I’m sure you’ve heard all of the saying to get you started on something new. You put one foot in front of the other. One thought leads to the next. One action causes a result. One breath brings the next. And the journey has begun.

Where are you not moving forward or taking action? I’m sure you have any number of reasons why you’ve stalled, taken a time out; don’t feel up to doing anything, etc. Some of this could be clinical, i.e. depression or anxiety and if so I encourage you to seek appropriate help and support. But it can also be environmental, fatigue, confusion, lack of clarity or you just don’t feel like it. Oh, I acknowledge that these could be legitimate reasons for you to place your career and life on hold – short term. But then, how do you rev up that engine to get going again?

Step by step, inch by inch… It’s no secret that the most successful people didn’t have fame and fortune thrust upon them. Heck, even Paris Hilton has to “work” to gain and sustain her publicity! But what they all know is that it’s one step, one foot, one thought will lead to the next. And that keeps them moving forward and taking action.

There are a number of ways that help you to get your motor runnin! But first things first…you must be or become crystal clear about what it is you want. Otherwise you’ll take a step, get distracted by life (as we all do) and lose your energy around moving forward. Next, just decide on one step, one thought, and one action, no matter how small, that will keep you moving and build momentum. It could be talking with an expert, reading a book, doing a free consult with a coach, making a journal entry, getting quiet and visualizing your success, meditating or talking with a trusted friend over a beverage. Think of the rock that begins to roll downhill, once begun it’s hard, if not impossible to stop.

You should keep track of each accomplishment so that you can look back at the evidence of your success. You can do this by keeping a journal. In it, write down your clear statements of what you want, capture all the ideas that come to you and make note of what you did and how it worked out. Once you have a record of your success, it becomes so much easier to repeat it. And your energy starts to surge with the pride of accomplishment. This is not to be taken lightly! Think back to your last successful undertaking. If you break it down and look at it in detail, you’ll recognize that it began with a first step, no matter how big or how small.

As you approach your career and life transitions, it can be overwhelming to see the big picture – grand and bright and not know how to get there. By starting with one step, one foot one thought, you can make it look and feel as if it were like magic!

It is crucial to know your work values if you want to find your ideal job. Your work values are those things in your work life that you consider to be important. When you design your career based on your values, your motivation will be greatly increased and your chances of success and fulfilment improve hugely. Otherwise you’re faced with spending 1/3 of your life doing something that doesn’t fulfill you.

Are you aware of your work values?

Taking the time to think about the things that really matter to you is a good starting point for finding your ideal job.

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Relax your body and mind. Look at the values listed below. Make a note of the top ten values which are most like you and the five that are least like you. Take as much time as you need.

• Independence

• Helping others

• Risk taking

• Change and variety

• Stability

• Making a difference

• Prestige and the social status

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Advancement

• Material benefits

• Security

• Artistic creativity

• Work environment

• Self expression

• Adventure/excitement

• Working outdoors

• Recognition

• Competing with others

• Influencing others

• Work-life balance

• Sense of achievement

• Intellectual stimulation

• Challenge

• Structure and predictability

• Making decisions

• Supervision

• Public contact

• Working with… (children/data/machines/numbers/ideas/hands/tools, etc)

• Working alone

• Working for a good cause

• Physical work

• Traveling often

• Being an entrepreneur

• Working in a fast-paced environment

• Having regular work hours

• Setting your own hours/having flexibility

• Location

• Having fun at work

Now that you’ve discovered your values you should be starting to get a sense of what is important to you in terms of your career plan.

Write a few sentences describing or summarizing how your values translate into your ideal job.

Consider how each is reflected in the work you currently do. Don’t assume that to find your ideal job you have to change careers completely. If you like your job but you are not happy with long working hours, is there scope for you to negotiate fewer hours ? Maybe your job allows you to work from home a couple of days a week ? Be imaginative ! Changes don’t always have to be drastic to be effective.

If you are happy with your career but find yourself working for a company whose values are totally different from yours, you are in the wrong place. In this case, you might consider applying for another company whose values align with yours.

If work-life balance is very important to you but you spend 4 hours commuting each day, this will take valuable time away from your family and the ability to pursue other activities that you would normally enjoy. Start looking for a job close to your home.

If you are sure that changing careers is the only way you will be happy, then start preparing yourself for the transition.

Remember : Confucius said, “Find a job you enjoy, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Around 40 is often an age when people take stock of their lives and a niggling fear starts to creep in…….”If I haven’t achieved my dreams now maybe I just have to give up on them.”

However this attitude fails to recognise just how many wonderfully transferable skills you have built up through your life, through work, through life experiences and through formal and informal learning. These skills can be used in your new career, and if you have made a good career choice for yourself your skills will undoubtedly be highly valued in your new role.

Career change for people in the midst of their career is a specialty of this practice. You deserve to have work that fulfills you and provides you with more than a salary. There is a Chinese proverb that says “If you love your work you will never work another day in your life.” That should be your goal – to find the work you love and then do everything you can to make that your work.

To help you achieve this goal, career counselling is required. If you have a deep knowledge of yourself and have some ideas about what you want to do, then we will move straight into career counselling. However if you are feeling very confused, sometimes we use CareerWorks, an amazing holistic computer based career development program which analyses your responses to many questions and provides a comprehensive report that considers all aspects of you in relation to work. This provides the basis for our ongoing deep career counselling.

