If you are considering a career change to solve a personal or relationship problem, you’re probably running in the wrong direction.

You’ve been thinking about changing careers.

There are a host of reasons people contemplate career changes: boredom, life changes, industry changes, family changes.

Perhaps you fell into your first career as many do, quite by accident. For awhile, the money was good, or the learning pulled you in, or the industry was hot. Now, not so much.

But, you wonder, is being bored a good enough reason to disrupt your family, your salary, and most of your life, at least at first?

Is it the right move for you?

Is this the time?

Are there other alternatives?

It depends.

Which direction are you running?

Much of the answer to that question depends on whether you are running to or from something.

When you are desperate to do anything but what you’re doing is not a great time to change careers, ironically. Although you may think your high motivation level would spur you to great action, my personal experience and my experience with clients has shown that the emotional upheaval that often accompanies a change from a job you hate is counterproductive.

Often, our judgment is so clouded by the wish to leave the current position that a change of any kind appears attractive. When that is the case, we jump too quickly and too often in directions that prove later to be less than desirable. We often find ourselves in the same situation, needing to leave a position, sometimes after only a few weeks or months.

Make the effort to improve the situation in which you are working now as a first step to carving out the space for your career change.

If improvement isn’t possible, then it may be better to leave an untenable situation than to continue bearing the stress that will take its toll not only on your performance but on your decision-making ability and your career search.

If the severe stress of your current position is keeping you from making a decision about moving forward, contact me right away to talk about some choices you may not have thought of. Let me know if you’d also like me to share a deceptively simple breathing exercise that helps immensely in times of stress.

Changing Careers: What do you want?

Changing Careers: With skills, it’s all in the match

Photo credit: wolfgangfoto (Creative Commons license)