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The Essential Career Change Checklist

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November 3, 2021

Career Anchors

What drives you to be good at your job?

Career anchors are based on your values, desires, motivations, and abilities. They are the immovable parts of your professional self-image that guide you throughout your career journey.

Try this short GLOBIS Unlimited course to identify which of the eight career anchors is yours!

After spending some time in a career, After spending some time in a career, there comes a point when you start to wonder what other opportunities may be out there. For some, that means looking for management opportunities or expanding your job description. Maybe you want to create more synergy with other departments to enhance your skillset.

But this feeling of restless wondering could also mean you’re ready for a career change.

There are many reasons to change careers. Maybe you’ve outgrown your company and feel like you’re no longer being challenged. Or maybe you want to explore higher education opportunities (like getting an MBA) to climb into a higher salary bracket. Or it could be that your boss is causing you unnecessary work stress, and you’re seeking greener pastures that will fulfill your career anchor.

Career Anchors

What drives you to be good at your job?

Career anchors are based on your values, desires, motivations, and abilities. They are the immovable parts of your professional self-image that guide you throughout your career journey.

Try this short GLOBIS Unlimited course to identify which of the eight career anchors is yours!

No matter the reason, you’ll probably find yourself asking, “Is a career change really the right move? Will anyone out there want me? Is now the right time to quit my job?”

With so much to consider before taking that leap into a career change, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed. The last thing you want is to feel like you’ve made a mistake. To help make the process easier, we asked career mindset coach Francis Fung of Sloane Japan for his essential career change checklist.

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“As long as you have an ability which solves a problem that needs solving, and as long as you can do that well, you can change into any role, in any company, at any age.”
Francis Fung, Career Mindset Coach

Transcript:

How can I find the right career for me?

Francis Fung:

When changing jobs or industries, the first step that you need to do is to find out what you want and why. You need to find out about yourself. What are your goals? What are your passions? What are your talents? What are your missions? You need to know what you’re great at doing and why you want it and why you’re doing it in order to know where to look.

The example I always give is Google Maps. Whenever you open Google Maps, the first thing you would possibly do is type in your destination. Where do you want to go to, and why? And then the second would be, where are you right now?

You need to find out where you are, what you have right now, what are your skills. And then you need to plot the route to get to your destination. What are the stops along the way? What do you have to achieve? What do you still need to study and work up on in order to get that role? What are your transferable skills that will help take you there? So basically, if you’re unsure, find out what you want and why.

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Am I too old for a career change?

Fung:

So it is absolutely never too late to change your career. Whatever the age, [there are a few] things you have to bear in mind. You have to know what’s not working so you can avoid it for the next job. You have to realize what is working so you can go and find it again. And you need to know your next three-to-five-year plan. Otherwise, if you just suddenly change into a new role or career, then you may be wasting that time.

You need to know where you’re going, but you should absolutely never settle into a job or career just because you feel it’s too late or you’re too old to change. In reverse, you wouldn’t tell someone that they’re possibly too young to change jobs. And so you wouldn’t say that someone is too old.

What I mean by “you’re never too young to change jobs” is that there might be certain reasons [for a career change when you’re young], such as you’ve already reached the limit of what you can do. Some people might say, “But you should stay longer and get some more experience!” But if you’ve already fulfilled that role and more, and you feel you’re ready for bigger challenges, of course change. And if you feel there are bigger problems that you can fix, then of course change, as well.

As long as you have an ability which solves a problem that needs solving, and as long as you can do that well, you can change into any role in any company at any age.

How often should I change careers?

Fung:

So how often should you switch jobs? There’s no set rules. As often as you want or feel you need to.

It really does depend on your goal. If you feel your goal hasn’t been achieved yet at [your] job, then possibly stay and achieve it. If you feel your goal might be more money, a better position, which only can be achieved somewhere else, you can switch as many times as you want, as long as you know what your goal is and as long as you’re going for it.