# 1 Thing You Need to Know if You are Thinking About Changing Your Job or Career

Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT, RScP

Your Career Makeover Coach

For today's video message, click here.

I have recently become a little obsessed with the notion of being a "Career Makeover Coach."

It occurred to me just recently that what I want to do for my clients goes far beyond simply helping them find a new job or transition from one career to another. I want to help individuals who fall into the category of the 70% of Americans who hate or are disengaged in their current job to escape to a job or career that is perfect for them in every way.

I want them to be doing work that is in alignment with their core values.

I want them to be working in a career that taps into their unique gifts, talents, and aptitudes.

And I want them to be happy to go to work every day instead of dreading it like a toothache.

I recently posted this message on my Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter pages:

It isn't enough to know that you want to make a change, however. You have to know what you want to do to replace what you are already doing. 

Lack of clarity is the #1 problem I hear from most of the individuals with whom I meet on a regular basis. 

Along with a lack of clarity, however, is a misunderstanding around the purpose of your resume. Most people mistakenly think that the first thing they need to do when they are ready for a job change is to write their resume. They think they should sum up all of their qualifications from their entire working career and plop it in a resume that they then upload into a database and they wait for some magical combination of events that might land them a new job.

It doesn't work like that anymore if it ever did. 

Today, you must first decide what it is you want, get crystal clear about the direction you want to go, and THEN you are ready to write your resume making sure that your resume matches the job description for the job for which you are applying.

Most people don't get that in the beginning, and that is why they struggle so with the whole process of job hunting. Few people really know what they are doing when they start out which is why people increasingly need some sort of professional help.Clarity...knowing what you want and then having the courage to go for it. That is the #1 thing you need to know before you start looking for a new job or a new career.

Read, journal, meditate, pray...do whatever you need to do in order to get in touch with yourself and consider what you want to be doing with the time you have left on the planet. Do you want to be working in job or career that is meaningless even though it may pay the bills? I think most of us would opt for less money, frankly, if they knew that they were doing work that was meaningful and would impact the lives of others in a positive way.

It isn't just hype to consider that your work and your mission and purpose in life should be aligned. I happen to believe that it is why we are here. We don't want to leave this life feeling that we didn't make a difference to someone. It is in our DNA to want to leave a legacy.

What do you want yours to be?

Until next time.

Photos by Shutterstock.