Andrea writes:
I work in retail and hate it. I have been doing it for a few years now; I kind of fell into it at first, maybe even liked it at first, but now I don’t enjoy going to work, am sick of dealing with customers, and don’t know how to escape this torture. I can’t just quit my job, and I don’t really know what I would do anyway.
The Career Doctor responds:
Yours is a pretty common situation among older 20-year-olds. You graduate college without a clear career goal and fall into some unplanned career path. If you are lucky, it’s the right career for you; if not, you begin living for the weekend and dreading Monday mornings. It is such a common phenomenon that there is even a name for it: The Quarterlife Crisis.
OK. So now that you know what afflicts you, what can you do about? For your mental and physical health, I hope you will start working on this plan as soon as possible. I promise the first parts are not painful at all.
First Step. Take a weekend to really examine yourself and discover your passions. Examine the types of activities you love doing the most — little parts of the job you love, hobbies you partake in, classes you enjoyed, volunteering you do. Also make a list of the things you don’t ever want to do (like dealing with customers). If you like, take some career assessment tests too. The goal of the weekend is to really build a foundation for career and life change.
Second Step. Research careers and jobs that use the skills and activities you identified in the previous step. Once you have made a list, conduct informational interviews and begin building a network in this new career field.
Third Step. Based on your research in the previous step, develop a plan that will get you to your career goal. It might require further education, part-time employment (or volunteering), or simply reconfiguring your resume on the skills you identified.
Fourth Step. Implement your plan. (This step is the scary one for most job-seekers. Career change is rarely easy.)
For more detailed information, please read this article published on Quintessential Careers: Navigating the Quarterlife Crisis to Career and Personal Success: Five Strategies for Fulfilling Your Dreams. And these career change resources should be of value to you also.
