Career and Job Change Challenges

Yes, but I can’t afford it…

Making a career or job change is a big move, and one of the main stumbling blocks that stops people like you from making the move is fear about the financial implications.

Do you say:

"I’d love to change my job but I just can’t afford it."

This is a common concern from career change clients, so if this is a refrain that is going through your head, don’t worry, you are not alone.

But what is to be done about it?

Does the issue of money have to be a permanent barrier to the career or job change you are dreaming about?

The answer is NO!

How to tackle your money worries

As you will probably have read elsewhere on this website, I do not underestimate what a career change project will involve.

It is nearly always a matter of taking a mixture of practical steps on the one hand, but also challenging old habits, beliefs and attitudes on the other.

I recommend the same two sided approach to dealing with your financial concerns about career and job change.

Step One – Let’s get practical

There are many practical ways in which you can begin to manage your finances better and to put in place careful financial planning to make your career change a reality. It will not all fall into place overnight, but if you feel really strongly about taking up a new career direction, then you will make the commitment you need to get your finances in place to support your dreams.

Key steps you need to take include:

• • Review your current finances and expenditure

• • Research what financial commitment is needed for your new career plans

• • Estimate what financial backstop will be needed to tide you over the change

• • Start to build up the financial resources you need using a range of different tactics

These are not impossible steps to take. As always, the secret is to start with small manageable steps and then just keep going.

Persistence pays off.

Read more about taking practical steps to manage your money to get the career or job change you want.

Step Two - Challenge your thinking
about money

I don’t know what it is about money, but so many of us have a whole range of negative and limiting beliefs about it. They are very often unconsciously held, but they really get in the way of our ability to move on in life – especially when you are thinking of careers issues.

Let’s face it, our work is usually our main source of income, so no wonder money and work are tied up together in our minds.

So the other side of this two sided approach to the money worries associated with career and job change is to ask you to spend some time really getting to grips with your beliefs about money.

Ignore this step at your peril!

However careful you are about handling the practical side of your finances, you can still be tripped up by these unconscious beliefs.

Key steps include:

• • Take some time to think about your relationship towards money.

• • Review the messages about money that you got from your family.

• • Look at how other people deal with their money – what can you learn?

• • Explore ways that you can begin to challenge and change some of these beliefs.

This kind of reflection can take some time. There may be quite a lot to discover and challenge, so allow yourself to mull these issues over and make notes in your Career Change Project File.

Read more about challenging your thinking about money to get the career or job change you want.