Have you ever thought of changing jobs? It’s certainly occurred to you to drop everything and start afresh. The instability of the job market and many other reasons lead thousands of people to make a career change, especially with all the changes the world of work is going through. But this risk can cost you dearly if you don’t take the time to think things through and analyze certain parameters.

If you want to make a success of this stage of your life, consider the advice given in this article.

A few figures about career transition

You’re probably wondering whether it’s a good idea to embark on a career change. Are you making the right choice if you risk losing your job to change professions? What if you can’t find another one? Are you afraid of quitting your job to move into another sector? Is changing direction worth the risk? Let me tell you, these are all legitimate questions.

In fact, according to a survey by flexjobs, about 58% of workers responding to a recent survey said they’re looking to make a career change right now, and another 25% have already tried or successfully made a change recently. Changing profession is a major step in a person’s life. It deserves a great deal of thought, as the risk of failure is high if things aren’t done properly.

But at the same time, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take the plunge if you have to. Rest assured, the number of professional reconversions is increasing exponentially. And with good reason:

the job market is constantly changing, so you need to be able to adapt and seize the opportunity to explore other opportunities.

Why do you want to change jobs?
What about changing jobs? What opportunities are there on the job market?
How do you know when it’s time to move on?

These are just some of the questions to ask yourself when making your decision. When you’re thinking of leaving your job or sector of activity to take up a new one, you’re bound to have your reasons. But are these reasons enough? Don’t forget that taking this step means changing your life. You’re going to have to leave a lot behind (routines, habits, personal ties…). So it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before making a decision. Here are 5 reasons why you might want to leave everything behind and change your life.

YOUR JOB NO LONGER CORRESPONDS TO YOUR VISION
Our professional goals are constantly evolving. As a result, someone who wanted to be an employee yesterday wants to be a leader today. She/he’s got that inner voice that tells her/him he can do it, because shehe’s taken the next step. But not all employers are prepared to accept their employees’ demands when it’s not in their best interests to do so. This can lead to a desire to change jobs so as to express one’s full potential elsewhere. After years spent in a company as an employee, I’ve learned a lot and reached a certain level in my career. Now I want to manage a team. At the moment, there are no vacancies in the company, so what can I do? I’ll let you guess the answer in this case.

CARRY OUT A PROJECT THAT’S CLOSE TO YOUR HEART
When I took on this job, I had very specific goals in mind. Over the years, the company’s objectives have changed, so I’ve decided to go back to my original profession. Is this a valid reason or not? The most successful people in the world didn’t succeed for money or to please anyone. They succeeded because they had a goal, an objective to achieve. For the greatest success is that which is attached to a goal. So if you have an unfulfilled goal, whether you’re 30, 45 or 50, you’ll never reach that milestone.

CHANGE JOBS FOR NEW CHALLENGES, NEW EXPERIENCES
Some people are constantly on the lookout for new challenges, and are interested in anything new. As a result, they’re always on the lookout for new jobs, and as soon as an opportunity presents itself, they don’t hesitate to drop everything and run for it. They need to be everywhere, always changing jobs. If you’re one of these people, you won’t hesitate to seize new opportunities.

LACK OF OPPORTUNITY IN YOUR WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The job market is constantly changing. As a result, certain professions may become a thing of the past, giving way to the professions of the future. As a result, there are no more opportunities in these professions. So what do you do? Stay in such an environment, while just around the corner lies a river of opportunities? Given the instability of the job market, changing jobs is one way out.

CHANGE JOBS, BUT WHAT? THE RESULT OF BURN-OUT
And for some people, changing jobs is simply the result of a burn-out. After a burn-out, the first reflex is to flee one’s job, one’s company. As the saying goes, “the same causes produce the same effects”, some people think that the best thing to do would be to leave their job for another one that is less stressful and less exhausting, to avoid repeated episodes of burn-out. And let’s face it, some jobs are more prone to burn-out than others.

CHANGING CAREER: A DECISION TO BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED
As we’ve just mentioned, there are lots of reasons why you might decide to change your life. Either :

Out of a need for change: you want to exploit a better opportunity.
Multiply your experiences.
Your professional goals may have changed in the meantime.
For personal reasons (boredom, moving, aspiring to a better life and personal fulfillment…)
Simply to realize your potential or give meaning to your life…

After all, if what you do for a living doesn’t suit you or make you happy, it’s only natural to want to change jobs. It’s a way of taking charge of your life and getting out of your comfort zone. In fact, you need to be brave and mentally strong enough (or learn to be) to dare leave your job or company and start all over again. In any case, there’s no need to be afraid of taking the plunge. As an employee, you even have the right to apply for retraining. There are laws governing all this, so you don’t run the risk of being fired if you decide to do so.

