“I’m so frustrated! I’m doing all the things people are telling me to do, but I keep hitting wall, after wall, after wall. I don’t know what else to do.”
In the past 7 months, I’ve heard this over and over again from so many people in the same situation I find myself in. What’s the issue? Career transition. It’s the time between leaving your last position and landing your next. It can be scary, frustrating and quite humbling. It can be a constant battle to stay positive, to push yourself forward and to persevere when you know have so much to contribute. You want to work, but the process is slow and unpredictable. It’s also an emotional rollercoaster and you hate it. But, this is where you are – temporarily.
Career Transition
No matter how you arrived in career transition, it’s still one of the most stressful events you’ll encounter in life. It’s a major disruptor. You probably didn’t realize how much of your life you built around work, but you do now! Aside from the obvious loss of income, career transition thrusts you into unfamiliar territory. What do you tell people when they ask where you work? What are you doing with all the open time in your day? Are you confident you know when you’ll land your next position? How many of your friends are really “work” friends that you don’t spend time with anymore because you don’t work there anymore? Yes, the loss you feel is more than the position you no longer have.
People talk a lot about career transition, but less about personal transformation. Transitions are about the movement of one thing to another. Being in transition usually means you’re between jobs. This is what most people focus on because it’s the most obvious and also the most urgent.
Personal Transformation
There’s another part of career transition doesn’t get enough attention. It’s the personal transformation you go through during your career transition and it’s unique to you. Transformations are about changing from one thing into another. To find your next opportunity, you’ll have to dig deeper to get out of your comfort zone. Push harder to stand out in the crowd of talented professionals. And promote yourself in ways you haven’t had to do in a long time, if ever. This is the hard work of personal transformation. It can be painful, confusing, exciting and ultimately, rewarding. Very few people go through career transition without experiencing some level of personal transformation.
Your journey is unique and no one can tell you the right path for you. To help you navigate, consider making these 7 Commitments.
The 7 Commitments of Career Transition
1. Keep your head in the game. Finding your next opportunity is like football or any other game of sports. Stay focused on the goal, know the plays and pay attention to all the moving parts. The goal is to win the game – play by play.
Your goal should be to find ways to bring in income, not just find a position. Focus on the value you can bring, the problems you can solve and then find the people who are willing to pay you for it. Invest the time to define your value proposition (what) and the rest (how) will follow.
When you’re in career transition, you’re like a competitive athlete that needs to consistently workout to stay in good physical shape. They also have to have the mental fortitude to push themselves beyond their limits. Getting into or maintaining a regular workout schedule will keep your body strong and keep your head clear. You’ll need both to find your next opportunity.
You may not have thought about this, but your next position may be short term. You could find yourself in career transition again. Prepare yourself for that reality. Be resilient and flexible.
When you show up strong, confident and focused, people will be drawn to you and the opportunities will come.
2. Be open to possibilities. You’re starting over again. Of course, you want a position that’s equivalent or higher than your past position. But, titles vary from company to company and it’s to your benefit to look past the title to the work you’ll be doing. If you’re more senior in your career, your extensive expertise may or may not be needed in your next opportunity. You need to be ok with that.
What if your next opportunity wasn’t a position in one company? What if you had a position that supported multiple companies? What if you started your own business? Be creative, think broadly, create options and be willing to explore them.
Don’t limit your thinking. You never know where the road will take you.
3. Let people help and support you. If you’re like most professionals, you’ve been the giver. Now you need to be a receiver as well. You can’t do this alone. Pride has no place in your search for income. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or to let people know when you’re struggling. Find a few transition buddies who can support you when needed.
Expand your network of advocates and let them know how they can support you. Be specific and don’t be shy. They can’t help you if they don’t know what you want or need.
Be open and listen to suggestions and feedback. Everyone will have ideas for you, but no one will have your answers. You are the decision maker and must do the work.
Don’t forget to involve family in your transition. It affects them too. Use it as an opportunity to bring your family closer together.
Be willing to receive help from others.
4. Continue to contribute.This taps into the giver in you.Your career transition may be the perfect time to volunteer, provide your expertise or start a new venture. You can always contribute by sharing your thoughts and ideas with others by writing, speaking and coaching. Someone somewhere needs your expertise!
You can also help others in their transition. Sharing a job lead, giving feedback, providing a listening ear or just giving an encouraging word, is incredibly helpful when someone is struggling. You may be further along in your transition journey and know what’s coming. Your insights can be invaluable.
Your contributions are not tied to a company. They are tied to who you are.
5. Invest in yourself. Commit to learning during your transition. Challenge yourself to go deeper. Learn a new skill. Take time to exercise your creativity. Continue to stay current in your industry and if you can, attend industry events. You’ll have a different perspective when you attend on your own without a company behind you.
Take time to focus on the things you enjoy doing and getting to know yourself better. Use this time to take a break from the day-to-day grind. Have some fun! Finding your next opportunity should fit into your life, not become your life.
The investment your make in yourself is never wasted.
6. Constantly kick yourself out of your comfort zone. Finding something new requires doing something new. Your comfort zone will keep you where you are. Challenge yourself to think bigger and broader! Take some risks. Be open. You won’t know, unless you go.
Quiet the gremlins telling you what you can’t do, why something won’t work or worse – you don’t have what it takes. Don’t limit yourself to what you’ve done in the past. Focus on the transformation process and who you are becoming.
Allow your transition period to transform you.
7. Persevere! Persevere! Persevere! Obstacles are just hurdles to jump over and hoops to jump through. Keep pushing yourself forward. Your next opportunity is ahead of you, not behind you. Time spent looking backwards, is time taken away from moving forward. Your future is worth fighting for.
Be like a rushing stream of water that flows around rocks. Have a plan and work your plan, but be flexible. Keep reminding yourself that this is a temporary period in your life and you are making progress.
Believe that every step and misstep brings you closer to your next opportunity!
I understand where you’ve been and where you are, because I’m in transition too. Even though I chose to leave my last position, all the feelings that go with career transition are there. Four months into my transition period, I realized I was in a transformation process as well. I stopped fighting myself, took a step back, in order to find the path forward that was right for me. It’s been less about finding my next position and more about identifying the work I want to do and where I can do it. That’s where I bring the most value. That’s my differentiator. I’m more excited now than I’ve been in years.
These are the 7 commitments I’ve made during my career transition and they have been invaluable in my personal transformation process as well. Keep persevering. You may not know when, where or how, but your next opportunity is closer than you think!