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Updated March 6, 2026.
First off, RELATABLE. When you hate what you do, the urge to find a new career and quit ASAP is so strong! But when you’re exhausted, stressed, and unmotivated to change, it might feel impossible to discover your next career move. So if you want a new career but don’t know what field you’d actually like, you’re not alone. I’ve been there — and this post can help!
So let’s explore the 6 key steps to a successful career-change journey.
6 steps to making a career change
A career change is a huge move! I’m not going to lie — it feels daunting because it’s a lot. At the beginning, there’s a lot to consider. And once you commit, there’s a whole lot to do.
BUT! When you get to the other side of it, you’ll wonder WTF took you so long.
So don’t worry. With the right approach, you can identify and get a career that aligns with your interests and skills.
You’ll:
- Push past your doubts and hesitations to commit to change (arguably the hardest part, so don’t beat yourself up!)
- Discover exactly why your current career and past careers aren’t the right fit anymore — or maybe never were
- Outline your priorities in life, what you want from a career, and what really makes you you!
- Identify a future career that matches your values and the life you want
- Design a concrete, realistic action plan and set up accountability systems to stay on track
- Celebrate your wins!
1. Quiet fear and doubt (the main reasons people hesitate when changing careers!)
This might hurt a little, but stick with me:
If your goal is to eliminate fear, hesitation, or doubt, you’ll probably never change careers.
In other words, we all want to be fearless and fully confident! But if you wait to change careers until you achieve a permanent state of bold certainty… well, you’ll be waiting a long time.
Don’t worry, though — because there’s an easier (and much faster) way!
Instead, what if your goal was just to notice and talk back to your doubts and fears? To show them that they aren’t the boss of you?
That probably feels more doable! Right? We can work with that!
I’ve spoken with aspiring career changers who are:
- Worried that it’s too late to change careers
- Scared to quit their job, where they’ve built relationships and credibility, to change industries
- Fearful that they make too much money to quit — that they can’t maintain or improve their salary in another industry
- Feeling too busy, like they don’t have time to change careers
- Stuck in workplace burnout, concerned they don’t have the energy for a career change
- Nervous that they’ll regret their career change
While each of these feelings are completely valid, and seemingly distinct, would you believe that they all boil down to one thing?
“I don’t think I can do it.”
And boy, is that relatable. After all, if you haven’t changed careers before, how do you really know you can do it?
That thought kept me stuck for years! I’d certainly never started a business… so how did I know I could?
But with an open mind, a willingness to examine yourself, thorough research, a comprehensive plan, and the right support…
And despite your doubts…
I have no doubt that you can make the transition to a career path you actually want!
In fact, just by deciding to committing to this new challenge: “I’m going to change careers [this quarter, this year, next year],”
You take the first HUGE step to quieting your doubt.
2. Discover what isn’t working in your current job and past jobs
It’s tempting to start by researching job descriptions and exploring different career paths — maybe those of your friends, family, and colleagues.
But if you’ve ever tried this, you might have found it… well… less than helpful. It probably just added to your career confusion.
The degree to which any job or company is “the right fit” for anyone depends on their values, personality, life experience, goals, priorities, lifestyle, and so much more! And if you don’t have a clear sense of what doesn’t work for you (and why), it’s hard to gain perspective on what will work better.
So rather than researching employers, hitting the job boards, and talking to people for advice, start by taking a long hard look at what you hate.
It’s time to go deeper than just, “I’m sick of my industry,” or, “I don’t wanna go to work today.” Get specific! Be ruthless! And turn on your bullshit meter.
Which tasks are you just a little tired of, and which do you truly despise? What about your daily duties, clients, or company drives you nuts? Why do you hate those things so much?
If you find yourself providing a reason that doesn’t feel true to you — maybe it’s something you’ve been told, like, “Well, no one likes paperwork” — dig deeper.
The more honest you can be about this, the clearer you’ll be when it’s time to explore future options.
3. Outline your life and career path goals
Once you know what you DON’T want, it’s time to figure out what you DO want!
And I truly mean, what you WANT. Interests. Curiosities. Maybe what you’re passionate about!
That’s instead of focusing on things you’re good at. Skills. Talents. What people commend you for.
Because if you’re reading this, you hate your job — but you might be pretty good at it.
And how happy are you now, being good at a job you hate? Not very, right? So, let’s not end up here again!
Without insight into what you like and what you want from life, poring over job descriptions and reaching out to hiring managers is premature.
The best way to figure out your ideal job is to understand what you want from your life and career as a whole. That’s true whether you’re after a dream job, starting your own business, or just wanting to switch careers for more balance (or money).
It’s so important to get clear on this before you start applying to jobs! Self-reflection will give you a fresh perspective and new insights that make a huge difference in your career choice journey. It could truly be the difference between a new career you love… and yet another one you hate.
A lot of us get stuck here. It’s surprisingly hard to separate our actual wants and needs from what society tells us matters most! If you can’t seem to dig deep enough, career coaching services could help you move forward.
4. Research career options and job descriptions to find what fits you
Armed with concrete examples of what you do and don’t want, you’re ready to discover your ideal career!
