Planning for a New Career

By Ruth Manimtim-Floresca

Career changes happen for various reasons. Some switch jobs because they are not satisfied with the pay, or don’t get along well with their coworkers/bosses. Some feel that they need to grow professionally outside their present company or current industry while others simply lose their jobs. Whatever the causes, a new career can be a good thing if you know how to plan for it.

Here, Yay Padua-Olmedo, author of two work-related books, shares five tips people wanting to have a new career may find useful:

1. Venture into something you love doing, otherwise, you will not last a mile. Olmedo, a former corporate executive whose background revolves around three disciplines: advertising, marketing, and public relations, took her former company’s offer for early retirement and set up her own company. “I became my own writer and creative and production director. I orchestrated everything from concept to production,” she shares.
2. If your new career requires you to invest your savings, make certain to keep some for your own future needs like health, insurance, etc. “Part of what I earn today, no matter how small compared to what I used to receive, is invested and saved. Part of it is also reserved for some leisure activities like travel to visit our children who live overseas,” reveals Olmedo. “I’ve also always believed in tithing (giving back 10% of what you earn to God through the church) and reserving some for charities. God does not ask for much and He gives back to you anyway even more than you need.”
3. Be in a place where you can share your experience with young blood so you can replic ate yourself. If you’ve been in the corporate setting for some time, you have the opportunity to pass on that wealth of knowledge to others. In Olmedo’s case, she also teaches advertising, marketing, and public relations subjects to students at Southville Foreign University in Las Pinas City.
4. Make sure you’re sensitive to God’s purpose in your life. “I realized I went into teaching to make a difference in young people’s lives. Since I joined the University, I’ve been acquainted with teenagers who do not have a sense of what they’re doing or their own purpose in life. A lot of them are just going through the motions.” As a result, Olmedo was led to write a book for college students entitled “Sorry to Burst Your Bubble: Life Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Dreamer,” published by New Day Publishers. “[It] was written to let them realize that they have a purpose, that they can dream and that they need to have the integrity of heart to pursue whatever their calling.
5. And because you’re older and, hopefully, wiser in your new career, ensure that your wisdom influences more lives than usual. After her first book, Olmedo next wrote “Going Up: Making Right Choices at Work,” published by OMF Literature, to assure yuppies that they can move up in the corporate ladder without compromising their sense of purpose and values. Olmedo currently conducts seminars for various groups to encourage them that promotion comes easily to those who persevere but are also faithful to put their abilities and talents to good use.