Three Tips for Navigating a Career Change

Whether you’re starting your own business or joining a different industry, making a mid-career move can be a challenge. Consider these three tips when contemplating a shift in your career trajectory:

• Prepare to feel scared and lonely. Career moves can often involve loss of stature and financial stability. Accept that difficult feelings are part of the process.

• Settle for an uncharted path. Changing careers means leaving the well-trod path. You won’t know from the outset what comes next, but that’s what taking risks entails.

• Use new metrics. Perhaps earlier in your career you used money or fame to measure your success. Maybe now you want more autonomy, flexibility, or to make a positive impact on the world.