Deciding to make a significant change in your career has so many important implications you may not always feel confident relying on yourself to make the right decision. That’s not to say you can’t make the right decision, you have been successful so far and will continue to be with careful planning. Finding the right support and utilizing it fully will help you. How much support you need really depends on how much you will be deviating from your current career and how confident you are in making the move.

Below are 5 suggestions to help you. Utilize all or just a few:

Mentors

Mentors are special people in your life that support, guide, listen, encourage and push. They are in your life to make your path easier.  They have walked in your shoes.  Great mentor/mentee relationships are a true gift. Mentors will give you the unbiased information which is what you need. Chances are they will give you some good food for thought a well. When they do, reflect on it seriously.

Career Changers

Since changing careers is becoming a reality for so many people, if you are considering this, speaking to others who have gone through the process will provide amazing insight for you. More times than not, people are happy to share their experiences. So even if it’s not someone you know well, just by saying “Hey, you’ve gone through a career change and it’s something I’m contemplating.  Can I buy you a coffee and have you share your experiences with me?” You are doing two things: You are opening up your network and more than likely that person will share their experience, therefore, giving you more information. That’s what you are looking for – information to help you be confident about your decisions.

Specific Industry Support

If you are contemplating changing industries, getting involved by volunteering with industry associations, their events, conferences, board of directors, reading trade journals etc. can prove to be very interesting for you and provide the insight you need to make positive decisions. Even setting Google alerts can keep you posted of industry updates. Industry support will put you in touch with people in an industry you are interested in, will provide you with valuable contacts and possibly support you in launching your new direction.

Coaches

Sometimes gaining insight from a professional can be very helpful.  Career coaches are trained professionals who can help you determine direction, provide guidance and gain momentum. Their role is to get you to where you want to be faster and easier than you could on your own.  As with any other profession, make sure your coach is a good match for your needs and personality. Be sure you know what you want from the experience and ask specific questions up front because if you don’t connect properly, you won’t get what you need.

Professional Development

Before diving into a new career, gaining more insight through classes could be an option as well.  If you can take a night school course, distance education course or even classes during the day, you will be surrounding yourself with a new network of people and gaining valuable insights into your career choice. Some changes take significant education and taking a prerequisite class may be what you need to help you decide if you want to invest your time in an entire program.

There are professional development organizations that are non-industry specific that are amazing at supporting you with gaining confidence, developing leadership skills, developing new friendships and building your network. Toastmasters International is a very good example of a meaningful professional development program to belong to. Most people go to Toastmasters to gain speaking skills but also gain significant leadership skills as well.   An added bonus is that at every Toastmasters meeting or event, you will also be networking with many people.

It’s important that when you decide on a professional development program that it fits who you are and that you enjoy attending, otherwise you will not learn or continue to attend.

The good news is that you don’t have to make big changes all at once.  With a well laid-out plan you can transition into work that would be ideal for you.

If you would like more information regarding career strategy, please check out my Free Resources Tab on my website at www.hrcareertransition.com, like me on Facebook at Conscious Career Planning with Lotte, follow me on Twitter @lottestruwing or connect with me on LinkedIn at Lotte Struwing.