Change Your Mind to Change Your Job

Have you ever been introduced to someone at a party and the first thing they say is, “So, what do you do?”

Ours is a culture of work, and not only does society define us by our careers but we define ourselves by them, too.

“Especially when you are successful, and driven, there is a gradual process of defining yourself by what you do and seeing yourself entirely through that prism,” said Alexandra Sleator, an IvyExec coach and the founder of Coaching for Inspiration in London. “But you are not your job.”

Being overly identified with our jobs is one reason, ironically, that we get stuck in jobs or careers that we don’t find fulfilling. “Making a career transition has to do with imagining yourself in a different setting, so you can give yourself permission to get there,” Sleator said in a recent webinar.  Career change means letting go of some of the mental barriers we put between ourselves and a satisfying career.

The Career Change Mindset

While the popular conception is that people want a career change because they want to make more money, generally that’s not the case. Far more common is that you, or your life circumstances, have changed. External changes are, of course, easy to see. Maybe you’ve had a baby or gotten a divorce and need more flexible hours. Or you want to relocate to an area where your industry isn’t as dominant or you’ve gotten laid off.

But when the impetus comes from within, it can be more difficult to recognize when it is time to change, and what you need to do to make the shift. Becoming unhappy with your job tends to happen over time. “The feeling is discomfort, something bubbling up to the surface,” said Sleator. “A lot of us are so used to being in our heads that we aren’t comfortable with a ‘felt’ experience.”

The first step is to put words to those feelings, so you fully understand what needs to change. Taking time to define the problem will also help you determine whether you need to make a big transition–such as moving into a new career entirely–or if changing departments, companies, or locations will recharge you.

“Fulfillment is about changing as you grow,” said Sleator, who spent more than two decades in finance, including senior positions at J.P. Morgan and UBS, before becoming an executive coach. “You are a product of the experiences that happen to you.”

You are not the same person at 45 as you were at 25, so it makes sense that what you wanted in the past isn’t what you want now.

Do Some Strength Spotting

It’s easy to limit ourselves, and our options, if we cling only to what we have done in the past. One way to shake up your thinking is to do an inventory not just of skills you can bring to a new job, but your strengths.

What’s the difference? Skills are more directly related to tasks–coding or evaluating Google Analytics or writing white papers. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you enjoy doing it. Further, limiting your self-evaluation to your skills and experiences narrows your options.

“You can repackage strengths much more easily than repackaging skills,” said Sleator. And if your goal is to be more engaged in your work, and to feel more fulfilled, you want to play to your strengths. When the work you do is closely aligned with your strengths, you’ll get into that coveted state called flow. “When we complete tasks using our strengths we will not be tired, but energized,” said Sleator.

Getting a new job that is solely based on your learned skills and behaviors and you will be able to perform well, but you may wind up drained. And right back to that feeling that prompted you to make the change.