By Claire Sakaoka, Chief Strategist, Owner

For many Type A high achievers (yes, I’m talking to you), we start our careers with a clear picture of how our careers will play out. And even when it doesn’t all go exactly as planned, we are not phased because we have Plans B, C, and D at the ready. So what happens when we’ve climbed the traditional corporate ladder as far as we can go and exhausted all backup plans, or those plans no longer hold the same appeal they once did?

I’ll work through some ideas and options in this article, but first, the bullets below will help you determine if you are ready for something new in your career. 

These are signs that you are ready for a career change.

You are full of restless energy with a touch of irritation. This happens when your creativity is stifled, and your innovative ideas are shot down or hammered out until they don’t even faintly resemble the cool idea it once was. 

What excites others at work bores you to tears. This is almost like an out-of-body experience where everyone around you is so excited to start some big new thing, and all you can think about is how much longer this meeting will last or how much mindless work this will create. 

Even though you’ve checked off most of your career milestones, you still feel like there’s something more for you. You’ve got a great career. A level of living that is comfortable and allows you to take vacations regularly. But still, there’s a niggling feeling you should be doing something else. I call this an unfulfilled ambition.

You feel nothing for your job except exhaustion and anger. This one is probably the most difficult to work through because it involves lifestyle changes and professional therapy. Burnout in healthcare has been making headline news since COVID-19 and is an ongoing and very real issue for everyone in healthcare, not only the frontline workers. 

You may wonder what’s next; how do I determine my next step? Now, you get to define what that looks like for you. This is where the fun begins!

At this juncture, it may seem that the options are endless (which technically they are!); however, I can share with you…

the avenues that many of my 300+ healthcare leader clients over the years have chosen: 

New corporate job. Sometimes, all that is needed is a change of scenery. Perhaps it’s an organization that gets you away from a certain toxic person(s) (every workplace has at least one). This career change might come with a larger title or focus on the areas of your job you love the most. If you’ve been working in a large organization, this career change gives you time to assess where your priorities are and what you truly value in a workplace and pursue a position that aligns with who you are now. 

Consulting side gig. This is a good option if you want to start building a business while maintaining full-time employment. Often, I’ll work with clients during this phase as they determine what kind of business they are creating and how they want to be branded online. It’s the perfect solution if you are bored at work or are activating one of your many (aforementioned) long-term plans – except this plan is ultimately your exit strategy from corporate and into consulting. 

Small business start-up. Are you a go big or go home kind of person? Then this option may be for you. Or, if you have been secretly planning to start your own business all along and have earned enough over the lifetime of your career to quit your day job and invest yourself 150% in your new venture. I’ve also seen this option work exceptionally well for healthcare executives granted a severance package when they left their organization. This allows them to keep the day-to-day household expenses running while they launch their business.

Retirement and board service. This is for you if you have retirement on the brain but aren’t quite ready to retire in the traditional sense. You still have a lot to give back, and you can do this through ongoing board service and serving as an advisor and offering your expertise. This pairs nicely with the “consulting side gig” option too. It’s the best of both worlds. You get to work as much as you want but don’t face the same kind of expectations you did in your corporate role. 

You can move seamlessly between these options, depending on where you are at in your career and in your life. For example, you may transition into that next corporate role AND start developing your consulting side gig. None of these are either/or propositions. And as Type A high-achievers, we do love to have options.

If this article resonates with where you are in your career journey, I’d love to chat with you about it!