 |
Overcoming the 7 Roadblocks Women with Families Face Making Career Changes
Family is the driving force of our lives. You need family to support you and in most homes you need money to support your family. You work to support your family but you usually end up spending little time with them because of your 9-5 job. According to a Gallop poll 70% of Americans hate their jobs.
Life is funny sometimes. Its so easy to find yourself in a job you don't love, in a career that doesn't drive you or longing for passion in our work. Sometimes we find ourselves there after even a long road of education in a field we were certain was the right choice for us.
The good thing about life is that it is forever changing; sometimes due to circumstances and sometimes due to personal choices. I would argue that we have many more personal choices that we think we do. For every reason someone gives me that they cant make a change, I can give them two reasons they need to.
There are certainly roadblocks that can seem to disable our dreams but I believe with the right beliefs, motivation, accountability and resources, all things are possible. Lets look at overcoming some of the most common obstacles women face making career changes that will allow them more time with their family.
1. Finding the right career that fuels your passion. How great would it be to wake up every morning and be excited to work? How about loving what you do so much that you talk about it with everyone you know? We are all born with natural talents and abilities. We use them when we are young and believe it or not we still use them every day. It's all about tuning in to yourself and recognizing what makes you tick. Tuning in means paying very close attention to the things you do in your regular routine that bring you great pleasure. What could you do for hours on end and never realize how much time has passed. What are the things you do every day that get your juices flowing. What "feeeeeels" good and motivates you to do more? And equally it is wise to look at the things in your life that you don't enjoy. What makes you cringe? What do you put off til the last minute? You know what I'm talking about! We all have those things and they are best not to be the things that take up the majority of our time. Take this first step and start tuning in.
2. Making the kind of money that will pay the bills and more. There are several jobs that pay a lot of money but it is up to you to define "a lot of money." You may need to look at the bigger picture. How much is it worth to you to be able to not commute an hour to work? Not only will you save on gas and wear and tear on your car, but also you will be saving precious time with your family. You can put a dollar amount on some things but not all. Now to determine what careers will bring you the amount of money that you have defined as "enough" or "a lot." Do some research. After you have gone through the exercise detailed above, you will be able to see what careers entail the things you enjoy the most. The Internet is a beautiful tool where you can see the salary ranges for different careers (http://content.salary.monster.com/?WT_srch=1&WT.mc_n=01;CRC;GOO). Maybe you want to branch out on your own. Having a life coach can significantly help you in figuring out what works best for you given your skills and what resources you will need to achieve your goals.
3. Keeping health insurance. There is a certain security to working for a company, paying a set amount of money every paycheck and not worrying about health insurance. There are several plans available to entrepreneurs and women in business that offer customized plans for your specific family needs. Check online for small business health insurance and check out the options. There are several plans that can meet your needs and when you are making the money you want - this will not be an issue and until then you can always take advantage of a cobra plan where you pay the group rate for insurance for a period of time until you find the right plan for you.
4. Sticking to your goals and staying motivated. This is a tricky one. There are several steps to creating your goals and then a different set of tools to help you stick to them. You may have more than one goal. Your first goal may be to spend more time with your family. You can begin doing this way before you determine what career you would like to move into. Another goal may be to leave your current job by a certain time. Yet another may be to make a certain amount of money in your first year. Breaking down your goals into categories will help you to stick to them more easily. Family goals, career goals and money goals are a few good ones to start with. You can expand your list as you see success with these first three. Don't get discouraged, many people try out goals and revise them several times before accomplishing them. Just remember they are yours - make them attainable and fun! As far as staying motivated it is hugely important to be extremely specific as to "why" you really want to accomplish the goal. I want to spend more time with my kids?good?but why? What about that is important to you or your family? I want to make $100K?good?but why? What will it make you feel when you accomplish that? Make sure you have a partner that can help keep you accountable.
5. Identifying resources needed. There are so many resources out there for you to draw from when making transitions such as this. There are internal resources; talents you have, people you know, places you have worked for, the list is endless. Tap into those when looking at making any change. What do I have at my fingertips that can help me accomplish what I'm setting out to do? Write these down! These are the skills I have, these are the friends family and co-workers that can help me, these are the places I have come in contact with that have things I may need to use. There are also external resources. Places that you have yet to tap into; the Internet; newspapers; people, again, the list is unlimited. This is where the work comes in. Identifying what is out there that will help you with your task at hand. Make it fun. Several people I have worked with have realized that it is very useful to have another person to brainstorm with.
6. Timing the transition. This is a very flexible thing. It may change as you accomplish certain aspects of your goals. You might feel the need to have all of your eggs aligned to feel comfortable making your move. Your family needs may change and it will be good to stay flexible here. Part of your goals will be attaching a timeline to certain things and when those things are accomplished you can then move on to the next phase of that goal or a whole new goal. Be patient with yourself and ask others to have patience with you too. As long as you are making progress and achieving successes you are headed in the right direction. Trust your gut; you will know when the timing is right.
7. Dealing with "nay-sayers." There will always be some skeptic ready to burst your balloon. Someone is bound to tell you that you cant do it, you shouldn't do it, or ask you why you aren't just happy with what you have. You and only you know what is best for your family and your family's needs. Trust yourself. If you are waking up every morning almost in tears at the thought of heading to work, then you need a change. People say things all the time for several different reasons. Some are envious that you have the guts to try something new. Some are miserable themselves and you know the saying! Some simply think they know what's best for you because they have lived longer than you. Some may even have great intentions by warning you about the risks and for that reason you should certainly explore the risks ahead of time so you come from a place of knowledge when the subject is brought up. With that said, go ahead and make choices to enhance your life and take the "nay-sayers" out to lunch when its all said and done. You will be happy to do it because you will BE happy when you are spending more time with your family while making all the money you need.
