Have you ever made a career change or a career transition? Or is this the first time that you are considering to do so?

According to career change statistics, the average person will make 5-7 career changes while working.

I used to work as a restaurant manager. This job was aligned with the course that I took up in college. I was a graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines. I liked my job. I enjoyed it a lot. But there was one aspect that I didn’t like. I didn’t like our work schedule. I didn’t like that we work on shifts and that we work on holidays and weekends. I want to spend my weekends and holidays with my family. I found the shifting work schedule challenging. There were times when I would be so sleepy and tired while attending daily Mass coming from my shift. I felt that my job then was not contributing to the quality of life that I wanted to experience. I also felt that this kind of lifestyle is not the lifestyle I want to have when I finally have my own family. So, I decided to make a career shift or a career transition.

That was not the only career transition I made so far. But before I go on to share more about my own adventures, let me share with you what I believe are four crucial steps to make so that one would have a successful career transition.

4 Crucial Steps to a Successful Career Transition

1. Be clear WHY you want to make a career transition.

You need to do a lot of introspection before making a career transition. You need to ask yourself questions. You need to be honest in answering them. One of the most basic and important questions you need to ask yourself is why do you want to make a career transition? What are your reasons behind this career change? What made you consider making a career change/transition? What is it about your current job or career that makes you think that change is necessary? Have you tried making adjustments in your job that could make it more tolerable? What is it in your current job or career that you could no longer stand? Will this dissatisfaction or irritation go away if you change your career? What is it that you want to experience in your job or career that you cannot experience or find in your current job? Do you really need to make a career change/transition in order to experience what you want to experience?

You need compelling reasons if you really want to make a successful career transition. If your reason or your WHY is not big enough, it might not be enough to motivate you to do what is necessary to be successful in your new career. If your WHY is not that important to you, you could easily slip back to your old career or you will constantly pine for what you used to do every time things get challenging or difficult. But if your WHY is really big and important to you, you will do everything that you need to do to make it right in your new career.

My two main WHYs when I first made a career transition were my relationship with God and the kind of lifestyle that I want to live. For me, these two were vital. My relationship with God is my rock. I will not risk it, even with a successful career. It’s a non-negotiable for me. Anything that can negatively affect my relationship with God will have to change. My lifestyle or the quality of my life is also imperative to me. I believe that my work should contribute to the kind of lifestyle that I want or the lifestyle that makes me happy and fulfilled. Thus, if my job or my career does not contribute to the quality of life that I want to experience for myself and my family, then, there has to be adjustments or changes as well.

2. Investigate WHAT your options are.

Before I made the decision to make a career shift or transition, I studied my options first.  I didn’t jump the gun. I evaluated my current situation to see what I can possibly do to experience the change that I wanted. One of the options that I saw was to transfer to the Training Department of the restaurant where I was currently employed. The schedule is something that is acceptable to me. The training staff works only from Monday to Friday. They have a fixed regular work schedule from morning until afternoon. I also have the skills required of those who work in that department since I was handling the training of the restaurant employees in the branches that I managed. I also passed the certification for Training Manager that our company administered. I was qualified. I had the skills necessary if I transfer. The problem was, there was no vacancy or opening in the department for a long time. I could not wait anymore and I didn’t know until when I will have to wait. My dissatisfaction with my current situation was building.

I was not interested in the other departments. I only wanted to transfer to this specific department.

So, I made a decision that I will leave my job and apply for a job in training, either in a similar industry or otherwise.

How about you? Have you studied your options? There are two important things you need to investigate. First, you need to look inside you. Second, you need to look around you. What do I mean with this?

First, you need to make an inventory of what you have and can bring with you when you make a career transition. What are your skills? What is your personality? What kind of experiences do you have? What achievements have you accomplished so far? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your work values? Do you like working on your own or do you like being surrounded by people? Do you have the discipline and motivation to be your own boss?

Second, ask yourself, “What are the job opportunities where I am competent?” “Where can I apply these skills and expertise that I have?” “I what fields can I most probably find the perfect match for my skills and experience?” “Will I experience my WHYs when I move to this field, job or career?” “If I move here or do this, will I find what I was looking for?” “Will this change provide a solution to my current work problem or dissatisfaction?” “Will I be happy with this career change?” “Is this really the career transition that I want or need?”

You can also ask other people who are already working on the jobs that you are eyeing. I interviewed my colleagues who were working in the Training Department when I was considering to make a career transition. These conversations with them helped me better evaluate my options. You can do this, too. This will help you get insight into the pros and cons, the challenges and joys of what you are considering.

I chose this new career path because I saw from my own experience that I was good in training the restaurant staff (supervisors, managers and crew alike) in whatever branch I was assigned. I also enjoyed doing this kind of job. These previous experiences and achievements gave me the confidence to explore and pursue this career path.

