How to "Try On" a New Career Before You Choose It

Are you unhappy with your career but afraid to make a change because you’re not sure you’ll like it? You may have an idea about what you’d like to do next, but how do you know it’s the right choice?

We all want to be happy and fulfilled at work. We want something that utilizes skills we like using and feels meaningful to us. A good way to get into vibrational alignment with what you want to create in your life is by “acting as if” you already have what you want . But how do you know what that new direction will actually feel like? Here are some tips on how to “try on” what you think you want to do before taking the plunge.

1. Take classes:
There are lots of e-courses available online. There are also Youtube videos on a variety of subjects. Try out what looks interesting to you and see what feels like a fit. You could develop a lot of new skills! And, delving into some training can help you sort out what you actually love and find interesting and what you don’t like.

2. Take a personality inventory, such as Myers-Briggs:
This helps you get in touch with your personality preferences. People with with same personality type usually have similar job and career preferences. Once you know your type you can look online for careers with your personality type. (Ex: Google “Careers for INFPs”)

3. Do informational Interviews:
Request an interview with people in fields that you’re interested in. Prepare your questions in advance to respect their time and get the most out of the call or meeting. You might ask about the schooling required, what they do and don’t like about their jobs, what the industry as a whole is like, opportunities for advancement and so forth. Some people may even let you shadow them for a day. Make sure you thank them with an actual physical card mailed to them and do what you can to repay the favor. (Treat them to lunch, for example) You can search on LinkedIn or Google to find people to contact.

4. Explore your values:
Are you in touch with your top five values? Whether you want to work for yourself or for someone else, your values and the company’s values need to be in alignment. If you’re not sure what your top values are,you can find lists of values people hold online and decide which come closest to the values you hold. Try for about 25 values.Then, group similar values together into five groups and decide what they all represent. those will be your top five values.

5. What do you prefer for a work environment?
Do you like being outdoors? Indoors? In a quiet work environment or a fast -paced one? Do you prefer working solo or do you enjoy collaborating in a team? Not sure? Try volunteering or taking on a side job that lets you experience something different from your current job.

6. Explore your passions:
Ask yourself, “What do I love so much I’d do it for free?” Do you have a hobby that can be turned into a career? If you create art or other crafts you can try opening a store on Etsy, for example, and see how that goes while still at the job you have. If you love animals, volunteer at a shelter. Be creative about exploring your passions, even if you can’t see how it would become a career right now.

7. Use the contrast to get clarity:
Contrast is all the stuff you don’t like or want. By making a list of everything you don’t like about your current situation (and even past ones) you can then go back and ask yourself, if I don’t want that, then what DO I want? Make a new list of the clarity you’ve just gotten by flipping the things in your contrast list to what you do want. Then, put all of your attention on the Clarity list. You can even take the clarity list and create a story of already being in that situation. How does that feel?

Now, you can “act as if” you already have what you want!