My Career Transition Plan
They say distance gives you perspective. Oh, how that has been true since I quit my job. A hard situation, if extended, can start to feel normal, leading to a bleak outlook on life. Only after getting out of the difficult situation do you begin to comprehend the true extent of the pain and debilitation it caused.
I’m skipping ahead of myself though. We’ll get to how the new job has already been such an improvement. But first, I want to explain how I used the transition time…the infamous two weeks between giving notice and starting new.
I remembered how my last job transition went (full of stress) and was determined to not let myself go through that again. Here’s what I did differently this time:
Take note of how I felt during the last transition, which had been my first time transitioning to a different company. Two words come to mind when I think about it….”stress” and “dread”. Definitely not ideal feelings to hold when trying to make a fresh start. Lesson learned: do not repeat.
Check out of work was NOT an option. I still needed to do my best and help my coworkers with the transition (and there’s no need to burn a bridge this early on in my career). However, I knew that I could be available for training, finish up my projects, AND not work constantly through the next two weeks. Before I gave my notice, I was prepared with all my processes documented and transition items listed, which gave me space for the next point.
Make time for the things I wanted to do before I started my new job so that I could feel like I was not only starting fresh professionally, but also personally. I was getting a New Year’s Day do-over :) This included organizing closets, crossing things off my ever-growing-home-maintenance-to-do list (Goodwill here I come), and reserving the weekend before my first day as a me-only weekend to get real rest.
I think the key to really making a transition period successful is intentionality in preparation and self-awareness. Know what you need to do to feel like you can truly be ready and focused for the inevitable first day. I knew I wanted to decrease my to-do list and have enough time to take a couple days and do nothing. To me, this is preparing and resting well. For you, it may look different. Maybe it’s spending a lot of time with family and friends. Or taking one last quick trip before you have to focus in on the next big thing.
Know that in a time of transition, you are allowed to be grateful for what the old thing taught you and relieved to be moving on to something that excites you. And when you drive away from work for the very last time and feel nothing but pure joy, you know that you made the right move and treated yourself well in the process.