In the last 20 years, the academic of Cuban origin Herminia Ibarra has dedicated herself to studying career changes.
After talking with her and reading her texts, it is clear that you will hardly find a bullet train that will take you, in first class, to the race you dream of.
But it is well worth it embark on the fascinating journey that goes beyond work.
Ibarra is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School and taught at Harvard University (USA). USA) and the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD, for its acronym in French).
In 2019, was included in the Thinkers 59 , whose awards ceremony has been called by the Financial Times as “ the Oscars of the pensamie managerial nto “.
The ranking considers it an” authority of leadership and professional development “and a defender of “the importance of strategic networks and the value of collaboration.”
“For Ibarra, career change is not something that happens all at once at a given moment, but which is a psychological process of transition “.
She is a member of the British Academy and author of Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader (“Act like a leader, think like a leader”) and Working Identity .
He says that his experience and research have taught him some principles that may be useful for those seeking to reinvent themselves professionally.
With their help and knowledge , we present eight ideas for you to consider if you are thinking of changing careers:
1. Don’t think you have to run, it takes time
Over the past year, Ibarra conducted several webinars and one of the approaches he made to the attendees is if the pandemic had made them think about changing careers.
“Actually, I did one a couple of weeks ago and asked the same question, and it seems like the current situation is making people think about the possibility of changing careers even more than they did in the past, ”he says.
“But, of course, they wonder if it’s a good time.” And it is that we often feel reluctant to take risks.
Therefore, he indicates, it is key to understand that changing careers is something that takes time: “ Nobody jumps into the unknown , unless I have to. ”
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“Changing careers is always a very long process of exploring possibilities and learning about what you really want.”
It’s also about networking and acquiring new skills.
“All of this takes place over a period of time before a person can feel it. comfortable enough to say, ‘Okay, now I can quit my job or now I can make this change because I know what I’m getting into and I think it will work out.’ ”
2. It is much more than a role change
On the question of whether a career change implies “reinventing oneself”, Ibarra responds that “it is an undoubted way of doing it” .
“It is reinventing yourself because what you do is strongly anchored to your identity , which serves as the basis for defining yourself yourself ”, he explains.
“When you are changing that, you are challenging your sense, your idea of yourself ”.
It is a process in which you realize that “who you are” is not in tune with “ who you want to be “, that” who are you “is an idea that” in a certain way has not worked or needs to change or reform. “
” It is a change of identity and not simply a change role playing ”, he reflects.
3. Be creative: imagine how you would be
In April, Ibarra wrote the article Reinventing Your Career in the Time of Coronavirus (“Reinventing your career in the time of the coronavirus”), in Harvard Business Review .
In the article, he notes that “even in happier times, a career change has never been a perfectly linear process.”
“It’s an exploration trip necessarily messy “, In which you have to try and learn from” a range of possible selves. “
It is about” ideas that we all have and that revolve around who we want to become. “
Although some are specific, others are diffuse. “Some are realistic; others are pure fantasy. ”
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The exercise of imagining not only yourself, but future scenarios is important in the convoluted path you will travel to change careers. Don’t underestimate it.
“Accept that process and explore as many (me and futures) as you can,” recommends Ibarra.
4 . Your age gives you lights
Recently, Ibarra gave the webinar “How to change careers at 32, 40 and 50 + ”, in which he explored how that process differs in different stages of our life.
“At the beginning of our careers, and we know it from many investigations, extrinsic factors matter more: salary, security, the possibility of promotion to move up in a certain hierarchy ”, says the expert in our interview.
But the weight we give to these aspects “tends to decline with age.”
When we start our careers, “we have to build our credibility, create our credentials, and then as we age, what matters most to us has to do with autonomy and the criterion (…) and with being able to use our experience, our strengths, what we like to do and what we have learned ”.
At the beginning, we are learning about ourselves: who we are, what we are good at, what we want, what we like.
“As we advance and age, our sense of ourselves crystallizes increasingly. That leads people, especially from 50 and older to seek a context in which they can add value and make an impact on their own terms “.
” That is probably the biggest difference “.
But there is something that does not change with age:” One of the interesting aspects that we saw in that seminar is that (in labor matters) the most valuable thing that people look for is a job that gives them meaning, that has a meaning for them and that is a factor that remains as a constant in all ages “.
” Doing something that makes sense to you is very important. “
5. Your family loves you, but you need someone far away
“In my research, I discovered that when you are looking to make big career changes, friends, family and contacts Those close to you tend to discourage you rather than encourage you because it is difficult for them to imagine you otherwise, because they fear what that change may mean for you. They have already developed a fixed vision of who you are, they have pigeonholed you. ”
And to that tendency, somewhat protective, joins a quite realistic aspect: “They won’t have many (different) ideas to offer you either,” since they are part of the sphere that you already know.
Therefore, it is essential to expand your network of contacts, not only to find employment in other contexts, but also to be in communication with people who are not close and who can encourage you to explore different possibilities .
In his article, Ibarra calls them “weak ties” as opposed to the “strong ties” that constitute our relatives , friends and colleagues.
