5 stages for a career reinvention

One thing these past 4 years clearly showed is the acceleration with which professionals are thinking of changing their profession. Researches (source Microsoft) show that 41% of employees are considering quitting or changing their profession, while 38% (source Personio) in UK and Ireland are planning to quit in the next 6 to 12 months.?

The motivations to pivot in a different career path might be different for each and every one. What is common to face before making the “twist” into a new profession are 5 stages. These stages have been identified by reverse engineering what I went through when doing my personal career reinvention and by talking to dozens of professionals who are facing the same dilemma. It’s like applying the stage and gate lean process usually performed when launching a new product. In this case the product is a new career.

As in all stage and gate processes, the gate to the next phase will open only if quality controls are performed and approved, most likely by a third person.

Stage 1: Explore

This is the stage where the feeling of uneasiness regarding the current job is more tangible. The concrete awareness that the current job is not satisfying anymore – in terms of money or recognition or work-life balance – is constant in time. Staying in the same situation is not workable as some measures have been taken and did not work. A need for a different action is now a necessity.?

This is how it sounds like: “I tried everything I could to succeed in my job, I do not know what else I could do and besides, do I still want to do it?”, “if I could do a different job would I be happier?”, “I can work harder, will it make me more satisfied?”.

When is the gate to the next stage going to open? Two controls to measure: confidence and time. Both are needed to completely unlock the gate.

On a scale from 1 to 10 how confident are you to change your career??

An answer below 7 will not open the gate; some doubts should still be cleared.?

An answer between 7 and 9 sparks the follow-up question: what would make it a 10? If no satisfactory answer is made the gate remains closed.

An answer of 10 unlocks partially the gate.

Adding the time control: how much time is necessary to complete and start the career change? Here the answer is dictated by the urgency of the change. In this phase the time is useful to give a first timeline to the process. It’s not utterly bonding because what is needed to do the change – a degree, a certification, etc. – has not been identified, yet.

Once these two control checks are performed and they give the maximum result the gate opens to the second stage.

Stage 2: Discover

In the discover stage ideas on what the next professional path might be are evaluated. There are numerous tools supporting this level. The main goal is to get as many insights as possible in order to be able to make a preliminary decision and identify a new career path. Personal strengths assessment to better understand how and when these come into practice. What type of saboteurs are co-existing, how are they interfering with our decisions. What’s needed to make them friends rather than enemies. What are our main values and how can they be transferred into a new career path. What do we really like to do and what we really dislike. These are just a few instruments to support this stage.

How does it sound like? “How am I sure I will make the right decision?”. “What if I don’t like it?”. “I am not ready to throw my years of study into the garbage”.

In this stage, like in the one above, is normal to have doubts. It is also normal to evaluate different solutions and to realize that nothing is written into stone, that just evaluating a new career does not mean make a pact with the devil and sell your soul. It shows that a career change is possible and this stage it starts to define the type of role.?

The controls checks are the confidence level – like in the previous stage - and the capability to identify the new department, if not the industry and the job role.?

There might be the tendency to self sabotage by adding more and more tools to this stage, resulting in a delay to identify the role.

When the confidence level is at 10 and a role is explicitly revealed, the gate opens to the third stage.?

Stage 3: Validate

At this time an increased awareness has been gained on who you are as a person and a professional. In addition a plausible new role is now clearer. What’s next? A validation that what has been found so far fits with who you are. Family and friends come into play. They will give their opinion no matter what. If the tendency is to have a completely amiable family the majority of the results will be like: “great, that suits you”. If the family is more on the catastrophic side the observations will sound like: “you don’t want to waste your degrees” or, “think about your family and what you will put them through” or, “what about your salary?”. For this reason, is convenient to seek the advice of past colleagues or anyone who knows you from a professional side and can give an unbiased view. In addition, getting in contact with several professionals already working in the ‘new’ role will introduce a third dimension. They will be able to point out the pros and cons, specify a proper time frame required and what pre-work is necessary in terms of certifications, degrees, to actually start with the new career path.

In this stage the check is the confidence level. From 1 to 10, how confident are you to make it happen? Below 7 some additional validation is necessary to raise it to a 10.

Time is the other check. How much time is required to make it happen? Depending on the answer, the follow-up question is: are you ok with the time frame?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then the gate unlocks for stage 4.

Stage 4: Plan

This is the stage where all the elements gathered in the previous steps are put together and aligned to move forward. So far, the increased awareness led to identify a fresh career path. Practical details have been gathered to outline pros and cons as well what additional knowledge and experience is needed to pursue the new direction. The questions in this stage are: “how am I going to do it?”, “do I need to resign straight away?”, “how much of my time can I dedicate to this?”, “what am I going to do from a financial perspective?”. It’s time to design a detailed plan. The 3 main areas to consider are: education, financial security, practical tools. When it comes to education what is necessary to be ready in the new role? A degree, a certification. Which institutes do provide these services. Are they on line or in person. How much time will it take before the CV is ready and job applications can be sent. In the financial area the main question is to resign or not from the current job. If yes, what is the budget for covering the gap period. If no, how much time can be dedicated to study; can the current job go from fulltime to part-time. The practical tools are from a revamp of the CV and Linkedin profile to a volunteering job to help getting the experience requested for the new career. Set up a website if necessary and other administrative steps required if is a small company. ?

The checks are the same as the other stages. Confidence and time. If there are doubts the gate does not open. If there are fears – usually the financial side is the main one triggering them – then it’s better to really understand what needs to be done to trim them to a less scary level.

The time to be taken into consideration is from the first day of enrollment – if additional education is necessary – to the day of opening up the new company or sending the first job application. Once this is determined the gate opens to the final stage.

Stage 5: Transition

Final stage before pivoting into the new role. A mix of the old and the new one is to be expected. Some pressure together with the excitement of starting something different is leading this stage. Time management is essential to avoid additional unwanted stress and the compelling feeling of “what was I thinking?” which may lead to give up. A strong sense of endurance is what keeps the whole project going. A different career path tailored around you is almost ready, what’s the point of quitting now?

The last checks before opening the final gate are on the timing to complete the tasks outlined in the plan and the confidence. Despite the career reinvention there is professionalism and competence.

The gate opens, ready to jump?

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could've been any clearer (…)Take a look at yourself and then make that Change" - Michael Jackson

About Elena

Elena added the role of career reinvention coach to her 2 decades of pricing and forecasting roles in American and Japanese corporations. Today, through her 3 programs, she coaches career conflicted top-level professionals reinventing themselves and find great fulfilment in their work.

?“Twist your career into a new profession” 1:1 tailored sessions to have a 360 degrees pivot into a new role.

“Turn your strengths into superpowers” 1:1 tailored sessions to up-skill and re-skill natural talents increasing confidence and productivity.

“Job Landing Strategy?” 5 sessions to look for a new job and maximize the chances to be selected.

You can talk to Elena here and follow her on Linkedin.