19: Here's why you're procrastinating about your career change

If you know that you need to make a career change, but you keep procrastinating, it's time to get real. I speak with career coach Jeanne Lyons, founder of Accelerated Synergies, who sheds light on why we hold off on starting the process of a career switch, and how our mindset is key to taking those first steps.

Episode Highlights:

• What's holding you back from starting your career switch
• Being proactive versus reactive
• Breaking through your fear and comfort zone
• Where are your decisions coming from?
• Desperation leads to poor decision-making.
• Reframing your mindset with Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the Timeline Technique and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP)

Find Jeanne Lyons at:

Website: acceleratedsynergies.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannelyons-acceleratedsynergies/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acceleratedsynergies

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Transcript

Lixandra: Hi everyone, I'm Lixandra Urresta, and this is Career Switch Podcast. This show is here to encourage you to take action with whatever career change you've been considering or are working on. In some episodes, I talk to people who've made their own career switch, whether by choice or circumstance. They share the good, the bad, and the truth about their journey, including what worked for them and what didn't. In other episodes, I speak with experts who offer their best career advice on issues that can come up during the process of making a career change. After all, it takes guts to switch things up, and it's not easy. However, it is possible. I hope you hear something in this episode, an idea, a suggestion, a piece of wisdom that'll spur you into action with your own career switch, whether it's taking that first bold step or trying something new. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. 

Before I was let go from magazines in 2018, I survived nine layoffs over the course of six plus years. Print publishing was suffering and layoffs were the norm at my company. I sort of knew my day would come eventually, yet I took no action. Instead, I waited for the guillotine to fall before I started my career switch. Why did I wait so long? If you're in the same boat, you know that you need to make a career switch, but you keep procrastinating. This episode is for you. I speak with career coach, Jeannie Lyons, founder of Accelerated Synergies. In this episode, Jeannie sheds light on why we hesitate to start the process of a career switch and how our mindset is the key to taking those first steps. She shares how she helps her clients change careers with confidence and clarity by using the techniques of neuro-linguistic programming, timeline therapy, and emotional freedom technique. 

Hi Jeannie, thanks for joining us today. Why is it so hard for many people, including myself, to start the process of a career switch even when they know they should make one? They could be miserable at their job, or they know layoffs are coming, yet they still procrastinate with getting started. Why is that?

Jeannie: Well, oftentimes, Lexandra, it's because they want somebody to make the decision for them. I was in that position at one time. I just had this gut feeling that it was coming. However, I was prepared. I always recommend that people have a current resume. And so I did update my resume. And, you know, time went on and I thought, oh, well, maybe I was wrong. My gut feeling was wrong. They're not going to do layoffs because I had a pretty critical position, one that they had to have based on accrediting agencies and laws. And so then I thought, well, I'm pretty confident. And rather than actually put the resume out there and start interviewing, lo and behold, I had an early meeting with my boss one day and there was the HR person. And I thought, OK, here it comes. So the decision was made for me. So rather than being proactive, I was reactive. And that's not usually a good place to be.

Lixandra: I can definitely relate to being in a critical position, so you assume you're safe. I was the fact checker at the magazine where I worked, and I thought, they don't want any mistakes in the articles, so they definitely need me. My position is critical. Eventually, though, like you, one day in September 2018, I was called into a meeting with HR and the head of the magazine, and I was laid off. So yes, the decision was made for me too. Now, when we first spoke, you mentioned that fear is behind a lot of the procrastination. How people are simply afraid that they won't be able to make a career switch. Tell us about that.

Jeannie: People are afraid. And that's what I see in most of my clients, quite honestly, is that they're so established in their comfort zone. And I call that behavioral economy. you know, you get up and you do the same thing and you're so comfortable with your behaviors and in your comfort zone that you're not seeing outside that. And they assume that they don't have the qualifications or they'll assume that they're not going to make as much money. Well, that's not true. Don't assume that you're going to be taking a pay cut. It's hard to break through that comfort zone. And once you do, oh my goodness, your whole world can open up for you.

Lixandra: Yes, I also made the assumption that I would have to start over with a lower title and less pay. And it wasn't true. I switched from consumer magazines to health care advertising as an editor at a higher salary. It took me 14 months. all of 2019 and an extra couple of months into 2020 to make my career switch. During that time, I networked like crazy, both on LinkedIn and in person. This was before the pandemic, so I attended many career seminars, mostly at the New York Public Library in New York City. I met people for coffee and dinner. I also researched and applied for jobs, which took me days to customize my resume. So it's no mystery that making a career switch takes work, right? You need to research, network, and put yourself out there. Is that another reason why people procrastinate?

Jeannie: Yes. Yes, it is. It takes effort. You know, sometimes these meetings are in the evening, during dinnertime, and you have to make allowances for that type of thing. No one ever said that it was going to be easy. It's simple. The concepts are simple. And it may not be easy because you do have to put yourself out there. And you'll be surprised at what you'll learn once you get out there and develop your network. And there's no substitute for it. The best career coach in the world can't help you with that. And we know that 80% of jobs are not found by applying online or through a job board. So that is a critical step. And yes, it takes effort. Now, my feeling is that a lot of people don't do it because they don't see what kind of payoff they can get from doing these things. And the payoff is great.

