54. Three Mindset Shifts Before You Make Your Next Career Move
Nov 01, 2023
Marija Duka
Don’t let these mindset blocks stop you from making your next career move! You’ve decided to make your next career move, but now you're faced with lots of resistance and unhelpful thoughts. Making a career move often brings with it a wave of uncertainty and self-questioning. So, what can you do to overcome these mental roadblocks?
Join me in this episode as I walk you through practical strategies to overcoming the common mindset blocks that can keep you feeling stuck. Whether you’re eyeing a new career path, or wanting to up-level in your current role or explore opportunities elsewhere, I’ve got you covered!
Don’t let these mindset blocks stop you from making your next career move! You’ve decided to make your next career move, but now you're faced with lots of resistance and unhelpful thoughts. Making a career move often brings with it a wave of uncertainty and self-questioning. So, what can you do to overcome these mental roadblocks?
Join me in this episode as I walk you through practical strategies to overcoming the common mindset blocks that can keep you feeling stuck. Whether you’re eyeing a new career path, or wanting to up-level in your current role or explore opportunities elsewhere, I’ve got you covered!
Episode Reference: Episode 15 - How to Apply for The Role When You Don’t Have Experience
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Career Confidence podcast, the podcast for driven lawyers wanting to step out of the traditional path and build fulfilling and purposeful careers. I'm your host, maria Ducar, legal counsel and career coach, helping you navigate your career with intention and confidence. In this podcast, we don't show away from having real conversations about topics that matter to us. Driven AF go-getters From manifesting your dream career, negotiating the salary you deserve, creating your personal brand, knowing when it's time to pivot. We cover these topics and so much more. You ready, let's dive into today's episode. Hey, hey, welcome to another episode of the Career Confidence podcast. I'm really excited to be back in your ears with another awesome episode.
Speaker 1:
Today I'll be talking about the mindset shifts you need to make before you can make a career change. This is a good one. There has been a lot of people in my community my clients, of course that are wanting to make a change in their career. There's this hesitation and thoughts that come up for them resistant type of thoughts that come up for them that I want to address in this podcast episode to help you shift your mindset around these things that you might also be thinking or feeling if you are in this season where you're wanting to make a change to help you overcome that, so you can then take that leap and make the change and go for that new role, whether if it's a completely new career or to take a step up in your current role to apply for another role elsewhere. Whatever your goal is right now, it requires change. If change comes, a lot of uncertainty, which then makes us question ourselves and it makes us feel resistant in our ability to actually achieve that goal that we have set for ourselves in the first place.
Speaker 1:
Let's dive straight on in, and initially I'll be talking about the things that my clients and people in my community are thinking and feeling that are stopping them from making that change. So, firstly, there's this idea and notion and, I guess, story that my clients and people in my community have set for themselves that there's nothing out there for me. There's nothing out there for me. What I'm looking for is not out there, it just doesn't exist. I get this and I get this particularly when you are in that first initial phase where you've decided to make a change and you're looking around and you're wanting something to just come up straight away and be that perfect job, but it's not happening for you as quickly as you want it to. And so you're thinking, well, there's nothing out there for me. This also comes up if you have been looking for a while, but you have been doing it in an unintentional way or in a way that is not strategic or well thought out, and so you've been in this cycle of waiting and you also feel, okay, there's nothing out there for me, or the things that are out there, oh, I just don't have experience for, they're too niche, don't have that skill set, I don't meet 100% of the criteria, and so forth and so forth. So firstly, I want to say this is normal. It is normal for you to feel like there's nothing out there for me. I've tried, I'm over it, I should just stay here and be unhappy and yada, yada, yada. I've been there before myself. I really have.
Speaker 1:
I have been there plenty of times in the past when I have been looking for that next step in my career and I've been looking out there like, oh, there's nothing out there for me. And that was because I told myself the story and I believed the story, that there was nothing out there for me before I even really considered, well, what's my skill set and what is my experience and how can I use that in my next opportunity, in my next job. I was doing it without intention. I was just selling myself that story without deeply looking at what I have to offer and also what are the skills that I want to be using, what do I want more of in my next role and what are the things that I would love to expand into that I could use my current skill set and experience and expand into and learn that new skill or be in that new industry. So the mindset shift that needs to take place here.
Speaker 1:
So, rather than thinking there's nothing out there for me and believing that story, shift your mindset to focus on how can I use my current skills that I've developed over the years and the experience that I have to then apply that into the role that I'm truly desiring and looking for. Start from that place. And you have so many skills. Before you say to me I don't have any skills or I don't know what my skill set, you do. You have so many skills that you've developed over the years, whether it's working in house or if it's working in private practice, when a different type of setting as a lawyer, you have incredible skills and a wealth of knowledge and experience that you'll find you'll be able to apply into other roles okay, called your transferable skills.
