Thinking about a career change? 5 ways to get started

Whenever we reach a crossroads in our career, it can feel like the right time to stop, reflect and think about what comes next. Perhaps you're considering a complete career change, looking for your next promotion, reassessing your work-life balance or wondering whether there's a more fulfilling way to use your skills.

Knowing you want something to change is one thing. Knowing what needs to change – and what your next move should be – can be much harder.

Before updating your CV or jumping into a job search, taking some time to understand what you're looking for can help you make a more considered decision. Here are eight areas to explore when deciding what comes next in your career.

1. Start with what you actually want

Begin by asking yourself what you really want from your working life.

Rather than focusing immediately on a particular job title, consider:

• What do I want more of from work?
• What do I want less of?
• What matters most to me now?
• Am I looking for a new career, a new job or simply a different way of working?
• What would make work feel more fulfilling?
• Could some of what I'm looking for come from outside my career?

That final question is worth exploring. You may be looking for more creativity, purpose or variety, but that doesn't necessarily mean changing your entire career. A side business, volunteering, freelancing, studying or a creative project could provide something that's currently missing.

Once you have a clearer idea of what you want, you can start considering the career options that might support it.

2. Take stock of your strengths

The chances are, you already possess skills and attributes you've dismissed or overlooked entirely.

Think beyond qualifications and technical skills. Organisation and planning, communication, problem-solving, time management, teamwork and leadership can all be valuable and transferable across different roles and industries.

Think about what you're naturally good at, what other people regularly ask you for help with and which parts of your current or previous roles you've done particularly well. Consider which skills could transfer somewhere else – and, importantly, which strengths you actually enjoy using.

Being good at something doesn't necessarily mean you want to build your next career around it.

Taking stock of both your strengths and your experience can help you recognise what you already bring to your next move, rather than assuming you'll need to start again from scratch.

3. Define what your next move needs to give you

A career decision isn't only about what you'll be doing. It's also about how that job fits into the rest of your life.

Consider what matters to you when it comes to:

• salary and financial security
• working hours and flexibility
• remote, hybrid or workplace-based working
• location and commuting
• career progression
• creativity and purpose
• learning and development
• stability and workplace culture
• work-life balance.

Some of these may be preferences, while others will be non-negotiable.

Getting clear about the difference can help you evaluate opportunities more realistically. A role may sound exciting, for example, but if it requires a two-hour commute and flexibility is one of your priorities, it may not actually be the right opportunity for you.

4. Identify your constraints – not just your obstacles

Career advice can sometimes make every obstacle sound like something that simply needs to be overcome. Real life is more complicated.

Maybe you have an ageing parent you don't want to move too far away from. Perhaps you've got a family to support and can't manage a significant short-term drop in income. Your health or wellbeing may affect the commute, working patterns or environments that feel manageable for you.

It can help to distinguish between things you may be able to change, such as developing your skills, gaining experience, growing your network or building confidence, and things you may need to work with, such as caring responsibilities, financial commitments, health needs, location or family circumstances.

Rather than asking only, "How do I overcome this?", try asking:

"What career options could work with the life I actually have?"

That can open up different possibilities.

5. Explore before you leap

Being unhappy in your current job doesn't necessarily mean you're in the wrong career.

Try to identify what is actually making you unhappy. It might be the work itself, but it could equally be your manager, workplace culture, hours, workload, lack of progression or commute.

Could an internal move, different employer or change in working pattern solve the problem without requiring a complete career change?

If you are interested in a different career, allow yourself to investigate it before making a major commitment. Research the roles and qualifications involved and speak to people already working in the field. Depending on the type of work, you might also be able to test your interest through a course, volunteering, a side project or freelance work.

You don't need to have every answer before moving forward, but the more you understand about an option, the better placed you'll be to decide whether it suits you.

6. Consider the whole package, not just salary

Money matters. For many of us, it's one of the biggest practical considerations when making a career decision. But salary isn't the only part of a job's value.

A higher salary might come with a longer commute, more responsibility, longer hours or less flexibility. Another role may pay slightly less but offer better progression, more annual leave, remote working, a stronger pension or a working pattern that fits your life considerably better.

Consider the whole package alongside what you identified as important earlier. Think about salary and benefits, but also flexibility, commute, responsibilities, progression, job security and workplace culture.

The best-paid option isn't automatically the best one, just as salary shouldn't be ignored in pursuit of an idealised "dream job". The question is what combination works for you.

7. Turn your direction into manageable next steps

Once you have a clearer direction, turn it into smaller actions.

You don't need to make your entire career change at once. Your next step might simply be:

• updating your CV
• researching three potential roles
• speaking to someone in an industry you're considering
• investigating a qualification
• attending a networking event
• asking about opportunities within your current organisation
• setting aside money for retraining
• submitting one application.

Give your actions realistic timeframes and review what you learn as you go. Career plans can change as you discover more about yourself and the opportunities available to you.

Progress doesn't always require a dramatic leap.

8. Consider whether career coaching could help

If you're struggling to separate what you genuinely want from what you think you should do, or you have several options and don't know how to evaluate them, career coaching can provide structured space to explore your priorities.

A career coach won't decide for you. They can help you reflect on your strengths, values and goals, explore your options and identify possible next steps.

This can be particularly useful when you know something needs to change, but you're struggling to work out exactly what that change should look like.

Your next career move doesn't have to be a leap

Think of career change as an expedition rather than a day trip. You don't need to know every turn before you begin, but it helps to understand what you're looking for, what you'll need along the way and what your first few steps might be.

Your next move also doesn't have to involve quitting your job and starting again. It might be a conversation with your manager, an application, a course, an internal move, a change in working pattern or simply getting clearer about what you no longer want.

Taking the time to understand what matters to you – alongside the practical realities of your life – can help you make a career decision that works not only on paper, but in the life you're actually living.