Inner you
A career shift can feel daunting, especially in uncertain times. BBC journalistturned-career-coach Rachel Schofield shares her insight on making the jump and finding a more satisfying future
I’d describe it as a queasy combination of excitement and worry. I felt it the day I finally changed my LinkedIn details to say ‘former BBC journalist’, typed ‘career coach’ as my current job and pressed save. Whoosh! That contradictory surge of possibility and panic. It wasn’t a new feeling. Gosh, no. I’d felt it regularly for at least two years. Maybe longer.
I call it the career reinventor’s tug of war. On one side is your imaginative, adventurous self, pulling hard towards change and nurturing thoughts of a more fulfilling work life. Yanking back is your risk-averse, status-quo-loving alter ego, fearful of the unknown and desperate to keep you safe and secure. For every exciting idea you tug at, your brain pulls back control with a big list of why it JUST. WON’T. WORK.
You want change and you don’t want change. The prospect thrills you and it scares you. In my own transition from BBC news presenter to career coach, I had my fair share of shaky moments. Two decades with an internationally recognised broadcaster had given me a professional credibility I was nervous to part with.
A career shift can feel daunting. It’s tethered to some pretty hefty topics: our identity and our status, our finances, our family life and even our friendships. The current economic situation may add to your inner narrative that staying put feels more sensible than taking a risk.
But if you’re wondering whether 2023 could be the year you finally redesign your career, let me suggest something wonderfully liberating to you. You’re just asking yourself the wrong questions.
Take a look at these classics: ‘Would this move be good or bad?’ ‘Is this shift risky or sensible?’ ‘Is this idea possible or impossible?’ As a former journo, I should love such binary questions – but as a coach, I can tell you that career redesigns often stall because people start with monster conundrums like that!
You need better questions. Not blackand-white horrors, but questions that open up varied options, fresh perspectives and release new information. For now, forget about making some massive decision. Invest instead in building your own awareness of who you are, what you want and the many options you have. Don’t fret too early about the end result. Should you stay or should you go? Never mind that yet! What could you do? What might that look like? How will you find out more?
The best career changers are actively curious, and you need to be, too. Throw off the pressure to decide ‘Is this right?’ and embrace the a