Lixandra: Yes, that is so true. You never know how things will work out with someone. In my case, I sat next to this one lady at a career seminar and we started chatting afterwards. Turns out she knew another magazine fact checker who'd gotten laid off just like me and who was now working in health care advertising. She put me in touch with her. The three of us went out to dinner and that other fact checker referred me to the company where I now work. So there you go. You never know how someone can help you. And by the way, I found people very willing to help even if they didn't know me personally. If they can help, most people will. As a side note, the holidays when this episode is airing and the start of the new year is a great time to reconnect with your network. It provides an easy opener when you reach out to someone. You can start by wishing them happy holidays or happy new year. I did that with both people in my network who I hadn't talked to in years and new contacts since I started my job search in January of 2019. Continuing with why we procrastinate, what about going back to school to make a career switch? Getting a degree requires commitment, certainly money, time and just returning to being a student, studying and taking exams, something many of us haven't done in a long time. Are your clients afraid of going back to school, especially taking on debt?

Jeannie: Yes. Well, you know, there are ways to get around that. Now, if you want to become a nurse or a doctor or an airline pilot, you're going to have to go back to school. And yet, if you look at some of your transferable skills, not looking at jobs that absolutely require a minimum amount of education, you may be able to get into the field without doing that. When I was back working for hospitals, I was able to find a tuition reimbursement program. So once you've established yourself in your career and you show that you're valuable, oftentimes the corporate entity may pay for your education.

Lixandra: So Jeannie, when a client gives you any or all of these reasons as to why they can't get started with their career switch, what's your first approach to helping them?

Jeannie: Working on mindset is key. This is my very strong, strong position. If you're coming from a place of desperation, you are not going to make a good decision. It's a fear-based decision. So if you're thinking, I have to get a job, I want to do this, I have to know that I'm going to have X number of dollars to be able to pay my rent, and you're in this cycle, you're not going to make a good decision. That's why going back to the first question, it's always better to be proactive so you're not feeling so desperate. Your emotional state will determine your decisions. So if you're in a state of fear, you're going to make your decision from fear. If it's from lack, you're going to make a decision from lack. So what I do with my one-on-one clients is I interview them and see where they're coming from, where their decisions are coming from. When you're interviewing or even writing letters and resumes, those feelings tend to come through. For people reading between the lines, they can see this desperation.

Lixandra: What techniques do you use to prepare your client's mindset to take those first steps to make a career change?

Jeannie: What I think sets me apart from a lot of people is that I was scientifically trained by taking courses in neurolinguistic programming, emotional freedom technique, and being able to use those to get the creativity back into how I help my clients. So EFT, or emotional freedom technique, can work through those initial fears. Timeline therapy is one of the techniques I use to get rid of the baggage that's coming forward. All of the, but this happened to me. I help people really change their story by getting rid of that baggage of anger, sadness, fear, and guilt. And the neurolinguistic programming or NLP helps to reframe your thoughts so that you can see that the glass is half full or see that that grass on the other side may not be greener. Those techniques together, I use them, you know, bespokenly for my clients, depending on where they are in their journey.

Lixandra: Can you give us an example of a technique in action with a client?

Jeannie: I had a client come to me and she wanted to move up. She was an executive assistant and she wanted to take on a more responsible role and become a manager. And she said, I have no skills for that. So I was able to reframe her skills and have her see that she did indeed have them. For instance, while she was taking very good care of her boss and arranging for travel and events that were put on for him. She was also taking care of her mother who was terminally ill. So she had managed all of that, the scheduling and being able to make decisions on the end of life care for her mother as she was continuing to do her executive assistant job. So when I reframed her capabilities for her, it was like a big weight was lifted off and she was so excited. She said, yes, yes, I can do this. So even just simply reframing stuff by using NLP techniques was able to give her the confidence to move forward and and make that career change.

Lixandra: Okay, great. Thanks Jeannie. Tell us about your coaching company Accelerated Synergies and the career change programs that you offer.

Jeannie: I named my business Accelerated Synergies because I believe that together we can fast track your career success. One of the things that I've done is created two online programs. The first one I created is Burnout to Bliss. And that's for successful professional women who have grown children, who are probably leaving the house. They're not chasing the money anymore. They want to feel fulfilled. So that course was developed for them, for the more established professionals. The other course, the ABCs of Confident Career Change, are for people who are in that place of, I don't know what my first step is. I want to know, what can I do first? And is this the right way to do it? It's not basic at all. Again, it's simple and not necessarily easy to be able to do it because you do need to look inside yourself if you truly want fulfillment.

Lixandra: How can our listeners find you if they're interested in working with you?

Jeannie: I'm happy to offer a complimentary exploration call to have people be able to learn their next best step on their career change journey. My website is acceleratedsynergies.com.

Lixandra: Thanks to Jeannie Lyons for being our guest today. You can reach Jeannie and learn more about her career change programs at our website, acceleratedsynergies.com. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can find links to the resources mentioned in this episode and more helpful information in the show notes and on our website, careerswitchpod.com. While you're there, join our mailing list and follow us on Instagram and Twitter at careerswitchpod. 

So what's your career switch? Are you excited to take action after listening to this episode? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. We'd love to know, along with any feedback you have about the show. We're a new podcast, so please rate, review, and share with your friends and colleagues. It'll help get the show out there. Thanks for listening today. Till next time.