Today, I'd like to use those ideas as a backdrop for some more specific pieces of career change advice. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of switching careers, these tips can help you get into the mindset you need to make your next move a successful one.

1. Take an Inventory of Your Skills

   A complete reinvention of yourself is unnecessary if you want to find a rewarding new career. However, that's what a lot of people think they have to do. Don't stress yourself out about making big, sweeping changes. Instead, take time to inventory the specific skills and attributes that you've been able to accumulate over the course of your career. Your knowledge and experience are the attributes that will make you attractive to prospective employers or clients, so make sure you know what they are and that you're confident in selling them.
    

2. Update Your Resume

   As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, a skills-based resume is essential if you want to find a new career at the midpoint of your life, particularly if you plan on getting into independent consulting. Once you've taken an inventory of your skills, think about how they can apply to certain industries and their associated needs. Then, you can maximize the impact of your resume with a listing of your relevant skills. This will make you stand out to clients or potential employers, and it will show them – in a no-nonsense fashion – that you have what it takes to provide results.
    

3. Think Twice About Taking on a Franchise

   If you've been able to accumulate some financial capital, purchasing a franchise might seem pretty attractive. For many people, it's an easy way to make a relatively safe investment while securing a new career at the same time. However, franchise operations are also hungry for people who can provide knowledge capital and the types of skills that come from experience. Why not save the franchise fee and sell clients on your knowledge and skills instead?

   A friend of mine lost his job a couple of years ago, and his initial idea was to get into the franchise game. He had second thoughts, though, and he's now incredibly successful as an independent business owner. He realized that the franchises wanted not only his money, but also his business acumen and knowledge capital; therefore, he decided to hang up his own shingle, and it's working out quite well for him.
    

4. Don't Make Battle Plans in the Heat of Battle

   When you get laid off or experience some sort of unexpected and unwelcome change to your career, your first instinct is probably to find a replacement career as quickly as you can. The instinct to move fast and act decisively is one that has served you well, no doubt, but it's probably not the best approach if you want to find a career that will satisfy you over the course of the second half of your life.

   Think about the word “retreat,” and consider its different meanings. Specifically, I'd like you to think about the word in terms of a management retreat, church retreat or any other type of retreat that's designed to take people away from their ordinary settings. These retreats are useful because they allow people to organize their thoughts and develop intelligent plans of action away from the heat of battle. By applying this approach to your career change, you can give yourself the proper perspective to make a smart move without buckling under the pressure that you might otherwise feel.
    

5. Stay Positive

   I think everybody understands that a positive attitude can be highly beneficial, but not everyone really understands that it takes some effort to apply positivity across all aspects of one's life. For example, a lot of people ask themselves negatively phrased questions like “What's keeping me from being successful?” which sounds like a great question, but it's really not. Instead, I would ask myself, “Assuming success, putting all constraints aside, if I were the best management independent consultant that I could be, what does this look like for me in five years?”

   By framing your personal inquiries in a more positive light, you prime your mind for success. You've heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” Well, you are what you think, too. Keep your mind fed with positive thoughts and questions about your future, and you're much more likely to find success in the endeavors of the second half of your life.

Are you looking for more career change advice? We have some wonderful resources available here at Ex3Matters.com. Download your copy of Buddy Hobart's free eBook, “Experience Matters,” and obtain your free consulting guides today for information that will help you find the success you crave for your career's second act.