There aren’t really right or wrong ways to do this. You may have gotten some ideas through the introspection you’ve already done. You might have had a job or company in the back of your mind, and it seems to fit what you know you really want. Or you might even know a person whose job you secretly covet!
Or you might still feel unsure of how these self-discoveries can help you find actual jobs you’d like.
So, meet yourself where you are!
Have an idea, or a few? Check out O*NET or the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to learn more about those jobs.
Not sure what to pursue? Free resources like MyNextMove.org can help you pair what you’ve learned with specific industries and jobs.
There are also paid assessments including OPgig, which reveals a list of jobs that suit you. (Its sister test, the Kolbe A Index, is a helpful place to start if you want to learn more about yourself first. Plus, as of this writing, you get a discount on OPgig if you take Kolbe A first!)
I’m not affiliated with any of these assessments, but I have taken them.
What if I need new skills, education, or experience for the career I want?
Many employers will consider candidates who can demonstrate how they’d apply adjacent skills to a new field. You usually don’t have to meet 100% of the listed qualifications to be successful!
That said, it’s a competitive market out there. Additional education or training may help you through automated applicant tracking systems. Plus, you’ll develop skills that can help you stand out!
And in some cases (such as health care), further education and qualifications may simply be required.
After researching career options and deciding what you want, it’s time to focus on making it happen!
Rest assured that you’ve saved yourself a lot of time and headache by first identifying the job you want — instead of randomly taking courses and collecting various certificates.
Depending on the balance of nice-to-haves versus requirements, you might start your job search as soon as you’ve chosen the right career.
But if your new field requires more training, skills, and qualifications — or if changing careers isn’t your #1 life priority right now — you might plan a longer-term career transition.
5. Design an action plan (with accountability!) to stay motivated and keep your job search on track
When going after something new, we often wonder how to stay motivated.
But the truth is that you won’t always be motivated, even when you’re successful — and that’s why you build in two failsafes instead.
The first? A realistic, specific plan to stay focused. The second? An accountability system to stay on track with your progress.
When it comes to your plan, milestones with deadlines help you turn a huge goal (quit my job this year) into manageable chunks (for example: list my core values this Friday, spend Sunday morning exploring what I love and hate about work, set up job alerts after work today).
And for accountability, you can pair up with a friend or other close person (who may or may not have career goals of their own right now!), work with a career coach or mentor, or try something on your own!
Posting regular progress on social media, building in consistent rewards, and writing or journaling the details of your job search journey are solo actions with built-in accountability.
6. Celebrate your wins!
I could be the poster child for NOT celebrating my wins.
To me, completing or even excelling at tasks at school and work always felt like a given — doing what was expected, and what I expected of myself.
So instead of celebrating my wins, I spent my life taking them for granted.
“I got an A — as I should have. So what’s next?”
“Cool, I got a promotion — that’s why we work hard, right?”
“I’m glad the client is happy, but that just means I did my job.”
Sound familiar?
All that that attitude got me was an inability to appreciate my effort, skills, and talents.
And let me tell you: if I had gotten a C instead of an A, not gotten the promotion, or made a client unhappy, I absolutely would have beaten myself up about it. A lot. For days, or weeks!
So why couldn’t I do the opposite — celebrate — when I achieved things?
Well, in order to start my businesses (coaching and freelance writing), I had to start practicing this. Most people don’t succeed overnight! And if I didn’t recognize the little wins along the way, I probably would’ve quit in the first year.
Since then, I’ve learned to celebrate my progress in staying alcohol-free, running my businesses, and running!
The pic above shows the first time I ran a 5k in under 30 minutes. And whether that sounds slow or fast to you, I’m still very proud of it!
So, you can take it from me: celebrating your wins might feel awkward at first.
But when pursuing a career change, failing to recognize your successes only guarantees that you’ll keep doubting your abilities — especially when the going gets tough.
From beating yourself up to learning something new: a lesson in compassion
When you’re used to being the expert at what you do, jumping into a new industry can really activate your fear of failure!
So when you’re facing a real challenge, these questions can help you gain some perspective:
- What can I learn from this?
- What’s the story I’m telling myself about this experience? And what’s another way to look at it?
- What could I do differently next time, that I wouldn’t have known if this hadn’t happened?
- Have I ever mastered something without making any mistakes? (If yes, keep digging — you’re probably not being totally honest with yourself.)
- This situation didn’t turn out the way I hoped. But what are 3 things that have gone well up to this point?
The point isn’t to gaslight yourself into thinking that you’re not facing a challenge. It’s also not to embrace toxic positivity and hope every part of your career change and job search will be perfect going forward.
It’s really about rolling with the punches, embracing progress over perfection, and adopting a curious, experimental mindset — which includes changing course when you need to.
Because you can’t really fail at an experiment… but you can learn a whole hell of a lot!
Don’t know what you want to do next? Let’s find out!
The moral of the story? Unfortunately, your ideal career probably won’t fall into your lap!
You’ll have to do some digging and really learn about yourself. What you want. What you need. And what you’ve put up with so far, and don’t want to anymore.
Along the way, you may also need to hone your ability to move through uncertainty, discomfort, and fear.
But what’s waiting for you on the other side is a whole new definition of success!
Want some support to embrace the unknown? Career change coaching could help.
