The Natural Unfolding of Career Change

For the last 13 years, it has been my professional work to help people navigate career transitions. And when I think of offering advice for someone at the beginning of a career change inquiry, I come right back to the simplest and most profound wisdom I’ve ever received. This wisdom came to me in 2012 when I was preparing a talk for a women’s conference. The conference hosts asked me to tell my own story of transformation. I had begun my career as a lawyer and over several years of practice, I realized that career path was not a match for who I am inside. The problem was I didn’t know immediately who I was and so before I could change my career, I needed to do some exploration.

I did do that inner exploration and ultimately left the law and landed myself in a much more aligned career as a managing director of a nonprofit championing empowerment of women and girls. This new direction was a clear expression of my passions and I got the chance to positively impact others every day - truly a dream. Many people admired me for this transformation and asked often: “how did you make this courageous career change?” People asked to sit with me and talk about their own career woes and desires. I found it was very easy for me to see into people what they really wished to do but perhaps felt afraid.

My own career change was the story the conference organizers asked me to share. At the time of delivering this talk in 2012, what the organizers and audience didn’t know was that I was on the cusp of another career change. I was preparing to leave my nonprofit job to start a business as a career coach. It was in noticing how others were so so frequently asking for my support in making a career transformation that I felt I had something to offer. This new direction felt like the next natural part in my story of following my most authentic gifts.

In preparing this talk, it was the perfect time for me to ask: “what’s the change process I went through as a lost lawyer, am following now to change my career path again, and that I can pass on to others?” A simple answer came to me:

1. KNOW yourself

2. HEAL yourself

3. BE yourself

All career transitions begin with feelings of discomfort. If there was no dissatisfaction, there would be no change. As a lawyer, I began to notice feeling worn out, tired, unfulfilled and ultimately dread. I no longer wanted to go to work. I wanted change even though I didn’t know yet specifically what that change would be. This is where we typically begin: wanting career change but not knowing what that change will be. And so the first part of the process is: KNOW yourself.

In the first phase of KNOW yourself, it is a time of inward reflection. Something new (or old) wants to emerge in how you show up in the world and your work is to discover what that is so you can open the door to fulfilling change. The KNOW yourself phase involves asking deep questions about who you are, who you’ve always been, what no longer feels aligned, and who you’re becoming. You can do this on your own through reading, journaling, and self assessment and/or you can do this with assistance in self discovery groups, a coaching or counseling relationship, or even through conversation with really dedicated friends who know and believe in you.

Once you have more information about yourself, the next phase reveals itself: HEAL yourself. I have seen in my own journey and in guiding others that what is revealed in phase one will inevitably require some inner adjustment (such as rewiring of thoughts and beliefs) in order to fully embrace. It is not usual to see who you are becoming and then immediately take action in that direction. Instead, it is common that there is inner turmoil, doubt, uncertainty of whether the information revealed is accurate and if you can actually make something of it. This means attention toward healing is required before the change can unfold.

As the healing begins and deepens, the third phase in the natural unfolding of a career change occurs: BE yourself. With the knowledge and the healing, now it will become natural to start to act as the version of yourself you’re becoming. You’ll witness your own courage, confidence, the anchoring of new beliefs in who you are and your mission ahead. From this space, you will feel inspired, show up in the world actually taking steps toward career change, and truly open your new path.

I share this three-part natural unfolding process to remind us all that career change is something that needs and deserves time and space to allow our next truest expression to be born. I refer to this as a “natural unfolding” as a reminder that we humans exist in and are aspects of nature. With nature there is a birth, death, and rebirth cycle when it comes to change. Yet in our modern society with linear thinking at the forefront we often create unreasonable expectations around change. It’s not natural to feel dissatisfaction one day in your work and then the next day or even the next week to know what change you’ll make and immediately begin. Instead, the process usually takes many months and likely a year or two to move through depending on how you measure your cycle of change.

If you’re reading this for yourself because you are considering a career change, I conclude here for you with a blessing: May you recognize and enjoy all the support around you that gives you space to explore yourself. May you trust that all is unfolding in perfect timing. And may you connect with certainty around what is yours to do and be next.

If you’re reading this and someone you care about comes to mind who is considering or going through a career change, I invite you to pass this along as a way to share the inner peace that comes with remembering that a natural process is unfolding in the perfect time and perfect way. All is well.

With love, Gina