Is it time for a change?
Photographs: Unsplash
Text: Leslea Petersen
The great thing about a new year is the endless possibilities it can bring as you say goodbye to 2024 and embrace 2025 as a fresh start. ‘New Year, new you’ is a cliché, but does it resonate?
Life takes unexpected turns
Life doesn’t always go the way you had planned. Your role might have been recently made redundant or you have been in the same job for years but feel unfulfilled.
In 2018, an unexpected redundancy brought me back to the job market. This gave me time to reassess what I wanted to do next in my career, so I invested in some coaching. This gave me insight into an area where I could help others, use my transferable skills, and share what I had learned as a job seeker. Ultimately, English Job Denmark was born.
I have never loved a job more, and yet, I couldn’t do what I do now without having gone through my career journey in Denmark. All those difficult experiences can prepare you for change—and change for good!
What are the signs in your job that it’s time for a new start?
Your company isn’t investing in you—there’s no training or upskilling, yet you see others being given the opportunity.
You are generally bored. I need to love what I write about, and some of my experiences have had me yawning throughout the day.
You feel drained after a day’s work and unfulfilled in your role.
If you don’t like or respect your boss, it can be challenging to stay motivated when you are on their team.
You feel sick to your stomach on a Monday morning and dread going to work. There is nothing worse—I have been there and lived through it.
You are ambitious and want to grow, but there is no career progression.
As an international, you feel excluded as your colleagues switch to Danish, and you don’t feel confident in the language yet.
And the worst one still, your physical or mental health is suffering.
If any of the above hits a nerve, then what can you do next?
What is your motivation? What do you enjoy, if anything, in your current role? What skills can you transfer into a new role?
Start with recognising what is your dream job? List your current skills and what satisfies you. Research any of the transferable skills and what type of role would include them? Then, ask people you know in that field or research the job type on LinkedIn and see who is doing it now to gain a clearer picture of the role and if this is indeed what you are aiming for. This will take time and a lot of research.
Having a clearer picture of the role, you can then set some clear goals.
Give yourself a timeline for pivoting your career. You will need to ‘rebrand’ yourself on LinkedIn and in your job applications.
Where can you upskill, or what courses can you do to bolster your profile?
What can you highlight from your previous career on your LinkedIn profile? Go through your experience and minimise what is no longer relevant, but develop key expertise and knowledge that will help build your new profile.
Explain your ‘why’ for shifting career and explain what you can bring to the new role and what the company can gain by hiring you.
Once you feel confident in your new LinkedIn profile and rebranded CV, get your elevator pitch ready.
You can now network with confidence and reach out to organisations that will be a great fit.
Changing your career requires not only courage but also time and, sometimes, coaching. You are not a new graduate, and in Denmark, you can’t start at the bottom and work your way up.
You have so much to offer and hone your profile to reflect this. Why not start 2025 in a career that brings fulfilment? It is worth the effort, I can assure you!