Changing career
Getting support during a career change helps you clarify what you are leaving, what you are looking for and how to present a path that is not a straight line. The hardest part is often not finding a new direction, but connecting your past to your plans in a way that makes sense, both to you and to employers or future clients. Here is why support matters, and how to move forward in practice.
Why support matters at this moment
A career change calls into question part of the professional identity you have built over many years. On your own, it is easy to go round in circles between wanting change and fearing the loss of what you have achieved. An outside perspective helps you put words to your motivations, spot your transferable skills and build a clear account of your path. That account then underpins your applications, your interviews and your conversations with your network.
Signs that support would help you
- For months you have felt a weariness that holidays no longer shift.
- You have several ideas in mind but cannot settle on one.
- You are not sure how to explain your change of direction without sounding defensive.
- Your CV seems to tell someone else's story.
- The people around you are pushing you on, or holding you back, and you need a neutral view.
Our advice, step by step
Start from what energises you, not only from what drains you
Listing what you no longer want is useful, but it is not enough to point a plan in the right direction. Look for the moments in your career when you felt fully engaged, and work out what they have in common: a kind of task, a setting, a way of working with others.
Write your career down as a story
Write out your path as a narrative, with its turning points, its choices and what each stage taught you. This often reveals a common thread you had not noticed, one that makes your change of career look logical rather than sudden.
Identify your transferable skills
Project management, client relations, teaching, the ability to learn quickly: many skills travel from one job to another. Pair each one with a concrete example you can use in an interview.
Test before you leap
Meet people who already do the job you have in mind, ask to shadow someone for a day, take a short course or run a small project alongside your current role. These trials either confirm your choice or save you a costly detour.
Prepare a two-minute introduction
Put together a short spoken account: where you have come from, what you have taken from it, where you are heading and why. Practise it aloud with friends or family until it sounds natural and confident.
Be specific with your network
Tell the people who know you about your plans, and be precise about what you need from them: an introduction, some advice, a recommendation. A clear request is far easier to pass on than a vague intention.
Plan for time and resources
A career change often takes longer than expected. Work out how much financial leeway you have, find out what training funding is open to you, and set yourself realistic intermediate milestones.
Filomy by your side, at every moment that matters
When you leave your job, the online guest book collects colleagues' messages by link, QR code or WhatsApp, with no app or account. Read again later, those words remind you what others valued in you.
Online guest book →For your leaving do, the invitation page takes 2 minutes to create and tracks replies in real time, with the number of plus-ones.
Invitations & RSVP →The time capsule delivers a message written today in 1, 5 or 10 years: your reasons for changing, your fears and your hopes, to read again once the move is under way.
Time capsule →The memory book lets several contributors tell a story chapter by chapter, and can then be printed.
Memory book →
A tailored path
To go further, Olivier Paris, a coach and biographer, builds personalised programmes for people changing career. For more than 5 years he has helped individuals and teams with the art of telling their own story, using an approach that combines expressive writing, structured storytelling and narrative therapy. He helps you connect your past to your plans and present your path with clarity.
Build my path with Olivier →Filomy partner · coach and biographer · life-story writing workshops in Marseille and the PACA region
Frequently asked questions
Why get support when changing career?
Because a career change affects your plans, your confidence and the way you present yourself all at once. Support helps you structure your thinking, test your assumptions and build a coherent account of your path, whereas on your own it is easy to go round in circles or give up too soon.
How do you explain a career change in an interview?
Present it as a logical next step: what your experience has taught you, what led you to change, and why your background is an asset in the new role. Avoid justifying what you are leaving behind and focus on what you bring.
Is it too late to change career at 45 or 50?
There is no age limit. A mid-career change draws on solid experience, provided you identify your transferable skills clearly and prepare the transition, especially financially.
What is the difference between a careers adviser and a coach?
A careers adviser typically helps you assess your skills, explore options and understand training routes. A coach works more flexibly on your current goals: making a choice, preparing to speak about your change, moving forward step by step. The two can complement each other.