Unemployment is more than 10% in this time of economic uncertainties. Even economists and business pundits are expecting more job losses in the next few quarters. This economic and health disaster can result in some jobs to get automated or may well be phased out. This is a time to explore a change in career. A temporary job can help you to survive and prepare for a change in your career.
We are more open and flexible to change our careers during the initial stages of our professional life. But then we are more reluctant to change our profession as we gain more experience or reach mid-life. Sometimes we find it impossible to change careers with responsibilities, commitment, and observing attitude towards older workers.
That does not mean that it is not possible to change your profession after the age of 30s, 40s, or 50s. Some professionals have successfully transitioned to a new career and have shown that it is possible with proper planning. It is crucial to know how to change your career after the age of 30s, 40s, and 50s to remain more relevant to the job market.
Who has been to a McDonald’s? The 53- years old Ray Kroc met the McDonalds brother (Maurice and Richard) in 1954 and opened the first franchise in 1955. He grew the company in the next few years and bought the whole business from McDonald’s brother for $2.7 Million. His company was worth $8 Billion at the time of his death in 1984 at the age of 84.
When To Change Career
You have to be clear on what you want from your professional life to plan for a change in your career. It is possible to give some quality time to get clarity on your expectation at any point in your career. Time is of the essence but rushing to change your career without evaluating all your priorities has more chance of setback. Follow the following tips to get more clarity and plan your career changes.
First of all, you have to be clear about the reason for a career change. Is it due to the uncertainties in the economic situation? Or, lack of growth opportunities in your career? is this because you do not feel motivated at the current organizations and looking for a change? Or you think that your experience and background can be assets in a new career and will be rewarding for your professional and personal life?
We can focus on the first of the above three situations as an example.
Positive Environment for Career Planning
The incident of job loss or forced out of jobs during the economic uncertainties is an unfortunate event. Also important is to keep a positive frame of mind and willingness to take risks. It is crucial for someone to create a positive environment and not bogged down by feeling confused about the next course of action.
A positive environment will help you to plan for your career. It is the best time to have a constructive self-evaluation on career opportunities in the same profession. There are many external factors beyond your control during the economic uncertainties. Do your research and find out if your profession has limited scope due to a shift in economic activities or automation. If yes, then you should reinvent your career and transition from your current job.
In the above cases, go for a temporary job to prepare for a change in career. The short-term job will give you some time to plan your next career move and scope to experiment with your skills. There are advantages and disadvantages to a temporary position. Choose a short-term job that will give you sufficient time and energy to focus on your new goal and effort required to change your career.
Temporary Job Is A Survival Job- to explore and plan for change in career
Give careful thought on your stop-gap or short-term jobs. The best temporary job to prepare for a change in career can be similar to your last job but with significantly fewer responsibilities. You will be more comfortable to manage the temporary job as well as find enough time to prepare for a change in career. This is the most ideal situation for your career planning.
If that is not possible, then look for a job that somehow gives you some additional soft or hard skills for your future career. A person working in a barista can look for a job in a computer or hi-tech shop to get more familiarity with technical jargon. A person working in the financial desk can go for an opportunity in sales to get more client interactions experience. She will understand the ground realities of the sales forecast and actual revenue realizations.
Advantage of temporary Job for career planning
The temporary jobs will allow you to earn income and healthcare benefits as an employed individual. The temporary jobs will also help you to experiment with new skills and use your past experience in a new environment. The simple success in this job will also boost your self-confidence and self-respect in your ability to thrive at a new organization. Most important of all, it will give you some valuable time to clarify your goals of life, choice of next profession, and ability to focus on your next career move.
Disadvantage of temporary job for career planning
The stop-gap job or temporary job is not without its own disadvantages. Some of the jobs need specialized skills to perform on the job. This may take a lot of your focus and time to learn new skills. The new skills are necessary to survive in a new job but may not have any value addition to your life or future career. Also, be careful of the job choice involving long hours at work. This can reduce your energy for the effort needed to change your career. Another factor to consider while choosing a new job is the working environment in your workplace. The hostile working environment at a workplace may increase your stress. You can take this as a transactional relationship at the workplace and manage your stress to focus on your next career moves.
Please evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of all available stop-gap or temporary jobs. Then decide on the opportunity where advantage outpaces disadvantage.
In case you are financially strong, then you can have a different plan. Your aim should be for a long term objective of entering into to new profession as soon as possible by using all your available time to enhance and add new skills.
Important Objectives Of Temporary Job
Please be clear on the objectives of a temporary job. You have to be clear on your long term plan. The short-term job should not distract you from your long term goal. Your aim is to reduce dependency on a temporary job prepare for a change in career in a short time. This can be achieved by reducing the time and energy consumption at a temporary job and use the maximum available time for a change in career preparation. You will have more chance of success by using more time to prepare for career changes.
The objectives of a stop-gap job or temporary job are
- Get more time to think about the next career moves.
- This is a temporary job and does not get involved more than necessary.
- Get some financial benefits to focus on your skill enhancements and prepare for your new career.
- Add new professional or life skills for your future.
- To minimize the effort required to train or use existing skills to start working on a new job. If possible, then chose a work similar to past experience or existing skills but fewer responsibilities. You can save time and can give more time for a change in career.
- Use more productive time by reducing unproductive commute time. You can minimize commute time by reducing the distance to your work. Remote work is the best option to increase your productive hours.
- Not to take a job that will adversely impact your preparation for a change in career. The job should have a clear boundary for work and life balance. This is most important because you need energy, time, and self-motivation to learn new skills for changes in your career.
There is always a scope to change your career for better financial, personal, and work & life balance. You should have a strong willingness to change. Your future is dependent upon your motivation to explore your potential and efforts to add new skills. It is not an easy process to work in a job (Part-time or full time) and add extra hours to work on acquiring new skills. That is the reason the choice of stop-gap work or temporary position is crucial to remain focus on your long term objectives.