How To Overcome Fear And Overwhelm In A Career Switch?

Most people I work with who want to change or switch careers or even try something new are paralyzed by fear and overwhelm.

I remember going through paralyzing fear at times when I navigated a move from one organization to another and one work profile to another.

In this blog, I write about facing your fears, dealing with uncertainty and overwhelm as you choose to re-pivot or change careers. I will share my experiences and the narratives of professionals I have worked with in the last few years. The blog is peppered with tips and strategies in the long and short-term.

Overcoming Fear

Mr. A, 29 years IT Professional

Ananth was having a serious problem of feeling disconnected and underutilized in his job. However, he found the prospect of switching jobs rather scary.

A brilliant techie, he had switched to a more lucrative role in the last six months. His previous job gave him a great learning environment and he landed a role with a 70% raise. He was ecstatic initially, but as the months unfolded, he found himself doing very repetitive work that didn’t kindle his genius mind. He had to spend more time managing his bosses, send emails and interface with organisational politics than work on systems and app design that he was hired for.

In our sessions together we explored multiple aspects of his life both professional and personal.

• What makes Ananth feel alive?
• What drives him?
• What triggers him?
• How does he respond to setbacks?

It took months, but he soon realized that switching jobs for a big increment wasn’t going to give him fulfilment or learning.

Being single, staying home with his parents due to Covid he had saved a sizable balance.

He offered his services to a startup over the weekends and really enjoyed the interactions. He then took a month off work and went for a vacation after a long time to re-engage with himself and do some soul-searching. Towards the end of his vacation, he found another part-time engagement, a role that spoke to him and he knew he was aligned to its requirements. Soon he gave up his full-time role, picked up the part-time role and soon his weekend gig also gave him another part-time offer.

I spoke to Anant in mid 2023, almost one year after we completed our sessions. He sounded happy, more content with his work and lifestyle. He was surrounded by professionals with similar inclinations and felt more aligned.

One of the critical aspects that held Ananth back prior to our sessions was his high intolerance for uncertainty. He was seeking a secure job that also satisfied his soul. Being a brilliant brain, such roles are few in the mainstream world.

Our sessions helped him find certainty and feel more anchored within. That is the key in this ever-changing world.

Dealing with Overwhelm

Mr. S, 32 years, MBA, 8 years’ experience

Shashwat was an unhappy man when we met back in 2021. He had switched two jobs in two years and found his current job falling out due to downsizing and fund shortages. Honestly, he hated his roles post his MBA as he was offered mostly Sales and Territory Manager roles. While he outperformed his peers most of the time, he just did not enjoy what he did. An engineer by profession and at heart, he enjoyed his first technical role immensely.

However, common wisdom has the notion that an Engineer + MBA is a coveted combination. So his parents urged him to join an MBA programme.

Being a sincere and hard-working son, he got through one of the best private MBA institutions. He did very well and got a good placement too. His salary increased as expected. However, most of the placement roles that came to his institute were for Marketing and Sales profiles. So, he had to settle for the same.

It was after his MBA that the nightmare started for him professionally. He got only Sales and Territory Manager roles that needed him to travel extensively, meet sales targets for products and communicate with rustic and hard-core salesmen. Nothing had prepared him for this experience.

What followed was anxiety, low-self-esteem and mental health issues.

When S approached me, he wasn’t sure what was causing his low phase in life or even how to fix it. The truth is that even I was not sure as one size never fits all. However, I trust the process of bringing self-awareness to the core of the person and helping them reflect and realign.

In a few sessions, he had started an online certification programme in product analytics and management. In a few months, he had found a role in a leading sports organization as a Product Manager that brought both his technical and managerial skills to the fore. His sales experience augmented his understanding of the customer psyche while managing the product.

A very soft spoken person who expressed in few words had a gentle way of expressing his journey.

The main aspect holding Shashwat back was his lack of awareness with the roles he aligned with at a deeper level. He was following the advice of his seniors without reflecting within. It was no surprise that he started to “fall apart” as the roles got more stressful. He was overwhelmed and unhappy and didn’t know why!

Accepting his technical and introverted side, nurturing his analytical skills and balancing his needs for play and leisure with work helped him restore balance in his life.

Don’t Hold Back

What about you? If you have read so far, there may be some facets you are wanting to uncover or change too? What is holding you back?

If you are trying to understand more about career change, you may view this article.

If you are wondering what mindsets will help you sail through, here is an interesting 7 minutes video.

If you don’t want to leave you current role, but want to develop an ikigai or passion project alongside, listen to Sahana as she shares her experience.

We are just a call or email away. Do write in as we would love to hear from you.