Looking for a job change?

After a difficult phase in the acting profession, Antara Mali decided to try something else. Read on to know how you too can reinvent yourself and your career

At some point in your career you might be faced with the question of whether or not you actually enjoy what you do. Given the variety of choices that one can work with, it is sometimes difficult to decide which particular field one should find work in and then stick to it. Occasionally, even though you might be successful at something at the start of your career, you may soon discover that success is not always guaranteed and that’s when you start questioning your choices.

Actress Antara Mali is allegedly facing the above crisis and has decided to withdraw from any public events and even her films. Despite her initial success in the industry, the actress hasn’t been able to be a part of many successful projects. Therefore, if one chooses to change their direction in life and wants to try a new profession, how easy or difficult will the shift be and how can you beat the stagnation and reinvent yourself?

According to Shailesh Langi, industrial psychologist and CEO of SSL Consulting Private Limited (Andheri), “dissatisfaction is one of the major causes for unhappiness at work. We start avoiding our job, we start procrastinating and we start giving excuses.” Langi lists the following as the most common reasons why people want to change their profession:

• Better prospects: The need to do something better or big
• Better pay: Unhappy with current compensation or are underpaid
• Good atmosphere: We always look for better and healthy atmosphere to work and good colleagues as well
• Better management: Top management or bosses are very crucial and a deciding factor for retention and attrition
• Delegation /responsibility: If a person is not given the responsibility, he/she will not have ownership, that’s the major cause of job dissatisfaction
• For a change: Sometimes we just need a change.

“You should take a break when you are feeling unhappy working. You should spend some time to understand whether internal or external factors are probing dissatisfaction. If you feel the internal factors are responsible for the unhappiness, then you better start working on that and try and change your personality accordingly. If you feel that the external factors are affecting your unhappiness then you should look for a change immediately,” says Langi.

But, is it a good idea to start something entirely new? “It depends upon your ability to do that work and your interest in the given field. If your interest is in same field and you only need to sharpen your skills, it is better to remain in the same field. But, when you realise that your ability and interest is not going hand in hand, then it is better to opt for a different profession,” advises Langi.

How to change

According to Shailesh Langi, the following are the main things you need to consider before changing your profession:

• Find out the causes of dissatisfaction in your current or last profession/job, to prevent committing a similar mistake in future
• List down your strengths and weaknesses
• Find out your field of interest (List down what you would prefer doing)
• Get more information about your field of interest
• Sharpen your skills according to job requirement. (For example: If you need to improve you communication skills or interpersonal relationships)
• Speak to people who are already in the same field
• Imagine what you want to be at your retirement age
• Set your short term as well as long term goals
• Make sure to see the other side of the coin
• Be proactive, positive and confident in taking on new challenges and doing new things.