Speaker 1:
So, again, rather than focusing on there's nothing out there for me mentality, focus on yourself, the skills that you have, the experience that you have and what you're wanting to bring into that next role, that next chapter of your career. What skills do you want to continue to utilize? Or where do you want to expand your skills? Or where do you want to expand your experience? What is it that you're looking for? So, start from a place of what you're wanting. Forget about what's advertised, what's out there. Don't even go there just yet. Do not go there just yet. Think about what it is that you're looking for, what you have, and start writing that down. So don't yet look at what's out there because, trust me, this has happened time and time again, both with my clients and both personally with myself. When I have focus on what I want, what skills I have, what I want to expand into, that's when the opportunities start to come up. I don't know, call it fake, call it magic, call it, I don't know. Whatever you want to call it, that shift needs to happen first within your mindset. And that shift will happen by you taking that intentional action of getting clear on what skills you have, the experience you have, what you're wanting to achieve in the next phase, and then the outside world will reflect your clarity that you have within you. So start there. Do not focus on the outside, that there's nothing out there for me. Start internally. Start with what you have.
Speaker 1:
Secondly, when my clients first come to me and people that I've witnessed around me that are wanting to make this shift in their career, whatever that shift may be, there is that lack of trust in themselves, the lack of self-belief. They don't believe yet that they're able to step into that career that they truly want, that they could, you know, have a job, for example, that's four days a week and that still pays well and that feels fulfilling and whatever, whatever they're looking for, they're not yet believing that is possible for them because they haven't seen the evidence yet for that to be true for them. Because when you're making a shift, when you're making some sort of change, you're stepping outside of your comfort zone, you're doing something that you haven't done before, you're stepping into a different path that you haven't tried before. You haven't seen that evidence yet. So, therefore, you're a little bit shaky, you're a bit wobbly. You don't know how you're able to get that job that you're desiring. There's that lack of trust. You don't trust yourself just yet that you can get there. There is that shaky ground Again, that's okay, that isn't normal. That happens to all of us when we're wanting to achieve a goal that we haven't achieved yet. There is that initial lack of self-trust and self-belief that we don't think that we could get there. But rather than letting that control you, letting that dictate you and allowing that to be the reason why you're not going to make a change, I want you to have a think about in the past where you have achieved something that you did not think you could do. This doesn't have to be job related. It could be something personal, a personal goal that you set out to achieve that you didn't think you could do, but you did achieve. Something that I often reflect on when I'm feeling a little bit shaky and if I'm setting myself a new goal, I reflect on the fact a few years back, when I worked in private practice at Gaydens, I participated in a corporate triathlon.
Speaker 1:
Initially, I think I was asked a few times by a person at work that was organizing this, maria, come do it, it would be fine. I was like, no, no, no, no, it's too hard. They're swimming. I'm not a strong swimmer. It's like really overwhelming. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. Anyway, I ended up saying, yes, you know peer pressure, but anyway, no, I ended up saying yes and I was like, okay, I'm going to do this. This is really hard. It's a triathlon. What is it? Running, swimming and bike riding.
Speaker 1:
I also didn't have a bike at the time as well, so I was scared. I was like how am I going to do this? I've never ran a triathlon. I've never done a triathlon before. I don't really trust myself that I'm able to do this. I don't believe that I can finish. I feel like this is going to be a massive failure, that I'm not going to be able to do this. But anyway, I said yes and then I committed to that goal. So, okay, I didn't have a bike. I didn't have the finances at the time to purchase a bike. My friend had a bike. I asked her can I please borrow your bike for this period so I can train with triathlon? She kindly said yes, and so I ticked that item off.
Speaker 1:
And then the other part that I was really scared about was the swimming. I'm not a strong swimmer. I can swim, yes, but leisurely, not professionally to save my life. And so what I did me and my friend that was also participating in the triathlon we both committed to going to our local pools once a week and swimming together and just building up that stamina to be able to swim and building that confidence to be able to swim. And the third part was running, and we're also together with my friend. We committed to running together once a week as well.
Speaker 1:
And with doing a triathlon, if you have done one before or if you've ran before long distance, you need to keep your heart at a certain pace so that you don't tie yourself out too quickly. So that's something that you know. I bought a heart monitor that will strap around like chest and that we would run with so we can monitor heart rate. So I went from I'm not doing this. There's no way I can do this to, like you know, I'm going to fail. There's absolutely no way to then setting out intentional steps along the way. That helped me on triathlon day to be able to actually finish the triathlon, I didn't come first, I didn't beat any records or anything like that. That wasn't the goal for me. For me, it was just to finish and I did so.
Speaker 1:
And so when I'm feeling shaky and when I'm losing that trust within myself that I might not be able to do something, always reflect back on this moment and I say to myself okay, there's this new goal that I want to achieve right now. I have not done this before. I'm feeling quite vulnerable, I'm feeling scared, I feel like I'm not able to achieve this. However, let's look at, you know, this event, this triathlon, where I did not think I would be able to achieve this, but I committed to it and I ended up achieving that goal. I reflect on it, so I was like, okay, well, I am able to do things that I haven't done before. I have the evidence of this. I have this evidence bank that I can go back to and remind myself yes, you can do challenging things. You can set a goal that you haven't ever achieved before and, through intentional action steps, you will be able to get there.
