There are five major difficulties in changing careers: reluctance, unwillingness, unwillingness, ruthlessness, and unworthiness.
1. Reluctance: It is difficult to let go of past accumulation
I have been engaged in software development and R&D management from 2005 to 2017. I have more than ten years of experience and have also achieved I have achieved some achievements (led the development of Internet TV boxes and wrote two programming books), so when I said that I wanted to start a new journey and develop a new career around my career, my technical friends all felt it was a pity. ——"You have done so well in the past ten years and accumulated so much skills and experience. It would be a pity to throw it away."
Think about it, when we see others changing careers, we still feel it is a pity. Putting it on yourself makes this feeling even stronger.
I have a large number of friends who are engaged in software development. Many of them are over 35 years old. When we chatted this time, they said they wanted to change careers. We would talk next time. They also said they wanted to change careers, but from beginning to end, There will be no actual action.
It is really difficult to let go of the professional knowledge, experience, skills, interpersonal relationships, achievements, etc. accumulated in the past, so many people are reluctant to let go and find it difficult to take the step of changing careers.
But if you have a more desirable goal, look forward twenty or thirty years, and what have you accumulated in the past ten or eight years?
2. Reluctance: Refuse to try directions that are likely to fail
When I was a technical support engineer and worked in Telecom, people called me "An Gong." When I was doing software development, I shared my experiences at technology salons, and the organizers and attendees said I was a "technical expert." Now, I participate in activities of various learning organizations, and people say that I am doing career planning.
Career is not just a job, it is also a part of ourselves. It is related to how others see us, how we see ourselves, and how we act, think and feel.
When we want to change careers, this self will change. Relatedly, how others see us, how we see ourselves, our behaviors and ways of thinking, etc., will also change.
This change process is long, may be accompanied by pain, and may also fail.
I have a client, M, who used to be a salesperson in a company that produces auto parts, and later changed his career to become a trainer. Every time he completed the training, he would doubt himself:
I Are the things I’m doing now too “virtual”? Will others think I’m a big liar?
Will what I say really bring changes to customers?
Am I suitable to be a trainer?
Does this make sense?
......
The more doubtful M becomes, the more he feels that the trainer is not suitable for him, and the more he feels that his original job is better.
The essence of the trouble M encounters is that as our experience of a new career becomes more and more in-depth, we may resist the self behind the new career and fall into a quagmire of pain.
This is also the most difficult part of changing careers - the replacement of the old with the new.
Because it may be difficult, painful, and even unsuccessful to replace the old with the new. Therefore, before changing careers, many partners always want to find someone who is truly suitable for them, who will definitely succeed once they do it, and who can develop in the long term after switching. career. If an option is not 100% sure to be suitable for them, they will have all kinds of worries in their hearts and refuse to try it.
To put it simply, if there is uncertainty about an option and the action may fail, they are unwilling to try it.
But in fact, before we experience it, we cannot be 100% sure that a certain career is completely suitable for us just through information analysis. Whether it is suitable or not needs to be confirmed in action. Only through repeated attempts and adjustments can we develop a certain career into a career that suits us. If you refuse to dance with uncertainty and refuse to take action when you realize you may fail, you will not be able to achieve your ideal career.
The process of changing careers is actually a process of choosing one of several possible options and taking action to turn it into a career that suits you. This process is very clearly explained in the book "Changing Careers: Discovering an Unknown Self", and it is recommended to read it carefully.
3. Reluctance: External returns must not be reduced
The first time I changed careers was from a communications equipment technical support engineer to a software development engineer, and my overall income dropped by one-third. two.
At that time, many of my colleagues and friends said I was crazy, how could I accept such a precipitous decline.
However, this is the reality - in the first job you find after changing careers, the company may not be as big as before, the income may not be as high as before, and the position may not be as high as before.
In fact, except for a small number of powerful people who have climbed to the top of the pyramid in their original fields and accumulated enough potential energy, there will be a seemingly smooth and upward conversion process. Most ordinary professionals will In the initial stage of career change, there will be a downward process.
However, when many people imagine changing careers, they expect the process to be smooth sailing and always upward, and cannot accept the possible "downward" process, and will feel various kinds of unwillingness in their hearts:
I used to earn so much, why would it not be valuable if I changed industries or positions?
My classmates and colleagues are either in high positions or have a lot of money and little to do. Why am I becoming more and more inferior?
......
Reluctance is understandable and acceptable, but you also need to remember that the essence of changing careers is neither for more external rewards nor for others. Expectation, but to break through the stuck points in the career path and make yourself more self-consistent and harmonious.
So, even if you are unwilling, you must move forward bravely and break through yourself. Otherwise, lingering unwillingly is like struggling in a quagmire, and you will only sink deeper and deeper.
4. Not ruthless: You can’t devote yourself to it, and you can’t work hard
In 2015, a strange friend sent me a private message on CSDN, saying that he had been following me for a long time and was looking at me. He completed the transformation step by step through blogging, publishing books, etc., which deeply touched him, and he also wanted to use this method to achieve transformation.
I said that’s great. This path is feasible. As long as you start doing it, you will get closer step by step.
He asked me how much time I devote to writing technical blogs a day.
I said that after nine o'clock every night, an hour and a half before going to work every morning, and at least eight hours every weekend, I devote all of my time to writing.
He said, this would not even give up the time to live.
I said yes. In addition to some interactions with my family, in my spare time, I am either conceiving or writing articles.
He said, forget it, it’s too painful.
The thoughts of this strange friend are very common. Many of my paid consulting clients have similar situations.
I once had a client who paid me for consultation. He said that he had a college degree and was working as a project manager in a construction company. His income was not bad, but he was too tired and couldn’t do it anymore. He wanted to change careers and find some money. The job was similar to now but easier. He also said that he didn’t have time to improve his academic qualifications and didn’t want to learn other skills while working (it was too tiring and unbearable). He asked me if there was any other way.
After several back-and-forth communications, I told him tactfully that there is no shortcut without suffering.
In reality, there are many partners who really want to change careers, but like the two friends above, they are not cruel enough to themselves, are reluctant to invest time and energy in their target career, and are reluctant to live a life like Yu Ru Yu Cheng's. Hard days.
However, unless you have enough savings to support you in quitting your job to prepare for a career change, you have to seize all your spare time and work hard to learn and try, so that you can enrich the knowledge required for your target career. , skills and experience.
5. Not suitable: not matching the target position for career change
When trying to change careers, our abilities (the combination of knowledge, skills and experience) are often unable to meet the requirements of the target position. of. That is to say, we are not a match for the target position.
So, from the perspective of enterprises, our capabilities do not meet their requirements, and they are not willing to hire us.
As a result, when you submit your resume, there is often no news; when you participate in an interview, you often receive "Sorry" or "Please go back first, we will notify you when there is news."
This is extremely natural. When I changed careers for the first time, I encountered this situation repeatedly. It took me nearly four months to find a company willing to accept me.
Companies feel that we career changers do not meet their job requirements and reject us in a formal manner. This is a huge difficulty for us career changers. Many people give up due to such setbacks. , back to the old road.
But in fact, as long as you let go of your reluctance, reluctance, and reluctance, work hard, actively prepare, and move forward with determination, you will eventually be able to match your target position, and you will be able to see the light of day.
The above are the five major difficulties in changing careers - reluctance, unwillingness, unwillingness, ruthlessness, and unworthiness. I hope that all partners who want to change careers can break through them, complete the replacement of the old and new selves, and grow into what they want.
I am An Xiaohui, a career planner, the author of the best-selling book "How to Make Money with a Side Job". Follow me to learn more about career choices, workplace development, personal growth, etc.