You can imagine your knowledge, networks and advantages turned to a more meaningful cause. It's time to start making a difference. Ahead lies a new worklife that could be passionate and purposeful, among people who share your values. What's your next move?
Recently, I started coaching an established banker. Disenchanted with the wealth and stealth of the city, he was ready 'to give something back'. He'd been flirting with working in charities for months: maybe he'd invest in an eco-resort in Cambodia; perhaps he’d go and build some housing in Guatemala; he liked the concept of helping a charity which fixed hair-lips. All were interesting, but none compelling enough for him to make his move.
It was hard to start this careershift for one classic reason: he didn’t know what difference he wanted to make.
If you’re in a similar situation, please give yourself a few months before you resign, and join me on one of life's richest journeys of exploration. It's time to find the field that will fulfill you because it meets the needs of the world (as you see it). You're seeking out the organisations and roles which will be most joyful, because they'll use your talents to important ends.
The first navigating signs come (quite quickly) from within. We need to pinpoint which issues you care most about, which groups of people get your compassion, what changes in society you most deeply want to see.
When you've clarified your cause, you can exclusively research the charitable or non-profit workplaces which will fulfil you for years to come. You’ll be proud and motivated by the issue you’re championing and this will carry you through the challenges of career shift. You’ll be able to speak about it with persuasive conviction.
Yet within any one area of concern, there is a huge diversity of potential work. For example, if it’s the conservation of endangered species which concerns you, you could monitor an animal population on the ground, help a local community battle logging companies who destroy their habitat, or draft new inter-governmental policy on land use. You could lobby UK furniture makers. You could raise funds for any of the previous activities or campaigns at home. You could document the problem and raise awareness through the media. We have to find the mechanism of making a difference that's truly your niche.
Tempting though it is to start a new foundation, there will certainly be organisations out there doing amazing, time-tested projects in whatever field you care about most. Many clients are disappointed to find that charities, non-profits and public sector aren’t necessarily waiting for their private sector cv's with open arms: These fields are professionalized, popular and technical, even if they are less well paid.
But your past IS relevant to your future. Never underestimate the transferability of your talents and skills. From a decade's experience of coaching in this area, I'm a firm believer that good people seldom have to start at the bottom of a new ladder - they can step, with a sackful of experience, across.
Your chosen field may seem unutterably far from the world in which you’re leaving, but we can find the intersection – the role which will benefit from your knowledge, networks or non-technical skills.
As you meet with a series of people in the field, you feel your way to the organisation whose culture and model of change is right for you. In the process, you’ll be clarifying where your know-how fits. How to position your skills.
You also need to face the finances of your chosen path, and tackle the implications - emotional and practical - of your shift . When I left the board of an international ad agency to consult on charity campaigns, I was nervous of leaving my ‘velvet rut’. Yet commitment tends to bring unexpected abundance in its path. It’s been the same for hundreds of career shifters before you.
Like my ex-banking client (now on a research assignment in Latin America) you can look forward to a totally personal journey and, ultimately, a richly rewarding job. One that fits you in heart as well as mind.
Your place in life (not just your career) will have changed.
Rosie Walford coaches individuals, runs creative coaching weeks in the mountains of Spain and individual breakthrough walks in New Zealand. See www.thebigstretch.com or call 08454308621. contact coaching@thebigstretch.com for a free introductory consultation about your situation.
See also James Miller’s Career Shift story.
Are you ready to change career but don't know where to start?
Then the brand new Careershifters Guide is designed for you.It will take you step-by-step through the career change process with practical exercises and expert guidance on how to figure out the career that suits you best through to the practicalities of making the change happen (even when you have a mortgage to pay and family to feed!).
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