How to Start Over

Introduction

At some point or other, we’ve all wished we could simply press a great big reset button on our career and start over. We’d make better choices, follow the right path, take that risk, do it all so much better. Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.

Sometimes that reset is impossible. Other times it is not just possible but necessary. Global circumstances, economic pressures and technological advances have left some industries redundant, with others soon to join them –– the dodo has become somewhat of a business trendsetter. A number of workers will need to retrain if not now then soon. Others simply may want a refresh, following either their passions or the money to pastures new. Either way, awaiting them is the prospect of starting again –– a mammoth task but an achievable one.

The numbers

In December 2022, LinkedIn and CensusWide asked more than 2,000 U.S. workers about their professional plans for the coming year. It found that 72% of Gen Zers and 66% of millennials were considering changing careers. For Gen X and baby boomers the numbers were 55% and 30% respectively [1]. Meanwhile, a Microsoft survey from 2021 found that over 41% of workers were considering quitting or changing professions that year. [2]

That’s a lot of people pondering a fresh start. This article will delve into why they might want one –– and how they should go about getting it.

The why: Professional stagnation

A timeless reason for which one might want to start over is professional stagnation. Professional stagnation can affect individuals or even entire businesses. On a corporate level, stagnation tends to occur when a business fails to innovate or adapt to market changes, leading to declining profitability and market share. As an example, during the pandemic, we all bore witness to just how quickly a once stable company can fall behind if they fail to freshen things up. Many businesses were forced to make a tough choice: adapt or die.

For individuals, professional stagnation might manifest as a lack of career progression or job satisfaction. According to a report by Gallup, only 33% of employees in the US feel engaged at work [3]. The rest feel disconnected from their jobs and are looking for new opportunities. In Ireland, workers report higher-than-average job dissatisfaction rates compared to other European countries. A 2020 survey by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that 30% of Irish employees felt underutilised in their roles, leading to disengagement and stagnation [4]. The need to start over, either by switching jobs, upskilling, or transforming business practices, is often driven by the desire to break free from these unproductive cycles.

The why: Business failure

Another common reason for starting over is business failure. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. By the end of the second year, 30% will have failed. By the end of the fifth year, about half will have failed [5]. In Ireland, Limerick Chamber of Commerce president, Kieran MacSweeney, a former senior vice-president of US technology multinational Avocent, says that “80% of traditional start-ups fail because they don’t have the necessary blend of technical, entrepreneurial and management skills. Typically 40% of these businesses will even fail in the first year of operations; 80% of those that survive the first five years will fail in the second five.” [6]

In other words, failure is pretty common, and while it can be disheartening, failure also presents an opportunity to learn from mistakes and start over with a more informed perspective. The willingness to start anew, even after a setback, is a hallmark of resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. As Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently” [7].Or, as the legendary Italian Stallion put it, “It ain’t about hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

The why: Personal fulfilment

For individuals, the decision to start over often stems from a lack of personal or professional fulfilment. The truth is a lot of people leave school or university unsure what they want to do with their lives. Oftentimes they get the first job they can because there are bills to be paid. Before they know it, they feel trapped on a career ladder they never wanted to climb and are either too prideful to take a lower rung on an adjacent ladder or too afraid to make a leap that might see them fall.

It can feel overwhelming changing careers. But it shouldn’t. According to the US Department of Labor, the average person will change careers 5-7 times during their working life. Approximately 30% of the total workforce will change jobs every 12 months. [8]

The great appeal of starting over, whether by changing careers or launching a new business, is that it provides us with an opportunity to finally align our work with our passions and values. Sometimes that means taking a pay cut to enter a new sphere and start from the bottom or even to return to studying. The hope, though, is that these sacrifices prove worth it in the name of waking up everyday with the knowledge that what awaits you is a job you love, not a desk that long ago started to feel like a prison.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University, writes in Harvard Business Review that all job pivots boil down to our ‘professional identity’.

“Our identity is influenced not just by our past work experiences,” he says, “but also by our projected ones. When we feel that we are headed in a direction that is not congruent with our self-concept, such that our perceived “actual self” is out of sync with our “ideal self,” we are motivated to take action and change.” [9]

In recent years, it’s often the case that workers are looking to start again in industries or roles that emphasise social good, sustainability, and personal well-being. People want to feel like they are contributing to a better tomorrow, or at least not towards worsening today.

