Step #1: Identify Why You Are Changing Careers

The first step in any career change is to identify why you are looking for a change. It is important to know whether you are trying to move away from something or if you are trying to move toward something. Ultimately, it is much more empowering to move toward something as opposed to trying to escape from something.

It is much more difficult to identify your ideal job if your personal vision is limited to overcoming negatives of your current situation.

This is your time to dare to dream. Why not dream big? If you are going to make a career change, keep all of your options open to give yourself best chance of making a fresh start. This is your time to find a job you will love for years to come.

Step # 2: Create a Personal Vision & Specify Your Goals

The next step in finding work you love involves creating a very clear vision of your future work situation. You need to be able to definitively answer following questions: --What is your ideal work day schedule? --What is your required salary to live comfortably? (For more information on salary and work you love, I highly recommend book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) --What is your preferred commute time? --What are your ideal positions and tasks? --To what managerial level do you want to be reporting? --Are you an entrepreneur at heart? --Would you consider self-employment? --Are there any other logistical aspects you need to consider – such as travel required or on-site day care provisions?

Try to think through every aspect of a normal day. Don’t be afraid to outline what might feel like unrealistic or pie-in-the-sky options. The purpose here is to get very clear on what it is you want. Not what you think you can get.

Creating this vision and specifying your goals is an integral step toward finding your ideal job. I recommend that my clients spend plenty of time on these questions and write out their answers in a notebook or journal.

Step #3: Re-Connect With Your Interests

So many of my clients have lost touch with their interests. It is not easy for them to identify things that capture their attention. To help get your self-knowledge flowing, answer following questions over course of a typical week:

--What is your favorite bookstore section? --Which sections of newspaper do you turn to first? --What magazine subscriptions do you have? --What were your favorite classes in college? --What are your hobbies? --What categories of books do you keep on your bookshelf? --What great conversations do you remember from parties and social events? What was topic? What made it a great conversation?

After keeping track of these things for a week you should be able to identify some trends. Did you notice some of your interests emerging on a consistent basis? Are you able to narrow it down to two or three top interests?

Do not worry at this point whether interests you have identified have any possibilities as careers. You are just beginning self-exploration process. In order to have any hope of finding work you love, you have to start by identifying what is truly interesting to you!

Step #4: Re-Connect With Your Values

Interests and values go together like a lock and a key. Once you have identified some of your favorite interests, next step is to explore your values. Your values are your deeply held convictions that compel you into action. Many people become unsatisfied in their careers because one or more of their personal values are not being met. To uncover some of your strongest inner values try to answer some or all of following questions:

--Who is your favorite famous person? What is it that you admire about them? --If you never had to work again, what would you spend your time doing? Why? --If you could solve one world problem what would it be? --What personal accomplishment are you most proud of? --What are your top three movies of all time? What theme do they share? --What makes you mad? --What would you want said about you at your funeral?

These questions are likely to take you longer to answer than any of others so far. That is because your values are at core of what motivates you in life. When you find work that is in sync with one or more of your values, you will feel a great desire to do that work. It will feel more like your "calling" rather than merely a job.

You will gain a sense of importance about work you are doing. You will feel that your time is being spent wisely and that your work makes a difference. When you can combine these values-based feelings with working in an area of your interest, you will be well on your way to finding work you love. Try to sum up your answers from questions in this step and then identify your top three values.

Step #5: Know Your Abilities!

Step #1: Identify Why You Are Changing Careers

The first step in any career change is to identify why you are looking for a change. It is important to know whether you are trying to move away from something or if you are trying to move toward something. Ultimately, it is much more empowering to move toward something as opposed to trying to escape from something.

It is much more difficult to identify your ideal job if your personal vision is limited to overcoming negatives of your current situation.

This is your time to dare to dream. Why not dream big? If you are going to make a career change, keep all of your options open to give yourself best chance of making a fresh start. This is your time to find a job you will love for years to come.

Step # 2: Create a Personal Vision & Specify Your Goals

The next step in finding work you love involves creating a very clear vision of your future work situation. You need to be able to definitively answer following questions: --What is your ideal work day schedule? --What is your required salary to live comfortably? (For more information on salary and work you love, I highly recommend book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin) --What is your preferred commute time? --What are your ideal positions and tasks? --To what managerial level do you want to be reporting? --Are you an entrepreneur at heart? --Would you consider self-employment? --Are there any other logistical aspects you need to consider – such as travel required or on-site day care provisions?

Try to think through every aspect of a normal day. Don’t be afraid to outline what might feel like unrealistic or pie-in-the-sky options. The purpose here is to get very clear on what it is you want. Not what you think you can get.

Creating this vision and specifying your goals is an integral step toward finding your ideal job. I recommend that my clients spend plenty of time on these questions and write out their answers in a notebook or journal.

Step #3: Re-Connect With Your Interests

So many of my clients have lost touch with their interests. It is not easy for them to identify things that capture their attention. To help get your self-knowledge flowing, answer following questions over course of a typical week:

--What is your favorite bookstore section? --Which sections of newspaper do you turn to first? --What magazine subscriptions do you have? --What were your favorite classes in college? --What are your hobbies? --What categories of books do you keep on your bookshelf? --What great conversations do you remember from parties and social events? What was topic? What made it a great conversation?

After keeping track of these things for a week you should be able to identify some trends. Did you notice some of your interests emerging on a consistent basis? Are you able to narrow it down to two or three top interests?

Do not worry at this point whether interests you have identified have any possibilities as careers. You are just beginning self-exploration process. In order to have any hope of finding work you love, you have to start by identifying what is truly interesting to you!

Step #4: Re-Connect With Your Values

Interests and values go together like a lock and a key. Once you have identified some of your favorite interests, next step is to explore your values. Your values are your deeply held convictions that compel you into action. Many people become unsatisfied in their careers because one or more of their personal values are not being met. To uncover some of your strongest inner values try to answer some or all of following questions:

--Who is your favorite famous person? What is it that you admire about them? --If you never had to work again, what would you spend your time doing? Why? --If you could solve one world problem what would it be? --What personal accomplishment are you most proud of? --What are your top three movies of all time? What theme do they share? --What makes you mad? --What would you want said about you at your funeral?

These questions are likely to take you longer to answer than any of others so far. That is because your values are at core of what motivates you in life. When you find work that is in sync with one or more of your values, you will feel a great desire to do that work. It will feel more like your "calling" rather than merely a job.

You will gain a sense of importance about work you are doing. You will feel that your time is being spent wisely and that your work makes a difference. When you can combine these values-based feelings with working in an area of your interest, you will be well on your way to finding work you love. Try to sum up your answers from questions in this step and then identify your top three values.

Step #5: Know Your Abilities!