Career disenchantment comes to many professionals, who then begin to contemplate changing jobs, starting a business or taking up another line of work altogether. Devising a correct course of action isn’t easy. Before making a decision, it’s important to decide what personal and professional factors are really important to you and why. The following is intended to help you do that. Staying Put If you think a career change is out of the question, I suggest you try the following: Be sure that you are doing your best where you are now. Too many people slack off when they become disenchanted. Lack of achievement leads to lower self-esteem and the resulting inability to see possibilities in that situation. Look within your current position, or one you feel is attainable, for something that has excited you in the past or for something for which you have a passion. Remember, don’t necessarily look for something you’re good at but, rather, for something you really like to do. Write down four of five specific, measurable goals that can move your career toward that passion. Check daily to ensure that what you are doing is furthering these goals. Join and become active in associations and networks, read and take classes that feed your passion. You not only will become more knowledgeable, but the confidence and contacts you develop may make it easier for you ultimately to make a career change.

Making the Change If taking that big step to another career is what you want, whether as an employee or as an entrepreneur, consider the following: What is your passion? What really gets your juices flowing? Identifying this passion is key to your future success. Are you and your family comfortable with change? Change always brings uncertainty and usually requires extra demands on your time and personal commitments. Are you moving toward something better or just running? This is a difficult question, and both scenarios often apply. You may not be comfortable with the current corporate culture, and you may be looking to accomplish your vision. Be sure that you really understand all the motivation stirring you. Have you considered what running a business is really like? If the “I need to be in business for myself” scenario is driving you, have you considered the time demands, how lonely it can be, the financial risk or you options if it doesn’t work out? Talk with others who have taken this step, and seek their objective advice. In either of these scenarios, develop a “business plan” for your life: What is your vision? How can you realize it? What are you willing to sacrifice to reach it? If you attain your vision, who will you maintain it? Take into account not just your career but also personal well-being, family, relationships, finances and recreation. CDB

STAY OR GO? In trying to decide between staying put or making a career change, the “T” account method can be useful. Draw a rule down the middle of a lined sheet of paper. Designate the left side of the T as “stay put” and the right as “career change.” On another sheet of paper, list all areas of your personal and professional lives that you think are important: security, growth, freedom, time, family, stress level, independence and the like. Next, using a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, rate how each of these areas would fare under each side of the “T” (security: stay put equals 8, career change equals 5). Now add up the two columns to determine the one with the highest score. If you choice is “career change“, employ an additional “T” account using “employee” and “entrepreneur” as column headings. These are not definitive tests, but they surely will give you some objective indication of the choice you might want to make.