Exit Strategy

When you know what job or career you want, how do you do it? Obviously you want to move to a new job or a new career as safely as possible. So what’s the best method of doing this? It’s important to keep in mind the time and risk elements involved in your decision. Here are four exit strategies to choose from. Which one suits you best? 

  • Parallel Changeover - this is when changes happen simultaneously. This is suitable for anyone hoping to start working for themselves or start a business.  It’s low risk but can be time consuming.
  • Direct Changeover - this is when you changeover immediately. You have to be sure that you are financially stable to use this type of strategy. It's high risk but very time efficient.
  • Phased Changeover - this involves changing one step at a time. It is often suitable for people who need to upskill or do a course before changing careers. Studying in the evening while working during the day gives them financial stability while improving career prospects. It can be time consuming but is financially low risk.
  • Pilot Changeover - This involves carrying out sample experiments or 'pilots’ before you start to change. This is low risk but also can time consuming. 

Sample experiments give you the opportunity to try out your new work before you decide to do it. They are essential to minimising risk and giving yourself a taste for what your new work will be like. They are very beneficial because

  1. If you like it, then you know that that’s what you want to do
  2. If you like it to some extent but not completely, then you know that you are getting closer but you have to keep searching
  3. And if you don’t like it at all, you know you have to change direction and try something else

Decide on small tasks which will give you a flavour for your new work before you commit to it. A couple of examples would be to:

  1. Do the desired work for a day or a week if possible,
  2. Ask someone currently doing the work if you could shadow them for a few hours.
  3. Watch videos about the profession and what it involves
  4. Read books about it - amazon.com is great for finding essential reading on any subject
  5. Do a short course online or in person
  6. Or simply talk to someone who has the job that you’re interested in

Out of all those suggestions, I definitely think that the best one is to do the work yourself, if possible. Then you will know whether or not your like it. The more practical you can make your mini-experiments, the better.

Finally, what sort of sample-experiments would you like to do for yourself? And what sort of changeover strategy will best suit you and your lifestyle? 

CAREERRonan Kennedy