Preparation makes career change more feasible

Dear Sinara: What do you do when you want to change careers, but the fiscal ramifications make it seem impossible?

Eleanor Sparling, Pasadena, Calif.

Dear Eleanor: The exhilaration of dreams, the defeat of everyday bills. … It sounds like you are suffering from a severe case of the “golden handcuffs” where you want to change, but your benefits and regular paycheck outweigh your desire for change.

Fear holds us back and keeps us from our dreams. On the other hand, fear can often be a good thing. In making a drastic change, we need to review all of our options. Years ago, a friend of mine decided to quit a lucrative sales job and become a writer. I asked him how long he could go without a paycheck. I will never forget how I felt when he said, “Only about nine months.” I couldn’t go nine days!

My friend was making a radical career change, but he had planned and saved carefully over the years. He could go six months without pay and if he hadn’t begun to make it in writing, he had three months to look for a “real” job. Surprise. Surprise. He made it! He typifies two key elements to making a career change: 1) always have reserves of money, enough to last you a year, and 2) have a clear idea of what you want to do.

The only way to overcome your fear is to act. Make a long-range plan and stick to it. Make sure that part of your plan is to interview as many people as you can. You need to really understand the plusses and minuses of any new career before you make the leap.

Ask yourself: How will I feel about this decision in five years if I don’t act now? Acting now can begin with reading about your dream profession.

Take the Sinara Challenge: Do one thing a day every day toward investigating your dream career. Your task may be as small as surfing on the Internet or attending an association meeting. After 30 days, you will know if your career idea is viable. Then, take another 30 days and do something concrete toward changing careers. In this phase you might meet with a financial advisor, re-write your resume, sign up for a course, etc. In month three, you may wish to begin sending out resumes and actively searching.

The Sinara Challenge takes 90 days. You may take longer, but you won’t get anywhere if you don’t start today!

Sinara’s Sidebar: You should ask yourself: When I am 65, will I remember the security or the challenges I met?

Dear Sinara: I am involved in a lot of conference calls. How can I make sure that they are productive?

Paula Brisco, Marshfield

Dear Paula: When it comes to conference calls, there are a few steps to help you move from listening to “blah blah” to being an active participant.

• Ask for an agenda beforehand. This request will do two things: 1) it will remind the leader there should be an agenda; and 2) it will give you a chance to plan your questions, requests and remarks.

• Ask what time the conference call will end.

• Clear your schedule so that there will be no interruptions.

• Turn off your cell phone and speak from a phone that does not have call waiting.

• Take notes.

• Tempting as it may be, don’t allow yourself to be distracted by your computer or papers on your desk.

• Give yourself to the moment of the meeting as though you were there in person.

• When the conference is done, jot down the action items you agreed to.

Sinara’s Sidebar: If the meeting is going overtime, there is a very effective method of speeding up the process: Shut up.