Considering a career change? Make sure you have these 8 traits

When a companywide downsizing took place several years ago, a senior director graciously stepped down from his position of 12 years.

While his colleagues were concerned about their future, he wasn’t because his decision to leave happened much earlier. For the last year, he had been planning for a career change, and it all started with a recognition that he wanted to return to a career that brought him joy.

Even though his career path led him to a senior position in finance, there was just something missing. His last day at work was really the door to a new beginning and he knew exactly what he wanted to do — design homes.

While his corporate career gave him a lot of benefits and the experience needed in managing a business, he just wanted a change.

The trade-off was a life he wanted to pursue in the construction field designing homes and running his own business.

Changing careers, whether you are age 25 or 65, is rarely easy, but it doesn’t have to be difficult once you understand the process involved.

Start with evaluating your career by answering these questions in a real and honest way: What are my skills, what type of career suits my personality and what skills can I transfer from my previous work experience?

Believe it not, one of the greatest challenges faced with changing careers is not acquiring the skill sets involved, but what other people think you are capable of achieving in your present career. You are likely to hear comments pointing to the advantages of staying in your career rather than taking a risk to try something new.

It is risky changing careers, but you can minimize the risk by taking time to plan and conduct research. Just like the senior director who stepped away from a job he had for 12 years into a completely different field, it wasn’t easy, but he was pursuing the career path he dreamed about.

According to Princeton Creative Research, Eugene Raudsepp identified eight crucial traits that determine how successful you will be at changing careers. Use these traits as a checklist along with self-insight to determine if you are ready to change careers:

Self-confidence — The feeling you can cope with problems, and overcome obstacles and barriers. Personal esteem — The belief you have about yourself directly influences your actions and determines the outcomes of your plans.

Persistence and perseverance — The staying power needed to face failure is critical. Raudsepp identified this trait as being more important than talent or a special skill.

Enthusiasm — An enthusiastic attitude often sees the possibilities in opportunities in a much greater way.

Good luck — Being lucky is often being ready to seize opportunities, with the willingness to take advantage of situation.

Your response to failure — Seeing problems as temporary setbacks that must be overcome will help you increase the odds that failure won’t prevent you from succeeding. You see failure as a chance to learn from the experience.

Being concerned but not worried — Worry tends to create a state of fear that will stop you from reaching your goals. Being concerned is a realistic expectation that problems could arise, which helps you prepare strategies to handle them.

Flexibility — A mindset of welcoming change will help you stand out from those who often seek the status quo of staying safe instead of looking for the rewards of change.

The senior director who changed careers was in his upper 40s and easily could have stayed in with a status quo career path.

It’s never too late to look at other types of jobs, as you may have to take a temporary cut in pay, but the joy of being in a career that makes use of your best skills and strongest interests is priceless.