How to Change Careers: Put on Your Creative Pants

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Career changes come about for several different types of reasons but they all have the same outcome - you have to pivot into something different than what you are doing now. While a lot of people find that terrifying, I see it as the ultimate opportunity to do something that makes you truly happy. It’s the chance to do something that fulfills you in a way your old job didn’t.

I believe that it is absolutely necessary to tap into your creativity if you are even considering a career change.

The key to finding a new career that fulfills you is finding what puts you in flow. Flow is a buzzword, but also a psychological concept, that outlines the idea that you should engage most in tasks where you lose yourself.

Now, I can go all zen on a sink full of dishes, but that’s not flow - flow is looking up from a report you’re diving into and realize that you’ve spent 4 hours digging on fashion-buying statistics and it felt like 20 minutes and you have a smile on your face. Flow is a zone. A feeling. A work induced happy place.

The absolute best place to find flow? In creative endeavors. Have you ever noticed that when you’re in the act of creating something time just flies, like whoa? It can be almost anything, writing, organizing shapes, painting, dance, collage - whatever brings you joy and puts you in a state of flow.

So, now what?

Step 1: find your flow.

Step 2: find a way to incorporate that endeavor into your new career.

It may not mean literally. But it may. Honestly, tapping in to your creativity doesn’t mean you need to sculpt heads out of clay until you’ve designed the face of your ideal boss - it just means that you need to tap into the part of you that isn’t necessarily logical and linear.  

If you find yourself in flow while cooking but you can’t see yourself as a line cook in a restaurant 50 hours a week then maybe it’s about finding a position where you can solve problems creatively alongside an energetic team who are encouraged to improvise.

Personally, when I was in the throes of a career change, I had to come up with creative ways of teaching that weren’t in front of a classroom with a creaky blackboard behind me.

If there are zero creative activities you have interest in (firstly, seriously?!) there are a few other ways to incorporate creativity into your career change journey:

Building a mood board of how you want to feel in your new gig.

Brainstorming ALL bazillion possibilities for new roles.

Mindmapping your ideal project on the job.

Drawing - visually or written - a “perfect” day 1 year into the future

Women are, by nature, creative problem solvers. And to be sure, job happiness is a problem to be cracked, decoded and solved. You don’t have to be a creative but you absolutely should incorporate creativity into your search for job fulfillment.

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