Curious about changing careers? 6 tips for turning interest into action
Humans are born curious. As kids, we’re generally encouraged to try new stuff and applauded for having a go. As adults, lots of us lose touch with the art and adventure of trying new things. We may have an ‘it’ list of stuff we’re curious about and would love to do, but we rarely get around to crossing things off. Maybe our busy, demanding lives leave little room for wondering and exploring. Perhaps we simply lose the taste for testing our limits. Either way, we forget to be curious and experimental until we want or need to make a significant change.
Curiosity is high on the list of traits you need to handle the ‘change’ in career change. Because here’s the thing. You don’t know what you don’t know, and ‘you can’t be what you can’t see.' Following your curiosity and trusting it to lead you into new territory opens up a world of possibilities you probably never knew existed. If you’re gripped by analysis paralysis or clinging to the edge of your comfort zone, curiosity can help you get unstuck and gather momentum.
Remember that being genuinely curious means giving yourself free rein. Let go of limits and assumptions, have some fun and be prepared to find inspiration when and where you least expect it. Rely on your heart or your gut to point you in intriguing directions and enjoy the adventure. No dramas if you go down some dead ends, learning what won’t work is valuable career change intell.
The good news is, even if you haven’t exercised your curiosity for yonks, once you give it a workout, it’ll get up to speed quick smart.
6 ways to activate career change curiosity
1. Check your mindset – is it fixed or flexible? A fixed mindset can make it hard to be curious because it limits your view of the world and your place in it. You tend to see your talent as finite and confined to your current area of expertise. You need to know where you’re headed before you set out. You can struggle to see the point of exploring things you’re not already good at doing.
You believe that ‘no experience, no chance’ makes it impossible to move into a career in a completely new field. So, even though you might like the idea of working in market research, you turn down a work shadowing offer. Because despite having heaps of data management experience and excellent technology skills, you’ve never ‘done marketing.’
A flexible mindset makes you keen on experimenting and testing your limits. You’re focused on finding out what else you can do. Falling short doesn’t make you incompetent or flawed. On the contrary, failing gives you the chance to learn more about what makes you tick and what floats your boat.
Maybe that week you spend shadowing a market researcher shows you ten reasons why this job would never work for you. Brilliant! Now you can cross it off your list. But you’ll be following up with the community engagement coordinator you chatted to in your lunch break because her job sounded really cool.
If your career change curiosity needs a nudge, these tips on shifting your mindset may help.
2. Spark up – when something or someone interesting pops up, pay attention! Keep track of conversations (more on these in a minute) that energise or provoke you. Note the books or podcasts or Facebook posts or films or flyers for workshops that trigger your ‘must know more’ response.
Anytime a sparky idea or an activity perks you up, or takes you into mind absorbing flow, ask yourself, ‘why am I drawn to this?’
Commit to keeping track of your sparks for three weeks. They’re a great source of career change clues and broader insight into what matters to you and what you enjoy doing in and out of work time. Make a list, do a mind map, keep a journal.
Conversely, take note of the things you’re definitely not drawn to and the things you could do but choose to avoid.
3. Connect the dots – don’t leave your sparky ideas languishing on a list. Connect the dots that’ll clue you in to potential new careers. Our brains are programmed for pattern-seeking, so spotting the connections may be easier than you think. My sparks made it gobsmackingly clear that I was drawn to exploring what makes us tick and what makes work meaningful. I also realised that I wanted to work with one on one people and be my own boss. In tandem with around eight other curiosity fuelled things I did to change careers, kindling my sparks helped me move from not for profit project management to career change coaching.
4. Follow up – once you’ve figured out one or several intriguing possibilities, go after them. Look for opportunities to meet like-minded people in meetup groups or workshops, or community events, find some free or low-cost training, volunteer, make a hit list of organisations to contact about possible positions. Put your curiosity to work and grow your knowledge and contacts.
5. Relish real-time conversations - swap some Google time for real-time chats with interesting and interested others. Ironically, in a world obsessed with connecting, lots of us underestimate the value of career change conversations. Although the myth about 80percentt of jobs never being advertised has been debunked, it’s true that tons of great jobs get found and filled by word of mouth leads and recommendations.
Staying curious and flexibly minded makes you braver about telling people about your career change and asking for help. I chatted to strangers at workshops, had coffee with acquaintances in industries I was targeting, and followed up ‘have a chat’ leads from friends and former colleagues. I also cold-called organisations that sparked my interest. Not bad going for a confirmed introvert!
Pretty much everyone I spoke to was happy to help and generous with their time. Lots of them welcomed the chance to chat about their experience and reflect on the good, the great, and less than lovely aspects of their work. I got loads of leads and an actual job offer. I added people to my network who continued to support and recommend me when I started my business.
6. Test your skills - practice being curious by using your skills in new ways and new environments. For example, if you’re wondering if your classy cooking skills could make you a living, test this out by catering for friends or work events. If you excel in giving persuasive presentations, offer to run a workshop for the staff or a community organisation or to prepare or edit a presentation on their behalf. Ask yourself who might be prepared to give you a paid or unpaid go at doing something you love or want to test out.
Cultivating curiosity can give your career change momentum and direction. It can also help you approach the world in general with optimism and a sense of adventure. If you’re bogged, curiosity can help you dig yourself out. It helps you counter fear and clear confusion. It points you at new experiences and new contacts, and you naturally start attracting them. Best of all, perhaps, it predisposes you to lifelong learning at work and beyond.
Curious about kick-starting your career change? Book a chat.
By Jo Green, Career Change Coach
I know that when you find what you love, heart and soul, your life changes. I work every day with people who are reshaping their current careers, starting new enterprises or searching for a new direction. Basically I help people who don’t like their job to figure out what to do instead!
As a Careershifters and Firework Advanced Certified Coach and experienced career changer myself, I can help you figure out what fulfilling work looks like for you.
