How to Start Reinventing Your Career

According to a Gallup poll released in 2017, only 15% of the world’s one billion full-time workers are engaged at work. In the U.S. only 30% are engaged, which leaves 70% of Americans not engaged. Where do you fall in this mix?

With so much change in our economy, many are reevaluating and reinventing their careers and life directions. Where does one begin the process of reinvention?

• First, consider the word “acknowledgment.” Acknowledging your previous situation is important because every experience serves our growth. Acknowledging your past successes and failures, how you have grown, what you have learned, and the value you brought in your previous roles is key to moving forward into your next venue.
• Second, be very clear about what elements you want in your work. How would you describe your ideal culture, leadership team, and how you want to feel in your new role? Capture those feelings on paper and in your mind and body.
• Finally, stay open to possibilities. By focusing your energy on how you will feel when you land the role you desire, you start rewiring your brain. When you put attention in the direction of what you really want, your external world will begin to respond and give you a clearer idea of the direction you need to go and the actions you need to take.

Where are you being asked to reinvent yourself? Remember reinvention means disruption in how you are thinking and doing things in your life and work. This can be uncomfortable at times and is part of the process of growth and change. So don’t fight it – the resistance makes it even harder to grasp.

What will help you take accountability for becoming fully engaged in your work?

Whether it is looking for a new career or navigating more excitement in your current role or business, here are some actions to take to kick start you in creating some movement.

• Get clear about what you want. What do you have in your current role or in past roles that you do not want in your next career position?
• What do you have in this job or in past jobs that you want in your next career position?
• What have you not had in a job that you do want in your next career position?
• Highlight what speaks to you and create a plan of action to create your ideal job.