Managing Career Change: Shift Your Attitude!

Whether you've been laid off or just burned out with your job, it's important to understand that the biggest factor affecting most worker attitudes today is a rapidly changing work environment. Change is occurring at warp speed all around us, and human nature tends to resist change. Why?

• Change can mean that you need more education to qualify for a new position, one that didn't even exist when you earned your college degree and thought you were done with studying. (Does that anger you or entice you?)
• Change can mean having to motivate yourself to meet new people and network to make connections to help lead you to your next position. (But what if you're shy or don't know the social rules of networking?)
• Change can mean asking for more responsibility at work - cross training - so that you can provide more value to your employer. (What if you feel you already work enough hours and are unappreciated?)
• Change can mean letting go of outdated ideas and embracing new methods, techniques, and ways of doing business. (But isn't it more comfortable sticking with what you already know - no matter how bad for you - than taking a risk by going into the unknown?)

Change means accepting personal responsibility for your own career management by proactively designing and following a plan to achieve your goals. (Just because you want to change employers, it doesn't mean you are willing to change your attitude - does it?)

Change can be fun, exciting, and full of promise and hope. Or it can be frightening, depressing, and just not fair. It's all up to you - which perception of change do you choose to influence your attitude? Are you letting your attitude block your opportunity to work your passion because you're not willing to change?

Most changes are not easy, but many, especially career change, can be very rewarding. Change will happen whether you want it to or not. Don't fight it. Adopt a flexible attitude toward change, become friends with it, and you will discover how to have less stress in your life and more opportunity for career growth.

Wishing you career success in 2010!

Meg