This report is brought to you by: Monique Houde - Founder of Freedom Coaching
www.opcweb.com/freedom
Monique has been working with people for over 10 years. She has coached people to start their own business, cheered them on as they exceeded their goals, coached many through difficult decisions, been a personal relationship mentor and celebrated great successes.
Time management, goal setting, moving through disappointment, weighing out choices, confidence building, soul searching and life balancing are just some of the skills that Monique's clients have learned through coaching.
For more information about working with Monique as a Life Coach and to receive your FREE 30 minute consultation please call 978-764-6600
|
|
|
|
CAREER TOPICS
How To Pick The Best Career For You, Part 1
In Part One we'll look at how Positioning or "Coming to a Theater Near You" simplifies and expedites your employment hunt by reinforcing employer buy-in through justification of the sale.Rapidly gain employer agreement that you're the right person for the job by proving how their organizational needs are met through your specific abilities to solve their identified problems.
Protect Your Business by Performing a Background Check
The success of a business endeavor involves a concerted efforts of financing, strategic planning, product design or service positioning, marketing, sales, and customer support. One of most important aspects of doing business is the people you deal with everyday - your employees, your partners and your competitors.
Change Your Life, Change Your Career And Get A New Job!
Careers dictate resume formatDifferent careers use different forms of resumes. When you're working on your
resume, beware of services that try to sell you on just one template, regardless
of your target career.
Considering a Career Change?
Are you thinking about a career change? Many people do this because of specific problems or difficulties. Others want to make such a change because of some growing, generalized dissatisfaction.
How To Win the Job-Hunting Game
When I got over the initial shock of being urged to "seek alternative employment" I found myself, like so many others, out beating the bushes looking for a job. I found that I was just another one of the sheep following the same traditional job-hunting procedures as everyone else.
Pebbles in Your Shoe Dont Only Hurt your Foot But Cause Back and Hip Problems!
CIO Magazine ran an article entitled, "Ten Mistakes CIO's Too Often Make" written by Susan H. Cramm, former CIO and vice president of IT at Taco Bell and CFO and executive vice president at Chevys, a Taco Bell subsidiary.
Discover What You Really Want To Do
Are you doing what you really want to do or did you just fall or wander into the job you now have. As a friend of ours once said,' I am one of twenty two doctors in our family.
Your Job Search -- a Marketing Campaign?
The successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. And the same techniques used in infomercials and junk mail can help you get hired, too.
Find Those People
"The Emperor's New Clothes" was a favorite childhood story of mine. It made me laugh.
Does Your Resume Have What It Takes To Survive The First Cut?
Qualifications" or "Personal Profile") uses bullets and succinct wording to highlight what is likely to most intrigue the employer. Before writing this section, make a list of the 5 to 10 criteria that are most likely to guide the employer's choice - then summarize your qualifications in a way that speaks directly to the employer's interests.
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Try, Try, Again
This article relates to the Career Opportunities competency and explores issues such as internal growth opportunities, potential for advancement, career development importance, and the relationship between job performance and career advancement. Evaluating the Career Opportunities competency in your organization will determine whether your employees believe they have a chance to grow within the organization.
Career Change: A Glittering Invitation To The Emotional Stalkers
As much as you are yearning for career-change, and as much as the trends actually favor it, just contemplating a shift is a glittering invitation to four emotional stalkers who love nothing better than to play a nasty game of team-tag at your personal expense. When you unmask these bandits -- even a little -- they begin to lose their emotional charge - leaving you free to more fully explore the opportunities to re-invent yourself.
Defining Success Your Way!
In my career advising practice, I often find that my clients are not clear about what success means for them. Our society defines success primarily around three elements: power, money and fame.
Building Your Army of Supporters: How to Build Strategic Relationships in the Work Place!
Once you have accomplished your task of getting in the door and getting the job the real job of career advancement begins!You will soon learn (if you haven't already elsewhere) that corporate politics are ALWAYS surrounding you. If it is not your boss who is fearful of you taking his job it is your co-worker who wants to ensure that they are seen "better" than you when promotion time comes calling.
Top 10 Skills for New World of Work
There are many changes coming in the world of work, such as increased competition, the need for more education and certifications, and the trend to change careers 5-7 times in a lifetime. No matter what job or career path you decide to take, there are some basic skills that all employers look for.
Telephone Phobia: Make the Phone Your Job Search Friend
You're pretty comfortable using the phone. It's something you do every day in your working routine; so why is it that as soon as you need to use it for career change or job-search it becomes too difficult?Your reluctance to use the phone in your career change or job-search probably stems from anxieties about what might happen.
Multiple Skills for the 21st Century
(excerpted from The Weekend Seminar - Skills for the 21st Century 1999 Version)I find it's important to not walk into the 21st Century without multiple skills. But what I also find is that if you are already in sales, network marketing or have an entrepreneurial business (or plan to in the future), you can gain the needed skills for the future while you create your income now.
Think About a Nursing Degree
If you decide to get a degree in nursing, there are many things you need to know and consider first. Choosing your nursing school may not be as
easy as you expect.
Networking is the Key to Star Performance in Everything You Do.
Many people's idea of networking relates to the 'size of their Christmas Card List, rather than the quality of their relationship with each person on that list. Similarly those people network, but few reap the rewards of zeroing in on their potential.
Cover Letter Sample -- For the Corporate Flight Attendant
Writing a cover letter to send with your résumé can be both confusing and frustrating. What exactly should you say? Are you saying too much? Are you only speaking about your needs vs.
|
