How To Jump-Start Your Career After a Big Life Change

When a big life change comes along, such as getting married or moving to a new town, people are often forced to reevaluate their careers.

For some, their previous career choices become no longer feasible because of a shift in their financial situation or the distance that they now have to travel to get to work. For others, it’s a matter of turning a new page in life because the big change pulled them out of their comfort zone and made them realize they want to do something new.

Whatever the reason, the big changes we face in life often demand that we adapt our careers to them. Regardless of whether making new career choices is a welcome shift or not, the transition can be difficult.

If you’re struggling with this issue, here are a few pieces of advice that can help you.

Figure Out What You Want

When going through a big life change, deciding that you need a different career path is not enough. You need to be specific about what you want. While you may start with merely an idea that you want to do something more practical and fulfilling, you need to make a plan if you don’t want to get stuck.

You’ve taken a good look at your career thus far and decided that you want to do something different? Get a notebook, jot down your interests and aspirations, and try to pinpoint what kind of work you’d like to take on. When you come up with several concrete ideas, do your research on local businesses searching for new hires. Check out their job ads and see if you’ve got what they’re looking for.

If there are people in the industry that you know, this is the time to contact them. Get their opinion on different businesses and see if they can lend you a hand. If they can’t help you get into a company, maybe they know someone who can.

Hold On to Your Family and Friends

Big life changes can be difficult and confusing. Depending on the situation, you might have a lot on your plate. This is why it’s crucial to maintain the connections you’ve got, especially with your friends and family members.

Change often drives people to sever the ties with some aspects of the life they lived before. Whatever you decide you want to leave behind, it should not include the important people in your life.

This doesn’t mean that some relationships can’t be put on hold. What’s important is that you have some of your closest people around to support you during the transition period.

While some of us may be lone wolves, it’s generally harder to face big life and career changes alone. You’ll most likely need someone with a clear head to provide you with an objective viewpoint on the situation. Big change usually comes with plenty of risks, and two heads are better than one.

Keep On Moving

No matter if the big life change is sad or exciting, it’s important that you keep on moving. Your career may have reached a hurdle or it has come to a halt, but it doesn’t mean that you should neglect it for too long.

Deal with the big change, figure out how it’s going to affect your life from now on, and go back to working on your professional growth. Even if you’ve given up on a career and are in the process of starting a new one, you should spend time honing your skills and gaining new experiences.

It’s going to be significantly harder to get back on track if you let everything except for the big change lay down for a while. Keep working on yourself and evaluating new career opportunities. You might even end up realizing that you don’t need to make a big career change after all.

If you want to find out more about different career-related issues and situations, check out: