{"id":344342,"date":"2021-09-26T00:25:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/outside-the-box-3-questions-to-answer-before-you-make-a-career-change\/"},"modified":"2021-09-26T00:25:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T21:25:00","slug":"outside-the-box-3-questions-to-answer-before-you-make-a-career-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-3-questions-to-answer-before-you-make-a-career-change\/","title":{"rendered":"#Outside the Box: 3 questions to answer before you make a career change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be30b3fe24\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be30b3fe24\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-3-questions-to-answer-before-you-make-a-career-change\/#And_5_tips_for_jump-starting_your_encore_career\" >And 5 tips for jump-starting your encore career<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-3-questions-to-answer-before-you-make-a-career-change\/#Fred_Sievert\" >Fred Sievert<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Outside the Box: 3 questions to answer before you make a career change<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"And_5_tips_for_jump-starting_your_encore_career\"><\/span>\n  And 5 tips for jump-starting your encore career<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"article body\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000417728\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000417728\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       As we navigate the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that many Americans are reimagining their future and rethinking their career paths. Many are giving serious consideration to a potentially life-changing revision to their\u00a0career goals.<\/p>\n<p> The pandemic simply seems to have accelerated people\u2019s natural inclination to consider moving to a career that\u2019s more rewarding for them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       This is not unlike the process I went through when I decided to retire early from my position as the president of New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company, to pursue an encore career. Even though I\u00a0was 59\u00a0and could remain at the company until the\u00a0typical\u00a0retirement age of 65, I had been reimagining my own future following a couple of life-altering experiences. Those experiences caused me to seriously consider retiring and attending divinity school to enhance my spiritual education and development in preparation for the\u00a0career that would follow.<\/p>\n<p>The thought process and planning I went through\u00a0could be useful to many who find themselves thoughtfully considering a career change following the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Read: If you\u2019re fed up with your job and want to quit, don\u2019t do it this way<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contemplate the financial and other consequences of a career change<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Who among us hasn\u2019t at times considered a major change in our vocational pursuits? Such thoughts can be frightening, and that\u2019s why not everyone acts on these impulses. But considering such a change can also be stimulating. Perhaps the pandemic has given you time and the inspiration to reconsider your current career and reimagine what could be a beneficial change to your future.<\/p>\n<p>As you consider a career change, it is important to carefully assess the potential financial consequences of such a change, particularly in the near term. Make sure you have the resources to withstand a temporary shortfall in your initial earning capacity and if necessary, adjust your budgeted expenses accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>My own early retirement and pursuit of a career as an author has proven to be a magnificent liberating experience. I feel h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ier, healthier and younger than I\u2019ve felt in decades. While being prepared financially certainly was important, I have found it even more important to attend to all the other non financial aspects of a post-pandemic career lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>Read: When you should \u2014 and shouldn\u2019t \u2014 invest in a Roth 401(k)<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Important questions for you to answer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As you start the nonfinancial planning process, ask, and honestly answer, these three questions:<\/p>\n<p>1. <strong>The passion question:<\/strong>\u00a0What type of work has made you happiest and provided the greatest gratification in your pre-pandemic years, either in your existing career or in your activities outside the workplace? In short, what are your greatest passions?<\/p>\n<p>2. <strong>The gifts and skills question:<\/strong>\u00a0What are your unique gifts and skills that you can use to generate the most satisfaction in your next career?<\/p>\n<p>3. <strong>The preparation question:<\/strong>\u00a0What can you do now to position yourself for greatest impact when you decide to make the transition to a reimagined career?<\/p>\n<p>The answers to questions like these are unique to every individual. Seeking the answers will force you to wrestle with elusive concepts like \u201csuccess,\u201d \u201csatisfaction\u201d and \u201chappiness\u201d. Nonetheless, I think you\u2019ll find it thought-provoking and enjoyable to go through the exercise of contemplation and discernment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answering the passion question<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most of us are happiest when we are pursuing our passions. So step one for me was to clearly identify those activities and pursuits that left me with the greatest sense of accomplishment, self-worth, and therefore, happiness.<\/p>\n<p>I asked myself, \u201cWhat makes me tick?\u201d I considered many possibilities, but what clearly makes me most happy is positively touching and impacting the lives of other human beings. So as I thoughtfully contemplated how writing could help me accomplish that in my future, I began to envision a new beginning \u2014 a period of significance and impact.<\/p>\n<p>Think about those activities that give you the greatest joy and sense of fulfillment. Then articulate your passions in a sentence or two.