This text is part of the special booklet Trades, professions and careers
The pandemic has forced many people to review their relationship to work. Should he take advantage of this great upheaval to review his professional occupation? Where are those who have plunged into the unknown? Today, is it too late to do so?
Teleworking, complete sectors of activity shut down, numerous job losses; these changes have stimulated reflection on our relationship to work and our professional choices. Not everyone has changed jobs, but the questioning did exist. And for those who have taken the plunge, all is not rosy in this post-pandemic reality, as explained by Josée Landry, president of the Ordre des conseillères d’orientation du Québec (OCCOQ): “Among those who changed careers during the pandemic, some are now questioning the choice they made. It was a very particular and unprecedented period. And depending on how you made this career change, sometimes hastily or with great expectations, it is possible to now consider reorienting yourself again. »
Mourning, separation, job loss or… pandemic are times when certain decisions are made in a hurry, without asking all the questions. “During the upsetting situations in our lives, it may not be the best time to make such an important decision,” warns Ms.me Landry.
A thoughtful process
To carry out a successful career change, it is important not to look for a universal recipe. The turn is different for each person and it is up to everyone to direct their thinking, warns the president. “People come to see us with a need, the feeling of wanting to change something professionally. Our role is to assess the person, understand what is happening and find the source of dissatisfaction at work. We support her to help her get to know herself better and make an informed decision, she says. Above all, it is necessary to define a project that makes sense for the person, his entourage and his family. Because a successful career change has positive impacts on all these people. »
The feeling of the golden cage, as Ariane Krol calls it in her Escape Manual for Prisoners from a Golden Cage, is often a trigger for reflection. In other words, despite enviable working conditions, the desire to do something else is there, but we don’t know how to get out of it. “There is the feeling of being a prisoner, it’s true, but that’s not always the case. There is boredom, the feeling of going in circles without knowing what else to do, a feeling of emptiness, a lack of motivation. Then there are the feelings of having fallen asleep, of having lost interest even in his personal life,” continues Josée Landry.
With 254,475 vacancies in Quebec (in the second quarter of 2022, according to Statistics Canada), the labor shortage situation in which the province finds itself creates opportunities for those considering a career change. “It’s a good time, but that doesn’t mean we have to go in just any direction. Regardless of the context, it takes time and you have to think about it, ”recalls the president.
Contextualizing the career choice
Accept having made a bad choice which, years later, forces us to go back to square one? Give up on a job that no longer suits you? The president of the OCCOQ proposes to approach the question much more calmly and immediately make peace with the past. How could you blame yourself for not having opted for a job in high technology if, when you had to choose a study program, smart phones, GPS, home automation and the autonomous car did not exist? Over the years, the world changes and so does our personal situation.
“We cannot today regret a decision that was taken in a completely different context. We must remember that professional choices are made with the information we have at the time of making the decision, in a given situation. The world of work is changing, our personal lives are changing, the economy is changing. And our values can change too. Not to mention that new encounters nourish new interests, new experiences,” lists Ms.me Landry.
In an encouraging tone, the guidance counselor invites people to give themselves the right to want to have other experiences, regardless of their age, taking care to be well supported and opting for realistic projects. This career transition, despite the anxieties it can bring, marks the end of a stage, but also the beginning of a whole new chapter. And a blank page that leaves room for a world of possibilities.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.