How To Switch Careers, With Career Guru Joseph Liu

Jumping to an entirely new line of work can be extremely daunting. That’s why this week we’re diving right into the how-tos of making the big career switch. First we chat with consultant, speaker, and podcaster Joseph Liu, who has helped numerous people make big mid-career transitions over the years. Then we hear a personal career-change story from Julieta Benavides, who leapt from her high-paying career in restaurant management into the world of therapeutic massage.

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Highlights from this week’s episode

From the Joseph Liu interview

On letting go of the fears and perspectives that are holding you back from making a career change:

Let’s say that you have the belief that it is important for you to keep up with your peers because it signals a certain level of status. I think it’s important to recognise that that is a perspective that you’re holding and to almost play with it a little bit, to almost say…“I’m not going to care so much about what my former colleagues think about the new title I’m going to have.”… What might that open up for you? And almost going through the thought exercise of figuring out, if you were to let go of that belief, which is currently dictating and driving your current actions, what could that change for you in your life?

On the importance of having some savings built up before changing careers:

Have a bit of a nest egg if you can. And that’s important for a couple reasons: number one, because you’re building up enough savings to give yourself some runway to figure out what you want to do next. On a more practical and sort of subtle level, it also reduces you coming across as what I’m going to call desperate because people can kind of sniff that out. And if you come across as desperate, either looking for your next job or maybe you’re trying to land your first clients if you’re launching your own business, that doesn’t tend to land so well with people. So having that savings and cushion gives you the confidence and be able to go out without having to be desperate to take anything that comes your way.

From the Julieta Benavides story

On what she’s learned from making her own career transition:

My advice to someone who feels like there’s something not quite right is first of all, pay attention to that and [don’t] pay attention to it with the pressure of figuring something out, but sort of soft-gazing at it, [and] I think not paying attention to other people trying to discourage you. People always worry, obviously, and I worried about money. But one thing that I have found is that the less that I make decisions out of fear, the more things really do open up for me. [The] important thing is not to be afraid.

To hear our whole interview with Joseph Liu and all of Julieta Benavides’ career-change journey, check out the podcast!