In any case, before changing jobs, it’s important to take the time to assess your current situation and explore your career options. This will enable you to decide whether to move into another profession, change industry or find another job that’s more satisfying for you. If you’ve made this courageous decision, here’s a little guide to help you succeed.

Leaving everything behind to change your life – how do you go about it?

Once you’ve made your decision, you need to be aware that this new departure won’t be easy. Transition is a long process. By following these five steps, you’re sure to make a success of your career change.

FIND THE RIGHT REASON
Why do you want to change jobs? You probably answered this question at the beginning of this article, but think again. It’s not a game. You need to know exactly what you want. This will help you stick with the process. If your reason isn’t infallible and doesn’t convince you, you risk giving up before you’ve started.

So start by asking yourself: what aspects of your current job do you like and dislike? Are your dissatisfactions linked to the content of your work, your company’s culture or the people you work with?

TAKING STOCK OF YOUR SKILLS
While you’re thinking about why you want to change jobs, you can also take stock of your career. This means assessing your interests, values and skills. Review positions held, work accomplished, projects and jobs to identify preferred activities and skills. Above all, you need to know that it’s not just technical skills that count. You also need soft skills and lifeskills, or more generally, 21st century skills. This exercise will help you determine how to bring your core values and competencies to the fore in your next career.

What am I capable of doing?
Do I have the skills needed for this job?
Do I need training in this new profession?
How can I finance this training?

These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself if you want to succeed in taking stock of your skills, an important step before making a career change. The aim of this assessment is to highlight your abilities, your strengths, but also your weaknesses. The answers to these questions will determine the next steps in making your life change a success.

ASSESS THE JOB MARKET
What about changing jobs? It’s often the hardest choice to make, not knowing what to get into. To answer this question, you need to assess the job market. What does the job market need right now? Which sectors are saturated? Which jobs are popular? What jobs will be in vogue in the next few years? There’s no point in rushing into a new job without knowing its practical realities. What’s more, it’s important to avoid moving into a sector that’s disappearing or has no future when you want to change professions.

So make a preliminary comparative assessment of several fields to identify a few targets for further research. You can find a wealth of information online simply by searching for the sectors that interest you.

To succeed at this stage, which is a major step in the process of changing careers, find out as much as you can about your preferred fields. Contact people in these sectors to obtain as much information as possible (former colleagues, friends, family…). LinkedIn is another excellent resource for finding contacts in specific fields of interest.

Last but not least, don’t forget to take stock of what professions are recruiting in your area, which fields are doing well, and which companies are recruiting.

PLAN YOUR TRANSITION
Changing jobs and leaving everything behind for a new one will not be without financial consequences. That’s why you need to take a pen and paper and plan your next few months. If you need training, how do you plan to finance it? How will you survive the day-to-day expenses?
You don’t just get up overnight and quit everything to change your life. Changing jobs takes planning, and it can take months or even years. While you’re at work, you plan ahead and give your superiors plenty of notice of your departure.

TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHANGING JOBS
The training stage is not essential for everyone who wants to change jobs. For some, the new job they’re considering is in close communication with their old one, or they already know enough about what they want to do. In this case, the process is shortened. For all others entering a new profession, training is essential. After a skills assessment, training will help you raise your game. This will give you a competitive edge on the job market. Similarly, you may decide to train in a neglected job identified during your job market assessment.

If you want to change your profession, there are a number of training organizations available to you. But to make this work to your advantage, it’s important to :

Identify existing training courses in your city.
Target those that correspond to what you’re looking for.
Find out about the organization’s reliability and reputation, the quality of the training, the cost…

When it comes to financing your training, you’ll need to check with the establishments to find out the terms and conditions. In any case, there are many ways to finance your training.

Once you’ve taken all these steps, welcome to your new job!

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
To sum up, changing jobs is an important step in life. To make it a success, you need to :

Find the right reason. Career transition leads to professional fulfillment for people who are in tune with what they want to do with their lives. Find out what you want.
Take stock of your skills – without skills, there’s no job. Define your strengths, abilities and weaknesses.
Evaluate the job market – it’s always better to know where you stand. Get as much information as you can.
Plan your transition: nothing happens overnight. Define your career change project step by step.
Training is the first step to being competitive on the job market. Be a leader in your field.

Many people consider professional retraining difficult due to a lack of information and support. Now that you’ve got the information, I hope that changing professions will be easier for you.

People of all ages can decide to make a change and give their lives a new twist. Retraining is first and foremost a question of one’s career path, situation and background. It’s based on a social and professional diagnosis that takes into account all peripheral levers and obstacles.

Have you been through the professional reconversion stage?