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answering the gifts and skills question<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s almost a certainty that there will be a high correlation between what you do well and what makes you happy. Start there, and then expand your thought process by reflecting on all kinds of moments in your life \u2014 beyond your work activities \u2014 when you have felt truly happy and fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>What made time stand still? What were you doing just before you felt that tremendous sense of accomplishment and well-being? As you recall those moments, ask yourself what value you added in the process.<\/p>\n<p>I believe my biggest contribution and value added was in my ability to impact people\u2019s lives through my use of my own personal gifts and skills \u2014\u00a0my strong faith,\u00a0my financial acumen, my storytelling and writing skills, and my teaching and mentoring abilities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answering the preparation question<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve identified your passions and your unique gifts and skills, consider how you will prepare for the next phase of your life.<\/p>\n<p>My preparation involved several steps I initiated before making the final transition. I decided to attend divinity school to enhance my spiritual education and development. I developed a business school course on strategy and leadership that I taught as an adjunct professor at Fairfield University. I researched both the nonprofit and for-profit organizations in which I felt I could add value using my business and financial acumen. As a result, I began serving on five nonprofit and two for-profit boards.<\/p>\n<p>The peace of mind that has come from following my passions and impacting the lives of other people has left me far happier than I have been in many years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips for fast-starting your new career<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I was considering a career change, my daughter, Dena, had recently graduated from college and felt she was languishing in an entry-level position at a large global company. She came to me with an urgent request: she wanted advice on how she could get noticed as someone of high potential and begin to develop a meaningful new career path.<\/p>\n<p>The tips I gave to Dena launched and supercharged her new career. Here is a brief summary of the five tips I gave her. These can apply whether you join a large company, a small company or even if you start an entrepreneurial venture with a small support team.<\/p>\n<p>1. Demonstrate commitment<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrate your commitment to your company. An easy way to do this is to get to work early, leave late and remain fully engaged in everything you do. In other words, put in the time. Even an extra 30 to 60 minutes per day will get noticed by your superiors, your peers and by the members of your team.<\/p>\n<p>2. Memorize your company\u2019s mission statement<\/p>\n<p>Commit the corporate mission statement to memory. If you are an employee of a larger firm, you don\u2019t want to go around reciting the mission statement; that would appear arrogant. Instead, as you consider difficult decisions (or observe decisions made by others), you can readily test them against the stated mission of the organization.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important for the decisions and actions of a company to align well with its stated mission.<\/p>\n<p>3. Develop organizational awareness<\/p>\n<p>Develop a network of contacts across departments. Show an eagerness to learn and understand the culture, how the company operates, who does what, who has what authority and how things get accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>4. Demonstrate strategic capability<\/p>\n<p>Become familiar with your company\u2019s products, services, customer base and target markets. Identify your company\u2019s marketplace strengths and competitive advantages. What is your company\u2019s edge over the competition? Can the company sustain it?<\/p>\n<p>Strategy is about beating the competition, so identify and learn as much as you can about the competition and the strategies they follow. Is your company losing its \u201ccompetitive advantage\u201d or building on it? What can it do even better?<\/p>\n<p>5. Understand the financial underpinnings of the business<\/p>\n<p>This tip may seem to be the most difficult, but it really is quite simple. My daughter had no background or training in accounting or finance but found the following advice to be powerful and easy to implement.<\/p>\n<p>Ask someone in the finance or accounting department to give you a basic understanding of how the results of the company\u2019s income statement flow into the balance sheet. Once you have that understanding, start a quarterly tracking (on a spreadsheet) of the following six numbers:<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From the income statement: revenues, expenses and net profit<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From the balance sheet: assets, liabilities and net equity<\/p>\n<p>It is safe to say none of your peers (and few among your superiors) will track these six key metrics over time.<\/p>\n<p>For my daughter, implementing these five tips launched a rapidly expanding set of responsibilities that provided innumerable future career growth opportunities and financial rewards. As you make a career change, they can do the same for you.<\/p>\n<p><em>Fred Sievert is the retired president of New York Life Insurance Company and the author of three books, the most recent of which is titled,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Fast-Starting-Career-Consequence-Christ-Centered-Re-entering\/dp\/1631953583#:~:text=Fast%2DStarting%20a%20Career%20of%20Consequence%20is%20the%20perfect%20guide,to%20further%20boost%20their%20careers.&amp;text=Fred%20encourages%20readers%20to%20identify,embark%20on%20a%20new%20career.\" class=\"icon none\">Fast-Starting a Career of Consequence<\/a><\/em>.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Fred Sievert\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fred_Sievert\"><\/span>Fred Sievert<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-765F-C0A77EA2E578%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Outside the Box: 3 questions to answer before you make a career change&#8221; And 5 tips for jump-starting your encore career As we navigate the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that many Americans are reimagining their future and rethinking their career paths. Many are giving serious consideration to a potentially life-changing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":344343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-344342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}