There comes a time in your professional life when all you want to do is change your career trajectory. From 2020, UK workers’ career change stats increased from 53% to 60%. According to reports, the changes were due to personal and professional reasons. The underlying motivation is that a successful career change may help you achieve your life’s dreams. Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned, as some obstacles may put your plans on hold. Below is a discussion on what some of these are and how to overcome them.

Changing careers is not entirely about moving from one industry to the next. It involves building a new professional network, sometimes very different from what you were used to. This can become an obstacle in your plans because of the lack of networking. Professional networks thrive on connections, and without that, it may be a challenge to make a smooth change. The solution here is not to give up hope.

According to experts, there may be the temptation to discard a current and active network to make way for the new one. Unfortunately, that is not helpful. The key here is to look into your current professional network to check for possible connections that could help your new career. If you can find two connections, that will be more than enough to tap into. The reason is that those two connections may belong to other networking groups that are relevant to your new career.

Have you found yourself in a situation where your skills have no bearing on the career you want to switch to? Admittedly, that can be a major drawback for you. Therefore, it is important to be willing to learn new skills. But that does not mean discarding your current skill set. Before making that career jump, it would help if you made a list of your skills. By tabling all soft and hard skills, it is easier to connect which ones may be relevant to the new profession.

The question now is, how do you know which skill set is necessary for that career you’re switching to? You can start by checking the job descriptions (JDs) connected to your interested field. It is recommended to look through many to help you get adequate knowledge of what is expected. If possible, you can take online courses to brush up on those skills. For example, if you’re switching from a business-related career to social care, learning more about the latter will be practical. By taking up online courses provided by establishments like Careskills Academy, you can acquire the requisite skills to make the change.

This is a natural human reaction associated with venturing into the unknown. The fear of starting all over is also connected to feeling vulnerable and possibly entertaining thoughts of incapability. Perhaps, taking up an entry-level position fills you with insecurities. These become obstacles because they make you doubt the decision to make the switch. Additionally, the fear of starting over may hinder you from taking the necessary steps to succeed. While these emotions are natural, you can do things to make a quicker impact in your new career. This includes finding mentors in the same field to coach you on how to perform better. Secondly, you have the option to freelance to get a feel of what the new career is all about.