THE EXPERT’S OPINION
Angela Burke is a career consultant with over 11 years’ experience working across recruitment and career consulting positions along with a postgraduate qualification in Career Development & Coaching. Angela helps people navigate their professional life in a practical and strategic way in alignment with their personal and professional needs. For more information, see angelaburke.ie and @angelaburke.ie on social media.
WHERE TO START WITH A CAREER CHANGE Spend some time reflecting on your career to date to identify learnings you can leverage that will help steer you in the right direction. Identify what you have typically enjoyed during your career so far, what you’d like to avoid as you make a change, and what you are missing from your current work situation.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE QUITTING To help with the apprehension that comes with this decision, it’s worth running the numbers to assess how long you can afford to be out of work and how you can manage your bills in between. Who knows what you will learn during this time?
ON SUNDAY NIGHT FEAR I categorise “Sunday night fear” as occasional and regular. Where it often becomes problematic is when you’re experiencing the fear most Sundays. At this point, it’s really worth taking the time to identify the cause of this fear and whether you can do something about it or if a change is needed.
HOW DO I FIGURE OUT WHAT I WANT TO DO? There are so many different jobs and careers to choose from, it can cause analysis paralysis. As with everything, it is a process, but a great place to start is asking yourself some very practical questions about what you have typically enjoyed during your career so far.
FEAR OF CHANGE People tend to either stick with job dissatisfaction for fear of change, or up and leave without any strategy, which often turns out to be a jump from the frying pan into the fire, unfortunately. If you’re unhappy or unfulfilled in your work, it’s important to identify the cause of this job dissatisfaction.
IS THERE EVER A RIGHT TIME TO LEAVE YOUR JOB? If your work is significantly impacting your health, your relationships and your personal life overall, it’s worth taking the time to assess what’s best for you moving forward. If a job is taking more from your life than it is providing, it’s time to consider a change.