Career change is about action. But action, especially career action, can be scary
So, what if wasn’t so scary. What if you could test the waters before you take that leap?
Well, now you can …
Today, I discuss how to undertake career experiments
Hello and a very warm welcome to Episode No 59 of ‘Your Bravo Career’
My name is Mark Crossfield, I’m a Professional Career Coach / helping you to love your job and build a great career.
This podcast is about why your career matters
How you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work
and how to build a great career along the way.
Introduction
Welcome everybody to Episode no 59.
Today, I’m going to be talking about making progress with a career change — either switching roles or breaking into a new industry or sector, without blindly stepping into the unknown,
Specifically, I’m going to be talking about career experiments.
Career Experiments are short-term, low risk activities that expose you to a career skill or area you might be considering for your future.
This might allow you to try out new job or career role on a limited scale without compromising your current job or having to leap into a new position too quickly.
Sounds good doesn’t it.
But first, let me just take a step back …
And, provide a bit of context around the reasons why I think career experiments are a big deal
One of the things about career change, is that we get seduced by the idea that there is one perfect job or career out there for us.
I’ve talked about this before.
And, we imagine that, once we find out what this is, maybe via a blinding flash of inspiration, we will be ready and able to take the leap.
This trap, and myth, keeps us stuck and immobile, possibly with occasional searches for ideas on the internet.
But mostly we remain stuck in our own heads and reluctant to make any changes until we’re sure of what we’re doing.
This is why we get stuck and why we all need to use career experiments.
Career expert Herminia Ibarra, who I have referenced on this podcast before, says it best …
She says
By far the biggest mistake people make when trying to change careers is delaying the first step until they have settled on a destination. … the only way we figure out what we really want to do is by giving it a try.
She also says …
Even though it’s understandable that most people are reluctant to leap into the unknown. We must test our fantasies—otherwise, they remain just that.
We must test our fantasies – that’s the key here.
So, career experiments are the way we test our ideas and career fantasies, and what we are talking about today.
And they’re vital,
Not only do you create new ideas and test out options, you also begin to create a new working identity for yourself. They also provide you with space to fail, learn, and try again.
So where do you get started with experiments?
Well, before you start one of these experiments, it’s important to define what you expect to get out of it.
What is it you want to test?
This could be about testing if a particular path is as interesting and exciting as you imagine.
It could be about testing a hunch or desire you might have about your career.
Will you enjoy working in a particular line of work? Will you excel in this type of role?
By the end of running your career experiment, the aim is know more about the role, and whether or not it’s for you.
Because experiments are so varied let me talk you through the type of experiments you can try right now in your career.
Types of Experiments
Here are 5 career experiments you can try right now.
The first experiment to try is some sort of job on the side.
Many years ago, I entertained the idea that I would like to have an eBay shop. My sister had set her own business up and was making plenty of money on eBay so I thought I might like to give it a try as well.
So, without stopping my day job, and on the side, I started selling stuff on eBay. This was mainly books at first.
And it gave me lots of real feedback about what it would be like to do this full time. To be an eBay seller.
Buying things to sell, listing items on eBay, dealing with queries, handling shipments to customers etc. etc.
At the end of the 6 month experiment I had enough information to realise that it wasn’t something that I wanted to do on a permanent basis.
I was able to find out this crucial information without having to leave my day job.
Later in my career when I became a qualified coach, I was able to do some coaching on the side. And this time I knew at the end of this experiment, that I wanted to do coaching as my main job.
What about you? Is there something you can do on the side which will give you the ability to test out a career idea?
The second experiment is some kind of new project in your existing organisation
Can you gain an opportunity to be involved in, or contribute, work on or lead a new project?
Working on a new project will give you exposure to people you haven’t worked with before
Also, you’ll be working on a project that’s different from what you are used to.
It will give you new experience, new contacts and a fresh perspective on whether it’s an area you would want to continue in.
So, look around at work, are there some interesting projects you can get involved in that will allow you to test whether this might be an area where you can excel and enjoy working in?
The third experiment is a secondment opportunity
Is there an opportunity for you to work for a short while in another part of the business or somewhere else in the organisation.
Again, earlier in my career I had an opportunity to be seconded into an organisation called Local Partnerships.
My role was to be part of what was called a Gateway Review team undertaking project reviews around the country.
This exposed me to lots of new organisations, different types of projects and ways of working which were new and exciting.
I learned a lot from the secondment, and it helped to shape the advancement of my career.
Could there be a secondment opportunity for you. Have a look around you, speak to your network and manager.
The fourth type of experiment is called an Informational Interview
This is about speaking to a key informant, someone who can tell you about a job, company or role you might be interested in.
Ideally these would be people who are already working in your target role and/or industry.
You can start with your existing network to find these potential contacts — friends, friends of friends, family connections, colleges etc.
For example, I’ve been contacted by quite a few would-be career coaches for who have asked me what it’s like being a career coach.
I always spend time with such people when I get approached and I provide honest information about what’s it’s like as a career.
These people are doing an informational interview career experiment and it’s simple for you to do as well.
Here are some good questions to ask during an Informational Interview:
How did you get started doing X?
What is your favourite and/or least favourite parts of doing X?
What do you think is needed to be successful in doing X?
If you had to do it all over again, how would you get into doing X?
Ok,
Finally, the 5th type of experiment is volunteering
When you’re thinking about a career change, volunteering lets you explore different occupations and industries.
You get to know the people, challenges, and rewards involved. You also gain a better understanding of the roles and jobs available.
For example, I volunteered at my local football club as their club photographer.
I started off taking team photos of the 7 or 8 teams in the club and then progressed to doing action photos when I had some better equipment.
It allowed me to think about whether I wanted to work as a photographer as a career. Something I was genuinely considering at the time.
So, I didn’t become an eBay seller, or a photographer and I eventually left my role at the time to become a full-time career coach.
All because I used career experiments to shape my thinking about what would best suit me.
So, I can recommend career experiments as a way of doing this.
Could you start a career experiment today?
As I hope I have explained,
Career experiments are highly worthwhile to do
You’ll learn an incredible amount about yourself and what could be next for you in your career
The 5 types experiment you can get started with are:
- Trying a Job on the side
- Getting involved in a New Project
- Seeking out a Secondment opportunity
- Undertaking Informational Interviewing, and finally
- Volunteering
So, I hope all that is helpful.
Your call to action is to get started creating your own career experiments.
Show Ending
If you haven’t already subscribed, why not do that now. I’ve got a special guest on the next podcast who I’m excited to talk with. I think you will enjoy the conversation as well …
Have a wonderful week and I will speak to you again in a couple of weeks time.
Bye for now.