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These are relationships we have with people who “we don’t know well or don’t see often”, but who can help us learn new things, even if they don’t always have the motivation to do so.
A middle point between both types of links are the “ dormant ties “, which are the relationships with the people with whom we were once close, but that in year Recent s we distance ourselves.
6. Explore what you like inside and outside of your work
In the midst of a pandemic that has had dramatic effects not only on families and healthcare systems, but on hundreds of business around the world, changing careers can become overwhelming.
Ibarra explains it in his article: “Even for those of us lucky enough not to be sick, not having to take care of others who are, or fight to make ends meet, the pandemic it has increased the uncertainty and it has taken us by surprise in the psychological, financial and infrastructural aspects ”.
“The situation feels threatening. And, as psychologists have shown, threatening situations prompt us to behave conservatively, the opposite of what is required when we are considering a career change ”.
In addition, many people have invested time, effort and resources in building their current careers.
So the question arises whether it is possible to be happy and work in something that is no longer to our liking.
“I don’t think that’s something that really needs to be handled: whether you feel happy or not,” says the expert. “I think you can manage how you do your work so that adapts to what you like “.
“One way to achieve this is to try to find time and space to fit what you like to do the most within the spectrum of your work and of your organization. ”
“ Another way to do it is to say: ‘Well, this is a job, I can’t change it right now, but I’m going to invest time in extracurricular activities that I like’, which can be achieved through volunteering or other types of projects. ”
And it is that, in part, Ibarra’s studies have focused on analyzing“ what happens as the feeling of people’s dissatisfaction with what they do and how that can be the generator of a change “.
” If that is happen do ”, he advises,“ what can you do to create alternatives? ”
7. Develop new skills
While lockdowns and social distancing measures make many possibilities limited, for some people, current circumstances have been an impetus to make the decision to take courses online , listen to presentations on the internet and participate in webinars with the aim of acquiring new knowledge and skills.
AND have also joined projects.
As Ibarra indicates in his article, it is not necessary that we only choose activities that are part of the domain of the career to which we want to make the transition .
Insists on the idea of volunteering or a community initiative of the many that are being developed to face the current crisis.
Not only will it be rewarding, but doing a “ new and different job with new and different people” opens up a window of opportunities, not only external but also internal exploration.
In fact, one of the expert’s recommendations is to do self-reflection out loud and, to be able to share with a group, either physically with social distancing measures or through a digital platform, it is an excellent opportunity to do so.
That allows you to express your thoughts: why do you want to change careers and what career do you want and give them a boost, because someone is listening to you c.
And you may meet a potential mentor or even become one.
8 . Determine what you are not liking
Dissatisfaction with work is not always given by what is done.
The company, with its values and culture , may be a reason that makes many people feel that they are not in a “good boat”, indicates the academic.
“It may also be that they do not like their classmates.”
“There are many reasons and I think it is important that people understand what they don’t like , because that way, they can undertake good changes “, explains the author.
” In some cases, they want a new challenge; in others, their job has been reduced or even eliminated and they no longer see the same benefits. ”
Determining what is bothering us is key before making the decision to change careers.
And it is that, according to Ibarra, in most cases it is not necessary to reach that decision.
“You are not happy and you must explore possibilities: you start to connect with other people, to create networks, to take on projects and to build another facet of yourself and hopefully that leads to a job offer or a business opportunity. ”
“ And most people accept when it becomes obvious that it is better than where they are. ”
And if you just want a role change, keep in mind the“ paradox of authenticity ”
In 2015, Ibarra wrote the article The Authenticity Paradox (“The paradox of authenticity”) in Harvard Business Review , whose first line reads: “Authenticity has become the gold standard for leadership.”
Five years have passed, does the paradox still exist?
“Yes”, he answers. “It is something at an individual level, not a social one.”
“The paradox arises when people are trying to make a change or when they receive messages that they need to adapt or modify some aspects of what they he does, especially if he’s moving into new roles (within an organization). ”
“ In that context, some people can develop a very conservative tendency: ‘I can’t do that, That is not me. I have to be myself. ‘ And that attitude should be examined because, in some cases, it is simply being on the defensive ”and becoming rooted in a protectionist approach.
Authenticity is very important, reflects the teacher, but as stated in the article: does being yourself mean that you can’t change, that you have to be the way you’ve always been?
“If that’s the case, there’s a problem with the How authenticity is defined “.
In fact, one of the paragraphs of your article says it clearly:
“Because going against our natural inclinations can make us feel like impostors, we tend to cling to authenticity as an excuse to stick with what is comfortable. . But few jobs allow us to do that for long. This is doubly true when we advance in our careers or when demands or expectations change (…) ”and this is how many executives have discovered it.
In our conversation, he emphasized: there is no opposition between being ourselves and adapt.
“Being authentic means that you are growing, learning and adapting as you advance.”
And it is important to conceive our professional identities from an evolutionary perspective, “work in progress”, in which we learn through trial and error, in which we grow by experimenting.
