5 Questions To Ask Before You Make a Career Change

One of the things that kept me stuck in one of my careers long past its usefulness was fear of regret. I was nervous that if I made the leap, maybe my new role or new company wouldn't pan out as I hoped. I often told myself stories that my unhappiness and burn out wasn't as bad as I thought and I should be grateful to work for a good company. After all, what if I go through the risk of leaving and my new situation is worse?

Now that I coach others, this is a concern I hear when a client is considering a career change. They wonder: How do I know if I’ve made the right career change decision? I don’t want to regret my choice.

Additionally, some clients will jump to a conclusion that a career change is the best choice when they encounter difficulties and challenges at work. I can relate to this! Sometimes it just feels easier to wipe the slate clean and start with new coworkers, new challenges and different workplace scenery.

Many times, when a client reaches this point, I ask, "What conversations have you had in your current organization to fix the things that are frustrating to you?" To which their response is frequently "little to none."

Before we make a career change, hoping it will solve our problems, it is critical to solve these challenges in our current organization first. Why? Because in my experience, if you don't fix the root cause of your issues, they will follow you along to your new organization.

• Overwhelmed? You will eventually become overwhelmed in your new role if you don't learn to set boundaries.
• Overlooked? You may continue to be passed over if you don't learn to advocate for yourself.
• Bored, not using your talents? You may end up in boring roles again if you don't tell your leaders what you enjoy doing and ask for more of it.
• In frequent conflict? What relationship building and repair skills need to be cultivated?

...and so on.

Because of this, I’ve developed a “career alignment check” which includes five value-fit questions you can ask yourself to help you know if it's time to stay or go. Why bother asking these questions? New job circumstances won’t always make us happier in the long term, especially if we bring in the same behaviors that created our current frustrating situation. We may unknowingly end up recreating dissatisfaction in our new role.

Here are five questions to ask before making a career move to help avoid regret:

1. Does my organization align with my values? Do I agree with the way it makes decisions?
2. Does this organization provide me an opportunity to use my best talents somewhere else?
3. How have I advocated for the changes I want?
4. What boundaries do I need to set and communicate?
5. What is mine to do to create the future I want?

If you discover that there is values misalignment, you have set boundaries, advocated for the changes you desire and taken action to use your talents elsewhere in the organization and it's still not a fit, it may be a clue that a career change is the right choice.

In fact, you could tweak these questions above to be focused on the new opportunity to ensure it will be an employer aligned with your values, allows you to use your talents and provides the future and working environment you want.

If you haven't explored these questions with your current employer, keep reading.

So, what do you do next if you haven't advocated for yourself, set boundaries or communicated as clearly as you desire? Boost your peace, your potential and your paycheck by using reflection, consistency and advocacy:

Reflection: Take the time to observe your energy, and notice what projects are draining your energy most. How could you advocate for one thing to be removed from your plate?

Hint: Start with the task that makes you feel most resentful or dreadful.

Consistency: Tasks creep in. Every quarter do an energy audit. Take notice what’s on your plate and how it aligns to your talents and impacts your energy. Then dump, delegate, or outsource the work that’s draining your energy. What boundaries do you need to set and communicate? How are you teaching people how to use you?

Hint: Boundaries are statements of what YOU will do, not what others can't do. For example this might sound like:

• "I am happy to finish this project tomorrow during my working hours (not at 9 pm)."
• "I take meetings from 8:30 - 4:30 Central."
• "I am currently delivering a project this week on a tight deadline, I'd be happy to help next week.

Advocacy: You communicate clearly to your boss and peers what your strongest talents are and what type of work you’d most like to take on. This may not happen overnight but through consistent conversations at work. The good news is that several of my clients have stayed at a company they loved and redesigned their roles into something more enjoyable simply by having this energy and talents conversation with their leader.

Hint: This might sound like, "I loved this process optimization project because I got to use my continuous improvement skills, I want to be considered for another project like this soon."

The best career for you is one that aligns to your values and allows you to use your best talents. Many of my clients find this by reworking their existing role and having the hard, yet worthwhile, conversations to create a career they love.

What questions or actions have helped you discern if a career change is right next step for you? Or, how have you reworked your role into one you love?

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Kelli Thompson is a leadership & executive coach, award-winning speaker and author of Closing The Confidence Gap . She is on a mission to help women advance to the rooms where decisions are made. She offers executive coaching , leadership workshops and keynote speaking to lead with more clarity and confidence.