Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Changing Careers

There isn't much good that has come out of the Great Recession to date except the humbling of some big egos on Wall Street. However, there might be one small benefit that I've noticed after doing some coaching with executives pondering next steps in their careers.

Being out of work has forced highly capable men and women professionals to consider what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Some, due to financial pressures, need to get back to work immediately — and so are ready, willing and able to take a job, any job that comes their way. But a good many others, particularly those with more than two decades in the workforce, have an opportunity that has not occurred to them since college: The chance to ask themselves, again, "What do I want to be when I grow up?"

To answer this question, you need to do some homework... on yourself. The five questions below will prompt responses that challenge your assumptions about the way you live your life now — and the way you want to lead it from now on.

Where do your talents lie? Talent is a mixture of ability and proclivity. You have a capacity to do certain things, whether it's think creatively or keeping a disciplined schedule. At the same time, you have preferences such as working independently, collaborating in teams, or leading projects. Some talents are evident in youth, others emerge over time in the workplace. Recognizing both your abilities and proclivities is essential to your personal growth.

What skills do you have? Your skills are capabilities that you have acquired through both education and practice. For example, if you are in HR, you have acquired specialties in benefits, compensation and employee relations. To perform well, you need strong people skills as well as an ability to analyze and evaluate. Or if you're a product engineer, you know how to bring products from design to production. Your training is in engineering, but you probably also have skills in designing for quality, cost and speed.

What gets you up in the morning? This question gets to the heart of self-motivation. As an example, many executives will say they like going to work to think creatively, develop high-performing teams, solve problems, and reward others. The ability to perform what you like to do is based upon your skill base. And if you cannot do what you really like to do, then you need to acquire new skills via training and development so you can do it. For some, this may involve a career or industry change so that you can focus on work that interests you the most.

What challenges have you overcome? As you answer this question, widen your scope to include both setbacks as well as opportunities. Have you had to build a team, initiate a project, bring a new product to market, or shepherd a plan from conception to implementation? Think about how you overcame the obstacles and how it makes you a more capable manager.

What have you learned about yourself in the years you have been in the work force? Consider this a summary question. Distill what you have done into lessons learned. And when you think about it, you likely have accomplished quite a bit. You may have learned how to lead others as well as yourself. You may have acquired skills that are in demand. And you have gained insights into yourself that will serve you and future employers well in the future.

Think carefully about how you will answer each of these questions. Write out your answers, then give yourself time to reflect on the answers for a day or more. This will help you process your answers and gain perspective. You might even want to say your answers aloud and record them with the recorder in your mobile phone. This will prepare you for job interviews where you will be challenged to answer questions about your talents, skills and life.

in Harvard Business Review