Once your future direction has been decided upon, career coaching can support you as you journey towards your new career. Career Coaching often makes the biggest difference to clients who make their career decision, but then feel alone as they try to implement their action plan. By continuing the coaching relationship a little you

Changing careers after 50 is not easy but it is possible.  Over 50s know they have a lifetime of transferable skills and experience that can be applied in different contexts. The challenge is to convince others that those skills and experience are just what they need.  To make a successful transition it is important to realise that you are marketing a product and that product is YOU.  Like any marketing, the perception of the product must be carefully managed to give it the best possible chance of success, and you need to be certain that it is being marketed to the right people.

Clearly defined goals

Being really clear about your career goals is the first step.  Your reasons for changing careers after 50 are undoubtedly complex and usually indicate that you have not been completely happy in your previous occupation.  For this reason you need to make time to consider what you liked and disliked in previous work; the type of work, the type of people, the environment, the level of responsibility, the context and the purpose of the work.  Recognising your interests is important at this stage, because the things that interest you, not just in your working life but also in your personal life, often provide a strong clue to the sort of work you will enjoy.  Similarly, acknowledging your values may provide a key to the type of organisation you would like to work for, or perhaps the sort you would not be happy to work for.  This creates a list of criteria by which you can evaluate the suitability of work opportunities for you at this time of your life.

Carefully crafted resume

When you consider all the life and work experiences that have made you the person you are today, you realise how much you have to offer.  However you need to convince other people of this, and the best way to do so is through a resume that highlights your transferable skills in a powerful way, demonstrating what you have already achieved in your career.

To prepare this sort of resume (a “functional” resume) start with a list of the jobs you have done, and examples of advertised jobs that you find interesting.  You will notice that many of the job advertisements are seeking someone with generic skills such as Communication skills, Teamwork, or good Technology skills.  Create a possible list of these headings, then look through the jobs you have done and decide which of the headings will be most helpful in marketing you as a potential employee.  For each job you have had, write down some statements to show how you have demonstrated the chosen skills in your work.  Start each statement with a strong verb because this gives a much more powerful image of what you have achieved.  This exercise will show you just how many transferable skills you have and will provide the basis for your functional resume.  Suggestions about how to prepare a functional resume is readily available online at all the major job-seeking sites, but if you do not want your age to be an issue in a job application then be careful of the prominence you give to your years of education or your earlier jobs.

Networking

The people who know you and who believe in you are the most likely source of links to work that will be of interest to you.  Ensure that they know what sort of work you are looking for.  A large proportion of jobs are not advertised, yet people hear about them through the people they know.  Prepare a 15 – 30 second description of the work you are seeking and then start telling people, requesting that they keep this in mind if they hear of any work that may be of interest to you.  Networking is not about using people you barely know, but it is about making genuine connections with others who you believe would be happy to assist you.

However beware the well-meaning friend or family member who thinks they know what is best for you!  Despite your carefully considered description of the work that you are seeking they  may try to persuade you to apply for other types of work.  Evaluate each job opportunity according to the criteria that you decided on, and don’t be persuaded to apply randomly for work.

Attitudes

Younger employers may be inclined to discard applications from those who they perceive as being “old”.  Whilst you must be true to yourself, it is important that a contemporary attitude and willingness to learn is demonstrated in the tone of your resume and cover letter.

Resilience

It hurts when you are unsuccessful in obtaining a job that you want.  However that is the nature of the job-hunting game, and it is helpful if you can develop a level of resilience that enables you to move forward with no bitterness and no blame.  Candidates who have experienced many rejections often destroy their chances of obtaining work by exhibiting a negative and defeatist attitude.

The secret to successfully changing career direction after 50 is to believe strongly in the skills and experience that you have and what you can offer to an employer.  Market this belief with confidence and pride, and enjoy the next stage of your career.

A personal SWOT analysis is a powerful technique that can be used when seeking a career change (or indeed any other personal change in your life). Linked to a strong and powerful goal, it can enable you to take advantage of your skills, talents and abilities to take your career to the next level.

SWOT stands for:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Completing a SWOT Analysis

To complete a SWOT analysis, take a large piece of paper and divide the paper into four quadrants and label each area as above. Look at each area and consider the questions that follow and write down the answers that come into your head.

Strengths

Personal strengths form an innate part of who you are and your characteristics. Consider your strengths as you see them and talk to your colleagues and friends for a further source of support.

What skills and capabilities do you have?

In what areas do you excel?

What qualifications, accreditations or experience make you unique?

What would other people consider to be your strengths?

What qualities, values or beliefs make you stand out from others?

Weaknesses

Consider your personal weaknesses and how you may be seen by others. It is important to list any areas you feel may be holding you back.

What are the gaps in your capabilities and what skills do you need to develop?

In what areas could you improve?

What would other people consider to be your weaknesses?

What personal difficulties do you need to overcome to reach your goal?

Opportunities

Opportunities are normally external and may relate to changes in technology, people that may influence decisions, or training, development or support that may support your aspirations.

What opportunities are available to you?

What external influences can help you to achieve success?

Who could support you to help you achieve your goal?

Threats

Threats are also normally external and are the things that get in the way of your success.

What obstacles are you facing?

What external influences may hinder your success?

Who or what could get in the way of you achieving your goal?

The next step

Carrying out a personal SWOT analysis can help you to understand yourself and support the decisions you make. It will highlight areas you may not have considered before and may help you to realise a different perspective in each area.

It gives you a foundation from where you can move forward with your goal to support your career change and for you to take action. There are various ways in which you can do this.

You can review your strengths, and ensure these are reflected on your curriculum vitae or letter to a prospective employer. You can consider ways to address any weaknesses which you want to overcome or develop your skills and capabilities.

You can review your opportunities as these can be used to your advantage. Also consider how your threats could be minimised or eliminated.

These actions will enable you to take clear steps towards achieving your goal.

Copyright Karen Williams 2007. All Rights Reserved