Trick or treat!

We're pretty good at playing tricks on ourselves aren't we?

Many of you have tricked yourself into thinking that being afraid of changing careers means you shouldn't go ahead and pursue a transition. You figure that if you're that concerned about making a career change happen, maybe you should listen to yourself and not take any chances.

When did you become so fearful?

My experience has shown me that many people think that once you chose a career you're stuck with it. They don't think they have the option to change and do something different. But as time passes, the more unhappy and dissatisfied they become with their work. Any time they consider a different field though, they are overcome with fear and figure they are trapped.

They are fearful of:
- not making enough money
- failing at a new career
- not liking it
- not being able to "break in" and even get the job in the first place
- wasting their degree

Do you relate to any of these?

So how do you move past these fears?

By no longer waiting for your fear to disappear before changing careers and instead taking action despite being afraid. It's very normal to be frightened about changing careers. If you weren't, I'd have to make sure you were still breathing! I was working with a client recently who was convinced she couldn't get the job she wanted because she would be moving to a new town where she didn't have any contacts and no one would really take her interests and skills seriously. She felt stuck in her current line of work and in fact she was! But it wasn't because of her lack of contacts or because her concerns about being taken seriously were valid. It was because she let her fear make career decisions for her. She let her fear decide to keep her in her job even though she was miserable.

Don't let this happen to you.

Realize this... you are not supposed to stop your fear in order to be able to change careers.

You accept your fear as a part of this career change process. Once you do, you let yourself be afraid but still take the steps needed to get that next job. In hindsight you then see that your fear was unfounded and really not a big deal after all.

That's how my story goes, six years after changing careers. This is what my clients experience. And now it's your turn! Let yourself feel the fear and take that first step. I promise, it won't be that bad.

Want to have some guidance as you take those first steps but for a lot less than private coaching would cost? Then you'll want to check out "107 Tips for Changing Your Career While Still Paying the Bills." http://www.segaric.com/products.shtml

(c) 2007 Segaric Coaching, Inc.
Annemarie Segaric is a respected career change coach, motivational speaker, and author. Does your company, group or association deal with people in transition? Ask about bulk discounts on the career tips booklet "107 Tips For Changing Your Career While Still Paying the Bills" Ready to switch careers and don't know where to begin? Visit http://www.segaric.com and download your own career change toolkit today.