Steps to a New Job
Overcoming the Fear of Change
By Bill Radin
© 2000 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
Overcoming the Fear of Change
You and I are lucky -- we live in a world rich in possibilities. Besides being able to select from an
unlimited variety of occupations, we also have the right to find happiness in our daily work.
Naturally, everyone has a different definition of job satisfaction. For example, the job that seems fine to
you may not be of much interest your best friend, and vice versa.
The fact that you live in a free society gives you the privilege to decide your own fate. You have as much
power in determining where you work as you do in selecting a spouse, a home, a car, or a pet. Your choice
of jobs really depends on how much you want to shape your career, and how much effort you're willing to
spend to make the necessary improvements in your life.
If you're considering a job change, it's probably for one of three reasons:
- Personal -- You want to change your relationships with others. For example, you may have discovered
that you're incompatible with the people in your company. Perhaps they have different interests than you;
or they communicate differently or have different educational backgrounds.
- Professional -- You've determined the need to advance your career. For example, you've found that
you won't reach your professional or technical goals at your present company; or that your advancement is
being blocked by someone who's more senior or more politically oriented; or that you're not getting the
recognition you deserve; or that you and your company are growing in different directions; or that you're
not being challenged technically; or you're not being given the skills you need to compete for employment
in the future. Or you've simply lost interest in your assigned tasks.
- Situational -- Your dissatisfaction has nothing to do with personal relationships or career
development; it's tied to a certain set of circumstances. Maybe you're commuting too far from home each
day, or you're working too many hours, or you're under too much stress; or you want to relocate to another
city (or stay where you are rather than be transferred).
Whatever your personal, professional, or situational reasons may be, you're motivated by the desire to
improve your level of job satisfaction and make a change.
A few years ago, when I packed up my bags and moved from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, my decision had
nothing to do with my career or the people I was working with. My dissatisfaction was purely situational. I
wanted to trade a high-stress, long-commute, manic routine for a more livable, slower-paced lifestyle. (And
by making the change, I became a statistic in a larger demographic trend.)
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