Pivoting with Purpose: How to Find Your Dream Career

Jan 26, 2023

Stuck in a loveless career? Are you desperate to follow your passion and find your calling? Want to make a move but not sure where to start? Let's talk about pivoting with purpose.

You may have just finished studying only to realise this profession isn’t for you. Perhaps you come from a long line of people in a particular field so you went into it automatically or maybe, having built your career over the years, you’re just not enjoying it anymore.

Whatever the case, it can feel daunting and overwhelming when you have to go back to the drawing board to pick a new career. Especially if you had your life and career planned to a T. You may even feel ashamed or like a failure somehow because things haven’t worked out as you expected and are at a total loss as to what to do.

Pause. Breathe.

Recognise: coming to terms with where you are

Firstly, let’s take a moment to appreciate that you’ve taken the first bold step: recognising the need for change. Yay! You’ve realised this isn’t for you; that there’s something better out there. Something that perfectly aligns your skills, talents, interests etc. and gives you a sense of purpose. You now have the opportunity to bring this to life. That’s exciting!

Secondly, there’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Now more than ever, many people find themselves in the position of switching careers and pivoting at least once either voluntarily or involuntarily. The important thing is not whether or not you stick to one career for life but the quality of life you have as a result of your career choices. Finding a fulfilling option will ensure you’re at your best. The world needs that.

It’s worth noting at this point when we refer to a dream career, we do not mean something that is perfect with no faults (that’s impossible). There will always be aspects of a role that you don’t enjoy as much or seasons where things are challenging. However, on the whole it should be something that lights you up. Also, it’s important to recognise that dreams do change - what is a dream now may be a nightmare in the future so be open to the fact that as you evolve so will your interests.

Ok, now that we’ve straightened that out. Let’s look at your options.

Reflect: identifying your key attributes

You’ll want to identify your key skills, passions, talents & interests using a variety of internal and external inputs. This can include your personal experience, feedback from others as well as more formal items like personality tests. You’ll also want to look at practical aspects too (e.g. location, hours, work/life balance, pay, culture etc.). The key here is to get a clear sense of the key attributes and preferences which you’ll want to match when pivoting into your new career.

Research: identifying the right career match

Once you’ve reflected and have a clear idea of all your strengths, likes and dislikes, you will likely have naturally ruled out some options already as part of the process and may even have some viable options emerging. Now it’s time to buckle down. You should proceed to doing research on careers that’ll match to the attributes you’ve identified. We’ve outlined three key steps here:

  • Read Up - you can consult a range of mediums such as books, online search engines, career guidance sites and job boards. These will help you find out more about different career options so you can narrow down.

  • Speak Up - you can go straight to the source by speaking to friends, family or other people in your network to better understand how they selected their career and get a better view of their day to day for any who are in roles of interest to you.

  • Act Up - you can consider work experiences or placements that allow you to practically experience the realities of a role while also giving you access to a broader network. Examples of opportunities could include work shadowing, volunteering, or internships.

You’ll want to leverage as many resources at your disposal as possible and continue to refine your options until you find the one that fits.

It is ok for this to be a broad field at this stage e.g. Software Engineering, Project Management, Finance, Law, HR, Photography, Design, etc. Specialisms in your chosen area can be identified subsequently. As you build your experience you’ll naturally find a niche area to hone into.

Result: plan your move

Your next step in pivoting will be to fully transition into this field. How you do this will depend on your individual situation and your risk appetite. 

In some cases you may be able to throw it all up in the air and switch straight away, however in other cases (for example if you’ve invested in education/training, have financial obligations, or not exactly sure what career to move into next etc.) you may need a transition instead.

 

For resources to support you in the pivoting process, our Career Pivot Planner via our resources library allows you to independently work through the steps in this article.

If you would like more hands-on support with the pivoting process, consider engaging a Career Coach. Note, you can access 1:1 coaching from us via our website.

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