Six `Redefine Yourself' Strategies For Career Crossroads The pressure is on in many sectors and whatever your specific circumstances it is useful to have some strategies up your sleeve for dealing effectively with professional crossroads so that you keep your sanity and remain in control, driving the process rather than finding yourself at the mercy of external circumstances. As so often in life, the biggest challenge is the way you think about and respond to your situation rather than the facts themselves, whatever they may be. Once you have retrained your mind and got a grip on your perception of the circumstances you will automatically be empowered to take the right steps to change them as you please. The actions you then decide to take may be diametrically opposed to the ones you might initially have considered and they are bound to reflect what you really want rather than what you think you ought to strive for. Rather than simply going through the motions of churning out endless applications for similar jobs you will set the wheel in motion to redefine your professional future as you would like it to be. 1. 1. STRATEGY : REDEFINE CHANGE: ‘Nothing endures but change’ (Heraclitus). Change is constant and ubiquitous, yet we humans are creatures of habit and most of us resist change as we see it as something to be avoided, a hassle and an inconvenience at best, a real threat to our equilibrium at worst. Yet change can be an incredibly liberating and cathartic force, opening the door to new and better horizons. Be prepared for change as it will inevitably happen. Redefine change as your ally, empowering you to achieve your potential, even if you do not yet know precisely how. ACTION: To take the fear out of change, practise letting go of the familiar in your mind and prepare yourself for change by writing down several different scenarios of how this can occur for your particular circumstances. 2. 2. STRATEGY: REDEFINE YOUR ‘LOSS’ AS AN OPPORTUNITY:It may seem trite but ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. If you look hard enough you will see that even a seemingly bleak situation bears within it the potential for learning, growth, development, a new career path. You might even argue that it is precisely such challenging situations that bear the biggest opportunity for such learning. Start focusing on what you can gain from your new situation rather than on what you have lost. Look to the future and liberate yourself from the past. This may be the chance of a lifetime to do what you have always dreamed of doing but had given up on. ACTION: Make a list of all the things you have gained from your new situation, whether it is time to focus on yourself or your friends and family, a sum of money, a clean professional slate to start afresh, etc. Start thinking about how you could make the most of these things and start making a plan to implement them! 3. STRATEGY: REDEFINE YOUR TIME: Allow yourself some down-time. Do not rush into things and frantically churn out job applications, bombarding head-hunters with your CV etc. Take a little time out to reflect and distance yourself both physically and emotionally from the experience. This is not escapism - critical distance will allow greater clarity of thought and a fresh perspective on things. ACTION: Make some time in your day to do things you enjoy and have been longing to do, e.g. read a book, lie in the sun, go for a swim, do some cooking, take up dancing, meditation, etc. 4. STRATEGY: REDEFINE YOUR PARAMETERS Maybe your last/current job never suited you fully anyway, maybe it clashed with your life-style, your family circumstances, your values, your real interests. Maybe you simply never felt excited about it. This is your chance to connect with what you are really looking for in a new job or career. ACTION: Start reflecting on what kind of parameters a new job or career will need to fulfil to match your requirements: working hours, salary, geographical considerations, working environment, employment vs freelance, job description, personal values and interests, creative aspect, performance-related pay, entrepreneurial dimension, team set-up, etc. Don’t be surprised if this list turns out to be very different from your last/current job 2. 5. STRATEGY: REDEFINE NETWORKING Do not shy away from networking out of pride or fear of being mistaken for one of these pushy and insincere people who give the activity its sometimes negative connotations. Networking can and should be a mutually helpful and fruitful experience if done with sincerity and style. It also needs to be proactive and explicit: don’t expect people to guess and know what you are up to and be forthcoming with suggestions, introductions, contacts, relevant info. You need to tell them what you are looking for and how specifically they may be able to help. You will find that most people will be genuinely more responsive and helpful than you expected. ACTIONS: Focus on your current contacts: get in touch with them and let them know what you are up to, what you are looking for right now and ask for specific help/advice/support. You could use the full range of media available for this: in addition to face to face meetings you can call, text, or connect via social networking sites. If your immediate circle cannot help, get them to pass on your question or request to their circle and so on. Sign up to a number of social networking sites and spend some time building your profile, joining relevant discussion groups, uploading your CV and expanding your network. Then use these fora to pose specific questions, requests for information or advice, ask for recommendations or introductions to other contacts who may be relevant. 1. 6. STRATEGY: REDEFINE YOURSELF In difficult situations when our self-esteem may be low and our circumstances overwhelming we often forget that we ourselves are in the driving seat and we are the ultimate authority on ourselves and our lives. Stop looking for the answers to your questions outside as it is only you who has the ultimate solutions. As it says in the Brecht story quoted in my June newsletter, you are the boat who will enable you to swim. Start concentrating on what you really want rather than what you think you need or ought to do, on who you are, rather than what you have or what you do. ACTIONS: Make a list of the five § unique skills and strengths you possess § most important things/people in your life § things you want your future to be about things that make you happy. Make this last list to be mainly about you, i.e. what is it about YOUR actions, feelings, behaviours, experiences that engenders a feeling of happiness. Make this as independent of external factors as possible. Now let this strengthened feeling of self inform your future career path. Posted by Dr Clara Seeger (CIAC, MAC) http://claraseeger.coachinginteractive.com Follow me on Twitter! | 
