A new survey has found that although prospective career changers cite financial worries as their biggest barriers to finding fulfilling work, what they really need is support to navigate the unknown.
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Half of all respondents say fear of failure and the unknown stop them making a move
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Financial concerns hold back almost 7 in 10 would-be career-changers
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70% of career-changers are looking for support with their shift
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72% of respondents to the survey were women.
A survey by career change specialists Careershifters of more than 1,000 people contemplating a shift in career found that over half (52%) are holding back from pursuing fulfilling careers due to fear of the ‘unknown’, and 43% are afraid of failure. 72% of respondents to the survey were women.
Financial concerns are also at the top of the list of career change barriers (68%), and almost half of those who want to shift careers are uncertain of what else they can do (49%) or where to start (47%).
The survey was carried out through a web-based questionnaire of 1,042 mid-career professionals, male and female, who have expressed interested in making a career change. The findings underscore that, while desiring a change, many people find it too hard to move themselves out of their comfort zone and want support to do so.
Career-changers don’t want help with their CVs; they want practical steps and support from others.
Just 2% of people say CV advice would be most useful to them, while just 7% rate financial advice as being important – despite naming it as a significant barrier to career change.
However 70% of people are looking for personal support – in the form of coaching, mentoring or guidance – to help to them make a shift.
But support is available, says founder Richard Alderson said: “There’s an unacceptable cost to society of so many people being unfulfilled in their work: our health, wellbeing and productivity are all suffering. We’re tackling this issue through helping people with the hardest parts of making a career change: overcoming fear, getting clear on what else they want to do, and developing the mindset they need to be successful – not only with this shift, but also with future ones.”
Natasha Stanley, head coach for Careershifters, said: “Practicalities like CVs are pretty figure-outable; where people get stuck long-term is on the internal obstacles of finding fulfilling work. And that’s where we’ve seen our three-part approach combining coaching, step-by-step guidance, and a community of peers really work.”
How to get out of your head and into action (finally) with your career change: https://t.co/i2Mb46DZZG
— Careershifters (@Careershifters) January 17, 2017
Indre’s story
Career-changer, Indre Nagyte, 38, from London, had a high-flying job in international marketing for a leading food brand, but dreamed of following her passion to work in travel. Lack of experience, uncertainty and a fear of the unknown held her back from taking steps towards change:
“I created barriers for myself. I had transferable skills, but all I could see was inexperience in the travel industry. My uncertainty about my next steps stopped me doing anything at all. When I joined Careershifters’ 8 week Launch Pad course, my whole approach changed. Having the support of experts and peers going through similar challenges helped me to realise that action breeds motivation – I needed to try things out and ask for help in the real world. Now, I work in marketing for a specialist travel company and took a new challenge co-founding a new sheet mask brand Lecler.”
See more at www.careershifters.org