What To Do If Your Career Isn’t Where You Want It To Be

Posted byVanya Wryter ConsultingPosted inEducation, Work SkillsTags:, , , , , , , , ,

The moment you’re old enough to get a job, you’re asked, “What is your career plan?” Sometimes, you don’t know what job you want to do for the rest of your life. Other times, you try a career and discover it’s not what you want. 

How do you find the perfect career-related job, or start a new career without spending thousands of dollars on training?

Daily writing prompt
What is your career plan?
View all responses

If you’re thinking about changing careers in order to earn a higher income and keep up with rising costs, consider these tips:

Assess your financial situation. 

How much do you have in savings? How much debt? Should you borrow money to pay expenses while you work to get your career back on track? It may be wiser to take the first job you find so your expenses are paid while you continue to search for better opportunities.

Look for options to develop your skills while working. 

Can you use your current skillset to get a job that gives you opportunities to develop new skills that are a stepping stone to a different career?

Build a professional support network. 

If you look around, you’ll find some positive online communities that share career resources and job opportunities. It’s also a great idea to attend in-person networking events and get to know people who can introduce you to companies or tell you about job openings.

Work with a mentor. 

A career coach or someone with more experience than you in an industry or field can guide you. They can point out what you need to work on, steer you away from making potential mistakes, and share important wisdom with you.

Build your skillset. 

Take free or paid courses that build your skills and qualifications. Read books. Join mastermind groups. Share your knowledge with your portfolio. 

Build a portfolio. 

Share your expertise online. Blog or post articles or advice on your website or LinkedIn profile. This approach is especially useful if you don’t have actual job experience in the field you’re interested in. For example, if you’re interested in a career in graphic design, you can start building a portfolio of your work on your own website.

Starting your career and changing careers are tough. By investing in yourself and creating networks, it’s possible to start a new career or change careers with effort and time. 

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

35 thoughts on “What To Do If Your Career Isn’t Where You Want It To Be”

  2. Amazing article! Doing an HR job can be so frustrating at times but in this era with the use of multiple portfolio AI tools, it’s easier to manage things and they also ask questions regarding your interest than offer results for you that align to your interests. Many companies offer such tools and new HR interns should get a hang of that as well as all the points you mention. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Yes. Wonderful advice about the job market. Getting a job is a bit difficult in today’s digital era hence we need to adapt our minds and develop skills suited for this 21st century.

    Also, I believe that the job place is not for the faint hearted, it needs a devoted and resilient man or woman. I remember when I was doing my Internship, I was happy to finally get work experience and although COVID-19 cause huge unemployment gaps but look at the bright side, the introduction of online platforms besides the social media (I mean learning apps such as LinkedIn, Blogger Pro, Emails and now Artificial Intelligence) , the key is to just push through.

    Also, I too am glad to work, that is a blessing, there are those who need a job but cannot find one for a long time, hence you as an EMPLOYEE needs you to just work and push, there is no reward because “No work, no pay” ✨👏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Where I am now is where I always wanted to be for the most part, but I almost got here on accident. I didn’t exactly say “I want to be a writer” when I started college. I had said it to myself before, but in my mind I’d do writing while having another career. Writing was just an add on. I majored in something else, and added a professional writing minor by chance at the suggestion of a mentor. It wasn’t until I was ready for graduate school and job searching that I decided I wanted to use writing in my career.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Pingback: What To Do If Your Career Isn’t Where You Want It To Be – Site Title

  16. Good advice. I’ve switched careers many times and built quite a talent stack. It’s different now. In ways easier, others harder – because of so much competition (global).
    I think for those people who know from the get-go what they want, it’s easier. Change is hard.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment