The choice of a profession is often made based on very objective and rational criteria, and sometimes even at an age when the person is not mature enough to know their deepest aspirations. What determined the initial choice may, at a given moment, prove to be quite far from deeper objectives essential to the development of any person. There then occurs a rupture and a moment of questioning which can be very painful. Even if social pressure is sometimes very important and can interfere with reflection, it no longer seems so unusual today to want to give a new direction to one's professional career, or even to want to change profession. Life is long and the professional path is punctuated by periods of doubt, questioning and desires for professional development and changes that one must know how to take into account in order to consider a new start and continue to flourish in one's professional activity.
Motivation
What allows you to work calmly and with enthusiasm is the motivation that gives you the will to work and the satisfaction you feel with the work you accomplish. When this motivation falters, everything gets complicated! You may then question your ability or your will to achieve the result, or you may adopt a casual and detached attitude towards your task and your objectives, which will contribute to increasing your discomfort and can lead to this disease of the century called burnout. Reflecting on the underlying reasons for this demotivation can help you sort things out: is it a temporary demotivation linked to poor working conditions (a superior or a colleague with whom you have a strained relationship, temporary fatigue or stress, a family problem that affects your mood, etc.)? Is it a desire to progress in your profession and escape a routine that is wearing you down? Or is it a real lack of interest in your profession, and a real desire to change?
This demotivation for a job can also be the lever of another motivation realized recently and which responds to a deep need for evolution and readjustment of a professional existence which according to you, is not going in the right direction? Whatever your age, knowing how to listen to your intuitions and your desires for change is not always synonymous with disaster, on the contrary it can allow you to be more in harmony with yourself and therefore much happier and more fulfilled.
The skills assessment
From the moment you have made your decision to stop and make a radical change or shift, put in place solutions to help and support you in managing this shift by carrying out what is called a skills assessment with a service provider. This can be financed by many organizations and should allow you to take stock of your professional situation and at the same time take advantage of its strengths and skills to move towards a new profession. This external professional opinion will allow you to imagine realistic solutions adapted to your particular case, to reflect on a possible need for training to move forward more serenely towards this unknown that fascinates and/or terrifies you.
The professional retraining project
The skills assessment is the starting point for developing your career change plan. Depending on the new career path you have chosen, you can establish what in your past experience has enabled you to acquire the qualities and skills required to apply for this new job, and have them validated by an official document, a diploma, or any other certification required to be able to apply for offers in your sector of activity. A system called Validation of Acquired Skills through Professional Experience (VPA) allows you to certify certain acquired skills and avoid having to start from scratch. If the new profession you are aiming for requires specific skills that your professional experience has not allowed you to obtain, you can then undertake training that will provide you with these specific skills and allow you to face this new challenge much more calmly.
Continuing education
There is no age limit for learning, this could be the motus of continuing education, which allows everyone to learn throughout their life. Depending on the length of the training you wish to follow, you will choose the financing solutions best suited to your personal situation. For long-term training, Individual Training Leave (CIF) is the best solution because it allows you to receive 80 to 100% of your previous salary for the entire duration of the training and to be able to train peacefully without completely destabilizing your budget or that of your family. If you wish to start your own business, regional and national financial aid may be granted to support you in carrying out your project. Do not neglect the practical aspect, as this can jeopardize your retraining project.
The internship and the new profession
Armed with your professional skills validation certificate, reassured by vocational training or financial aid, you will be much more confident and motivated in your career change project and will move forward with much more assurance, you will also be more convincing in front of your interlocutors. If the training you have just completed is specific, do not hesitate to do an internship to test the profession you are about to join and check that it meets your expectations. This internship can be done at any age and allows you to confront the new professional environment without making a definitive commitment. At the end of this first internship, you will know if this new profession corresponds to what you wanted. Do not hesitate to include this internship in your new CV and to give it a structure that will highlight your past experience by highlighting the strengths and qualities required for the new profession.