The why: Tech take-over

Herminia Ibarra of the London Business School divides the causes for professional change at the individual level into two key categories: situational drivers and personal drivers [10]. We’ve already spoken about the personal drivers, but situational drivers are just as prominent. One of the core situational drivers behind a professional pivot or fresh start in today’s world is job displacement brought about by technological advancements, especially AI.

According to one report from Goldman Sachs, AI could potentially replace the equivalent of 300 million jobs globally [11]. Around 30% of Irish employment is in occupations that are negatively exposed to the impact of artificial intelligence, according to a number of new reports from the Department of Finance and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment [12].

We’re already seeing a greater number of tasks fall under AI’s remit. And while there are very few jobs that are entirely safe from undergoing a technological takeover, there are some that are more safe than others. As such, in recent years a number of people have decided to pivot their career to an industry a little further away from AI’s clutches.

The how: Learning from past mistakes

For those who are shifting careers in the wake of some professional or personal failure, an integral part of starting over is the ability to learn from whatever past mistakes brought you here in the first place. How we react to failure says a lot about who we are –– and it can be the thing that sets us apart. Rather than viewing failure as a dead-end, successful entrepreneurs are often the ones that see it as a learning experience. This mindset is crucial for personal and professional growth. As Steve Jobs put it: “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” [13]

A report by Enterprise Ireland found that only 10% of failed Irish entrepreneurs attempt to launch a second business. Yet globally, nearly 60% of CEOs who have founded a startup valued at $1B+ have past founder experience [14]. It’s vital to not give up after the first setback. Very few successful people were that way from the start. Failure is a necessary step to success. To succeed without having first gone through failure and learnt from it, emerging with the scars, is only likely to set one up for a greater failure down the line when the stakes are higher. It’s best to get our failures out the way when the stakes are as low as possible.

The how: Assessing the situation

Before taking the first steps in any new direction, ask yourself some questions. Why is it you want to change careers? Is it that you’ve been forced out of your old one and just want money or that you want to pursue your passion? Do you have connections already in that world that you could reach out to? Will you need to study –– a full degree or a diploma? What transferable skills do you have? Why do you want to pursue this new venture?

Allowing yourself a period of self-assessment is vital to ensure you head in the right direction moving forward. If you don’t trust your own judgement to be objective, reach out to others. That could be through skills audits or consultations with career coaches or by reaching out to former bosses and colleagues for feedback. Is there someone in the field you’re joining that inspires you whom you could reach out to for help? Why not capitalise on their knowledge, or even lean on them as a mentor figure –– 97% of individuals with a mentor say they find the experience to be a valuable one [15].

There’s no point jumping into your new career in a kamikaze fashion. Take the time to make sure that you know why you’re doing what you’re doing and where it is you want to go.

The how: Setting clear goals

After you’ve assessed your circumstances, it’s time to set clear, achievable goals. For businesses, this could mean expanding into new markets, adopting new technologies, or focusing on customer satisfaction. In Ireland, many businesses have turned to digital transformation to adapt to the post-pandemic economy. According to a survey published in the Irish Times, 98% of business leaders said technology played a key role in navigating the pandemic, while 68% said they had shortened the target window for digital transformation. [16]

On a personal level, setting goals for career development or personal fulfilment is just as important. Make your goals SMART and build habits. Remember, it’s about getting 1% every day, not biting off more than you can chew.

The how: Monitoring progress and adjusting

Once you’ve got your plan in place, it’s time to take action. But the hard work doesn’t stop there. Starting over is not a linear process –– it requires regular monitoring and adaptability to make adjustments as you go along. Track your performance, review your goals, and consistently evaluate your progress. Getting on the right path is hard. Staying on it is harder still.

How to start over

Starting over is a difficult but achievable task. Whatever your motive for starting afresh, be it professional stagnation, business failure, or personal dissatisfaction, the decision to start over requires careful consideration if you are to eventually find yourself in a better, more fulfilling place. By undertaking a process of self-reflection, setting clear goals, building a support system, and regularly monitoring your progress so as to keep yourself from straying from the path, we can start over and emerge stronger and more successful on the other side.