Guaranteed career change

This is a very interesting subject. 
If a person is ready for change, emotionally stable and with time and resources they can allocate to doing all the things that are required for forging radical change in ones working life - then it is reasonable to offer a career change programme.

If on the other hand the person is not well prepared for change, is mentally in a bad place and will find it really hard to allocate any time or resources on a consistent basis ( i.e. 6-12 months) and if they resist or do not engage in any of the recommendations - then a career change that is well matched and well researched is going to be hard to achieve.

So if a person falls into the second category above yet still yearns for a career change - what can be offered. I think the key thing is to address the basic things that perhaps are not being addressed first. For example - if a person's job is so very stressful and time hogging that they can not give appropriate time to career planning then the first step is to move to a post where perhaps the work is roughly the same but there is a slightly more flexible timetable. Alternatively they may need to get some assertiveness training as saying no can be an important first step in career planning. If a person is demonstrating signs of burnout and or depression or anxiety - these things need to be addressed BEFORE any effective career planning can take place.

This is where there is a slight catch 22 as if the current role is causing the strain then there can be a deep desire to cease that role ASAP. What is realistic and achievable is different in every person. But it is true that at times the first step in a career change is not the career change itself but preparation for doing so. This is extremely important to acknowledge as joining a career change programme without first grasping this point is going to lead to disappointment when a new career is not conjured out of the bag or taken away in a carrier bag.

I have written an workbook "easy career change - good career choice" as a preliminary learning element before someone delves into the Career Workbook.... which i hope will go some way to preparing people well before they begin to take any actions for their new career plan.