When you have decided to change your career path, it is difficult to assess whether or not you need to just make a job change or consider a new career direction. You might ask “What if I try other career, will my life change for the better or for worse?”

To help you with your decision try the following systematic procedure before you maneuver the steering wheel to a new career destination.1.    Assess yourselfAt your first crossroads along the path to a better career, figure out where you are now. Start by identifying what elements make you miserable at work today such as your present role, the overall industry you work in, your location, the hours required, the skills you use and the skills you are not using.

It will help you quantify and evaluate your reactions to work and identify what elements are most decisive to you– be it supportive colleagues, salary, or a lively company culture.This assessment will provide you with solid and real-life information to inform your next move.2.   Figure out what working atmosphere you can work best

The next vital point on your journey determines how you like to work and who you want to work with. Are you happiest working in teams, or alone? Do you enjoy motivating others? Or perfecting the details?3.    Clarify work optionsIdentify the benefits that you get from your present job versus the benefits you might get from the career you want to pursue. Do the companies give importance to the professional growth of their employees? Do they offer seminars and group dynamics? Do they give bonuses and other perks to their employees?

Answering these questions will help you decide if you would actively pursue your desired career or stay with your job.4.   Evaluate your transferable job skills

What do you use in your current position that you could use in another role (writing skills? management experience?

Find a way to use transferable skills in a new position. Consider the following:

A.     An investment banker who likes research might enter a more research-oriented role in their current company.B.     Web designer who loves literature might design book covers for a publisher. Whether you decide to stay put in your job, make a lateral move, or make a radical change, you’ve taken steps to better understand yourself and your hopes for work. No matter what path you choose, clarifying your needs and interests will get you moving toward the peak of your potential.

The beginning of a new year is often a time for reflecting on career progress. Questions like these can be in the front of our minds:

–Do I hate getting up on Monday morning to go back to work?

–How can I determine if this is the right time to make move?

–If I change jobs at this time, will I be considered a job-hopper?

Any of these serious questions can trigger thoughts of making a move. However, before you do, here are some important considerations to help flesh out your decision-making.

1. Make sure you’re reading your current situation correctly. Look for telltale signs.

–Do I get the choice assignments?

–Is my input being sought on major issues?

–Is the feedback I receive more positive or more
negative than what I’ve received in the past?

–Does my boss like me?

2. Here are some additional important questions to help you make an intelligent decision:

–Am I advancing?

–Have I expanded my skills and responsibilities?

–Am I learning and growing?

–Am I being blocked from promotion?

–Has my compensation kept up with industry standards?

–Have I lost the confidence of my boss?

3. The best very time to make a change is when you are on top. When you are feeling good about yourself . . . when you are at peak performance . . . when your current employment picture is rosiest . . . that’s the very best time to consider a move. Success begets success. You just naturally exude confidence.

So, after doing this important homework, you decide that this is the right time for you, what do you do next?

The very next step is to seriously explore your options.

Most job changers limit their vision by thinking about moving forward in the very narrow course they’ve been working in. Taking the next logical step forward in this career direction MAY be exactly the right move. But that decision should be made after you’ve explored other options . . . some of them outside the box.

There is a fabulous system that can help you explore your options and approach prospective employers without jeopardizing your current job. And the system can show you how to select your next job rather than settle for it by helping you entertain multiple offers.

Doing it the right way can turn your job-change decision into the career adventure of a lifetime!