As you contemplate your next career move, it’s wise to keep an open mind and explore the full range of your options. You want your next role aligned with your values, enjoyable skills, interests, skills, and personality. You also want to consider your ideal location, financial goals, life balance, health considerations, and overall family needs. Wow, that's a lot of stuff.

The front end of a career change is complex. It tempts an impulsive choice, taking the first thing that comes along. Having the wisdom and patience to craft a highly customized career change takes work. It also allows you to blossom into a career you enjoy and can grow into.

Having said all of that, the actual job search part of a career change requires laser focus. Your LinkedIn profile, resume, cover letter, reference statements, job interview, and follow-up need to communicate a singular industry, role, and vision. The prospective employer sees and hears exactly what matters to them—you arrive as the perfect fit.

How do you balance these two opposing realities? An elegant, perfectly timed shift of your focus is the key:

• Temper your impatience as you complete a self-assessment and research your options. Take the time to be brutally honest with yourself. Be cautious about allowing others to influence you to move in a direction that pleases them but leaves you unfulfilled.
• Get yourself to an 80% level of clarity about your career goal. Live through the ups and downs of your exploration. Accept a reasonable level of risk remembering nothing is perfect.
• Now switch gears to a singular focus. Your job search (or the creation of your entrepreneurial venture) must be clear, well-defined, and deeply informed by who you are and who you want to become.



As always, I hope this message arrives perfectly timed for you. The shifting dynamics of your career focus can be confusing—and lead to poor decisions if you don’t pay close attention to the delicate balance.