Speaker 1:
So we need to be our own coach and remind ourselves, where we have done something in the past, that we didn't think that we could do and we all have evidence of that. We all, because in life we all have challenges, whether we like it or not. Challenges come up in life, situations come up in life that we have never faced before and we probably in that moment thought we weren't able to get through it or achieve it, and yet we did. So if you do not have evidence yet and you being able to get that new type of job or move your countries for a different career or whatever, maybe you don't have that evidence yet go back to your evidence bank and reflect on where you have achieved things that you did not think were possible and anchor into those really leaning to those, especially when you are feeling shaky, and remind yourself that you can do this. You can set that goal for yourself and you can achieve it. You can make a change. Okay.
Speaker 1:
Now the third part is it also ties into that self belief and it also ties into your skill sets and experience, and this is something that I really want to address, because I feel like a lot of us can go well, what value can I bring? I got nothing that I could bring to the table, I've got nothing to offer and again we automatically go into this I don't know scarcity mindset of I have nothing to offer, or is that there's nothing out there for me without even thinking deeply about what we actually do have to offer? Trust me, you have a lot of value that you can bring into any role. So if you are looking at applying for a particular role that you may have not had the particular experience that they're asking for, you don't meet 100% of the criteria, but don't let that discourage you. Think about what you can bring. What is your value add? How can you add your own flair or bring your own experience or bring a different type of skill set into this role, into this company? That gives it a fresh perspective. Because when people are like recruiters, hrp, when they're writing a job description, they're writing it for, I guess, the ideal client, this avatar that doesn't exist, because we're human beings. We're not going to be meeting 100% of the criteria that someone has just written like that. This is where you come in and where you get to communicate the value that you bring into that role, the fresh perspective that you bring into that role.
Speaker 1:
I'll do another podcast episode about this, but this is where leadership mindset I've spoken a bit about leadership mindset throughout my podcast episodes, but leadership mindset is really taking ownership of yourself, of yourself as a person, of yourself as a professional, of your career. Really taking ownership and treating your job and yourself like a business. You are selling yourself, you're selling your services to this next job or that role that you want to apply for. Because, when you look at it with that perspective and with that lens, it empowers you to think about okay, well, if I want to do that, I'm going to do it. If I was running a business and I was wanting to get this specific client, well, what can I bring to this client that would give them an edge or that would bring a different perspective or bring a certain value to them they don't yet have or, like you know, is there a gap that I am able to fill with my skillset, with my experience?
Speaker 1:
So, having that leadership mindset when you are wanting to make a career change, and even throughout your career, really anchoring into that leadership mindset and treating this as though like treating yourself like you are your own business, your personal brand, whatever you like to call it, I believe it does empower you and does really make you dig deep and go. Well, no, yeah, I do. Actually I have this value and I can see that this job that I want to apply for this particular company that I would really love to work for, you know, I can really bring X, y and Z into this and give that company a different perspective on this or a different edge. Trust me, when you approach your job applications like this, the other person on the side receiving that that will be highly impressed that you've taken this extra effort to really analyse what it is that they need or what they're missing, and how you can address that with your skillset and your experience. So just to summarise the three things that you can do to shift that mindset so that you can make that change in your career that you're really longing for. That you've been trying to make for the past three, six months to a year, but you haven't been able to do so.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so these are what they are. So first one is really hone in on what your skills and experience is. So don't focus on that there's nothing out there for you, but really think about yourself and what skills you have, what experience you have and what you're wanting to get out of that next role for yourself. Number two trust yourself and build that evidence of where you have achieved something in the past that you didn't think was possible. And number three what value do you bring to the table? What do you have that's unique, that can really be benefited by this company or by this team or in this new role? So I hope that really helped you shift your mindset so that you can take the next steps to make that change in your career. I really want that for you. There's no time like now, there's no time like the present to make that shift, rather than sitting in this stagnant energy and this energy of I can't do this and this is not possible for me. Trust me, it is so possible for you. It really really is. I've seen it time and time again with my clients. I've seen it within myself as well, in terms of me being able to shift from prior practice to in-house to now this new, unique prior practice slash, in-house hybrid role that I have. It's so possible for you to be able to achieve your career goals and I hope this episode provided you with lots of value If you do require that additional support and you would love to have someone in your team and by your side to really help you strategize and set those actionable steps so that you can make that leap and you can step into that desired role of yours.
Speaker 1:
I'm here to support you. I'm here to help. I have an amazing program called the Unbound Lawyer Program. It goes for three months. We're in it together, we collaborate and I support you to make that change that you desire in your career. If this is something that you would like to participate in, click the link in the show notes book in a complimentary discovery call. I'd love to get to know you. I'd love to get to know your goals and what you're wanting to achieve, and we can chat more. Have an amazing week ahead and I will chat to you very soon. Bye. Thanks for tuning into the Career Confidence podcast. Like what you learned today. Why not share this episode with your work, bestie, and leave us a five-star review on? Wherever you listen to your podcast on, we'd absolutely love to get into more years and help more women, just like you, build fulfilling and thriving careers. Until next time.