But since there were no opportunities in the company where I was working, I had to look for opportunities outside. I checked my options and I discovered that my experiences, skills, personality and preferences best match the jobs in the Human Resources Department of hotels and restaurants. But the Training and HR Department of other companies are also good options.

3. Decide on WHERE you want to go.

What kind of career transition do you want to make? Do you want to move to a different industry? Do you want to leave your current full-time job to become a freelancer? Do you want to continue working fulltime? Do you want to work part-time now? Do you want to work on projects only? Do you want to do something that is totally different from what you used to do? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to start a home-based business, a traditional business or an online business?

After clarifying where you are now, you need to clarify where you want to go? If you do not want where you are now, where do you see yourself to be happily working?

Will you achieve the income goals that you need or want to achieve should you make this career transition?

I shared earlier about the first career transition that I made early on in my career. The second one was when I decided to pursue a career in writing. Writing has always been one of my passions. Writing a book was a childhood dream. I started writing essays, poems and short stories in grade school. I had a diary or journal even as a child. Journal writing has helped me hone my writing skills. Writing has been one of my favorite hobbies growing up.

One day, I felt that it’s time for me to write my own book. I was already working then as a Training Manager in a multinational company. I felt that I have gained enough experience in writing so I proceeded with writing my very first book.

What gave me the confidence to say that I was ready?

Well, I had written numerous work that gained positive reviews from people I know and those that I don’t know but came across my writing. I managed our company newsletter for years. Communication (written and oral) has always been one of my areas of strengths. I usually garnered good results when it comes to my writing. Last but not least, I was asked to handle a book project and I was able to successfully lead a group of inexperienced writers and editors to successfully publish a book. That book project gave me the much-needed experience and confidence in pursuing my very own book project. This brings me to my next crucial step in making a successful career transition.

4. Decide WHEN you want to make that career transition.

When do you plan to make that change? Are you ready for it? Do you already have the competence to do the job that you want to do? Or do you need further training? Do you need certification to do the job? Do you have the license to do the job? Do you have the resources to get the necessary training for the job that you want?

All these can help you answer when is the best time for you to make that transition. Do you have enough money in your emergency fund to cover for the time when you will be making the transition? Do you think you can find a new job right away? Do you have enough savings to cover the months when you will not be earning yet from your business?

Are you ready for this big career change mentally, emotionally and financially?

When I shifted to building a career in training, I hit the road running because training was already part of my KRA (Key Result Areas) when I was a manager in the restaurant. After job hunting for a month, I got accepted in a training firm right away. I was competent enough to teach training modules that I didn’t develop or author myself.

Another career transition that I had was when I resigned from my full-time job to start my own consulting business. After around a decade of doing training and HR work, I felt that it’s time for me to do things on my own. True enough, because I have built a reputation for conducting effective training and workshops, I became the go-to person for my former colleagues and those who know me when it comes to training. My name has become synonymous with training. I had been so identified with this kind of job; so, whenever my previous bosses or colleagues need training for their people, it’s me that they think of.

You need to ask yourself the hard questions and be prepared to be brutally honest with yourself. This would help you make a successful career transition. You need to be true to yourself. From there, you will be able to make a viable plan of action that would lead you to your goal of making a successful career transition.

If you are seriously considering to make a career change/transition or are currently going through one yourself, I have good news for you. I have just released my latest book From Career Woman to SAHM, WAHM then Businessmom: Lessons from My Transitions. It’s now available on Amazon.com. (Click on my book’s title to go to its Amazon page.) I wrote this so I can help other mothers who want to leave their full-time jobs but are afraid to make that leap of faith. I wrote this for stay-at-home moms who want to continue being present and hands-on to their children but want to contribute to the family income. I wrote this book for mothers who want to start their own business but need to be encouraged and empowered.

Birthday Giveaway

April is my birthday month. Thus, I was delighted to release my latest and 5th book this month. As my way of paying it forward and expressing gratitude for all the blessings and successes I have experienced so far in my life and in my career transitions, I’m running a FREE BOOK PROMO on April 18-19 this month wherein people can download my latest book for FREE on Amazon. I want to help and inspire as many mothers as possible through this book!

You can reserve your copy here. Or you can save the link to my book’s Amazon page and go back to it on April 18 or 19 (US time zone) to download your copy.

Help us spread the good news to your family and friends whom you think would benefit from this book. Please share it on your social media accounts, especially Twitter and Facebook. We are having a virtual book launch on April 18 and 19. Those who tweet or share about the book and the free download can win exciting prizes like gift certificates to co-working spaces form our sponsors (Dojo 8 Coliving Space, Lifesprings Community Center and The Learning Lodge), downloadable planning pages, video talks on blogging, entrepreneurship and virtual careers and coaching sessions with me. You can read the details of our virtual launch on our event page.