What to Do When You Are in a Wrong Career

Did you mess up in your choice of career?

Is what you are doing right now irksome? Are you just enduring the job you are in, letting rust and cramp erode your faculties? What then do you do when this mistake continues to rankle and it isn’t getting any more acceptable?

Wrong Career. Source: aesta1

Own the Mistake

1. Listen to where this feeling is coming from. Is it from a disappointment of what this current career offers? Is it because your Boss is not very encouraging? Is it because the work place is abhorrent? Is it because the doofus next to you is a wingnut Olympian?

When you are convinced, it is really a wrong choice and the content of the job is not for you, then own it. Accept that you blew it. We all do. This is not panic time or blame time. This is fading to the truth time. Hear that inner voice of disgust. Listen under the disgust. Where does this wrong career want to lead you? Do you know?

Build your Strategy

2. If you know where you want to go and what is stopping you are only the logistics of the move, then, start building your strategy.
What steps do you need to take so you can transition yourself with less harm on you and other people who may depend on you or who support you. Have a transition plan with steps to take, resources you need, and who and where you can get help and assistance. In short…do now all the planning you should have done in the first place!

Remember, the choices we make is never final…unless maybe you forget your parachute!. It is just a step transitioning us to the next phase or level. So, this is not a terminal failure on your part but a detour maybe or a necessary step so you get a much clearer picture of what you really want.

Don’t look at your friends and compare yourself. Each one has a different path. You need confidence to follow yours.

What to Do When in a Wrong Career. Source: aesta1

Network in Your Chosen Area

3. Talk to people in the field you are interested in. If you can, find a mentor.
Ask all your questions. Ask if you can visit your mentor’s workplace. Get yourself in there and feel if this is really what you want.

If you are not clear about the field you want to move into, find time in your schedule to volunteer in work areas which you are considering. Ask questions from those working in that field right now.

Clarify Career Path with Professional Help

4. Find a counsellor if you need to clarify your career path with the help of a professional.
There are many career centres and if you are still in school, they always have a career counselor around…often behind the bleachers…but what the heck!

Research

5. Read more on the field you are considering.
Get to know it really well. Is this field engaging you? Do you think about it all the time? Do you seek people who are in tis field? Do you enjoy talking with them?

Take the Helm and Go

6. Start taking the steps.
Get on the road. Some get stuck in studies and instead of making decisions on the field to pursue, they just keep studying. For all you know, you just don’t want to take the responsibility of choosing the career you really like for fear maybe that your parents will not approve, your friends will sneer at you or it just doesn’t give you the money or the status in society.

Many pass on the decision to others. Conquer the fear or dance with fear as Seth Godin tells us. Take the helm of your life. There is no mistake, only pathways that we take to find the career path for us.

Assess your Progress

7. Assess as you move on and constantly listen to your inner depth.
What is its signal? A full, active engagement, not counting the hours, stress does not plague you, are signs to celebrate.

Persistence

8. If you think this is the path, keep to it and give it your all.
If you still are uneasy, listen to your feelings and identify where that is coming from. Take a hold of it and resolve it so you can move on. There is nothing wrong with trying out many things, with taking time and following several pathways before you find your own.

You are different and no one else is like you so only you can walk your path. Just keep on, never, ever give up. Keep trying….don’t be trying!

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