This post is for you who have found a better purpose in life mid-career, but don’t know how to work towards it.
You who became demoralised and burnt out from your current job. You who have since found no satisfaction in what you were doing and wondered, “What am I doing here?”
So you think “Maybe I should try other lines…” and you start exploring other fields. At this point you may be lost and wonder, “what do I want to be now?”
Take a step
It takes one step to walk a thousand miles. Start searching both in your soul and in jobs. Don’t limit yourself to your qualifications or prior experiences. Soon you will actually find a pattern in the kinds of job you are searching for. See, during job searches, you will find that you almost always click on the same category! Doesn’t this mean that this is where your passion lies? Maybe you should consider a career in that category.
But then, you will have doubts like:
How should I follow my passion?
What if I don’t have the correct school qualifications or job experiences?
Possible solutions
Very frankly now I tell you the paths you can take:
- Take a pay cut now and work from the bottom up again. Nobody would ever fault you for taking such a courageous leap. But are you willing to sacrifice your time to work from the bottom up again?
- Stay where you are and volunteer your skills to build up experience, at the same time, further your education in the desired field (if you can). It is hard to break into a new industry. Oftentimes you have the passion, but no avenue to build experience from. Volunteering is the key. Volunteering will show recruiters two things: that you are passionate in what you do and you’ll do anything to achieve your dreams.
Volunteering
NVPC is Singapore’s national body for volunteering and philanthropy. Look through each organisation and try to volunteer your services to build up your experience from scratch. Volunteer organisations are always in need of people! Go to the following website and click on E-MATCH (on the left navigation bar) to begin your search.
http://www.nvpc.org.sg/pgm/others/nvpc_f_default_public.aspx
Social connections
Never forget that you can never be who you are without your social connections. Check with your circle of friends, society or social organisation that you belong to whether they need any help in the field you wish to expertise in.
Stay on track
Volunteering is not going to have instantaneous effects or net you a job immediately, so be patient!
Set small, realistic goals that are actually achievable and work towards it. Take your steps one at a time, and relish in the freedom you have given yourself. If you dare to make a career switch, the results can be gratifying and life-changing. Stay positive!
Posted on August 7, 2011
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