"A lot of times people don't like what they're doing in their current job, but they haven't defined what they want to be doing in their potential new job," Nicole Williams, career expert and author of Girl On Top, tells Cosmopolitan.com.
She says nabbing your dream job starts with doing some soul-searching: "I ask people to assess components of their current working life, and match them against the career they are looking to get into."
Try asking yourself these questions...
Time: How many hours do you want to work and in what kind of environment? Big company, small, telecommute, work-from-home flexibility (you know, the kind banned at Yahoo!)
Challenge Level: How important is growth potential and being challenged to you? Are you ambitious and ready to lean in, or just looking for a 9 to 5 to fill your time?
Work Environment: Define your best possible scenario in terms of work relationships. Who are you working with and for? What kind of boss would be ideal? Do you have dreams of becoming a boss?
Passion: How important is passion to you? For example, a woman we know races triathlons and feels like she doesn't need to be passionate about her job; her passion is attached to her sport.
6. Money: How much do you need to make? How much money do you want to make?
Steps To Making A Career Change
Stop Delaying
"The longer you are in the job you are thinking of leaving, the further away you are from new opportunity," says Williams. "It doesn't get any easier. Doing it earlier is emotionally, mentally and professionally better."
Be Willing To Sacrifice Something
You may have to start from the bottom (or the middle) and work your way to the top; Either way, be ready to drop a few rungs on the corporate ladder.
"Internships can be a good idea—or be willing to take a pay cut," says Williams. "If this internship, for example, introduces you to influential people and helps develop a skill-set, you'll be able to take these things to leverage them into a bigger position."
Start Saving
"Have a solid idea of the risk and savings in the bank," advises Williams. Even if it means cutting back on luxuries. "If you know the internship is going to last for six months at a minimum, that's the number you need to have in savings, and I normally advise 10 to 20 percent in savings as a risk buffer."
Network
"People love to talk about themselves," says Williams. "Find them on LinkedIn and through people you know, and consult with them."
Williams suggests asking those in similar fields questions like, "I wonder if you'd speak to me about your day-to-day life; What do you love most about the work that you do; What do you wish you would have known going into this career?"
"Those kind of questions are going to give you the information you need and will help you know the people you are going to need to know," she adds.
Now that you are armed with more than just your resume and a fresh manicure, it's time to start hitting the pavement. Happy hunting, gals.
Want more stories from Carson? Follow her on Twitter.
Photo Credit: Getty Images">
moving cross country, finding a great partner... or lobbing off all your hair a la Karlie Kloss). But don't fret: It's not an impossible task. It just takes some thought—and great advice.
"A lot of times people don't like what they're doing in their current job, but they haven't defined what they want to be doing in their potential new job," Nicole Williams, career expert and author of Girl On Top, tells Cosmopolitan.com.
She says nabbing your dream job starts with doing some soul-searching: "I ask people to assess components of their current working life, and match them against the career they are looking to get into."
Try asking yourself these questions...
Time: How many hours do you want to work and in what kind of environment? Big company, small, telecommute, work-from-home flexibility (you know, the kind banned at Yahoo!)
Challenge Level: How important is growth potential and being challenged to you? Are you ambitious and ready to lean in, or just looking for a 9 to 5 to fill your time?
Work Environment: Define your best possible scenario in terms of work relationships. Who are you working with and for? What kind of boss would be ideal? Do you have dreams of becoming a boss?
Passion: How important is passion to you? For example, a woman we know races triathlons and feels like she doesn't need to be passionate about her job; her passion is attached to her sport.
6. Money: How much do you need to make? How much money do you want to make?
Steps To Making A Career Change
Stop Delaying
"The longer you are in the job you are thinking of leaving, the further away you are from new opportunity," says Williams. "It doesn't get any easier. Doing it earlier is emotionally, mentally and professionally better."
Be Willing To Sacrifice Something
You may have to start from the bottom (or the middle) and work your way to the top; Either way, be ready to drop a few rungs on the corporate ladder.
"Internships can be a good idea—or be willing to take a pay cut," says Williams. "If this internship, for example, introduces you to influential people and helps develop a skill-set, you'll be able to take these things to leverage them into a bigger position."
Start Saving
"Have a solid idea of the risk and savings in the bank," advises Williams. Even if it means cutting back on luxuries. "If you know the internship is going to last for six months at a minimum, that's the number you need to have in savings, and I normally advise 10 to 20 percent in savings as a risk buffer."
Network
"People love to talk about themselves," says Williams. "Find them on LinkedIn and through people you know, and consult with them."
Williams suggests asking those in similar fields questions like, "I wonder if you'd speak to me about your day-to-day life; What do you love most about the work that you do; What do you wish you would have known going into this career?"
"Those kind of questions are going to give you the information you need and will help you know the people you are going to need to know," she adds.
Now that you are armed with more than just your resume and a fresh manicure, it's time to start hitting the pavement. Happy hunting, gals.
Want more stories from Carson? Follow her on Twitter.
Photo Credit: Getty Images">Whether you're a doctor who dreams of doing hair, or a hairdresser dreaming of climbing the corporate ladder, career expert Nicole Williams has pro tips on how to get started.
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