Signs It’s Time for A Career Change

According to Gallup, Americans’ expected retirement age in 1995 was 60 years old, whereas today it’s 66 years old. With the upward shift in retirement age, workers in their 40s and even 50s still have plenty of time to change professions. Most Americans make the decision to pursue a new career at 39.

Eight job-search tips to combat your professional greenness.

1. Figure out why you’d be great at the job.
2. Don’t worry about being a perfect match.
3. Write an outstanding cover letter.
4. Pay a ton of attention to soft skills.
5. Think about what non-obvious experience you can highlight.

• Sign #1: You’re apathetic and complacent.
• Sign #2: You don’t feel like you’re making an impact.
• Sign #3: You dread going to work.
• Sign #4: Even your salary can’t make up for your dissatisfaction.
• Sign #5: Your job is affecting your personal life.

Three years is the maximum length of time anyone should stay in a job, declared actor Peter Capaldi when he explained why he was stepping down from the Dr Who role after four years.

Changing jobs within the same field provides enough challenges as you transfer benefits, handle a possible move, and get used to new coworkers and office policies. The job experience and training you currently have can help you, but you may need to do more to transition into a different career field.

Emphasize the skills and experience that make you a superior candidate—and keep it positive. Why It Works: This answer shows that the candidate is supportive and interested in helping others learn, and that they’ve developed skills in their field and are looking forward to the next challenge.

Changing jobs is good for growing your career skills Moving to a new company helps keep your skills fresh, says career and job search coach Joanne Meehl. “You’ll be working for a new manager who will present you with new challenges about how to work with them,” she says.

How To Switch To A New Career Field Successfully

1. Know what you want. “Know your strengths and values.
2. Choose carefully. “While lack of career fulfillment or job satisfaction is a frequent reason for a decision to pursue a switch in careers, I recommend examining employer needs first,” says E.
3. Do your homework.
4. Get an introduction.
5. Raise your expectations.

A sure sign that you need a career change is if you find your motivation slipping, potentially into dangerous territory. If you are one to rarely run late to work or on projects, slowly moving into a position of showing up to work late or missing deadlines is a strong sign it’s time to move on.

MyPlan.com offers four different assessment options—a career personality test, a career interest inventory, a career skills profiler, and a career values assessment—that together will measure your career personality, similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, and help you find your ideal career.