Tips for changing your career in 2025
If one of your 2025 goals is to start or change careers, here's how to navigate the transition without fear.
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Nokukhanya Mntambo speaks to Judy Klipin, author and career coach.
Listen below.
For young people starting their careers, Klipin recommends seeing it as a journey, not a destination. It's okay to have multiple careers, instead of staying in one job your entire life.
"We need to remember that career choices are almost like a journey, not a destination. We see a very clear shift from people that's in a job for life, to rather focusing on multiple careers... people must release themselves from that pressure, because it's unnecessary at 16 or 18 years old to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life."
- Judy Klipin, Career coach
For young people picking their subjects, choose what you're aiming to do and choose subjects that energise you rather than only focusing on what you're good at, advises Klipin.
"You might be good at a subject but it's not energizing you. So, as soon as you focus on where your energy is coming from, that's usually an indication of the focus area."
- Judy Klipin, Career coach
For those planning on changing their career or taking a leap to start a new venture on their own, Klipin recommends this practical exercise...
- Make a list of the activities you've done during a workday and where you felt like you lost time and felt like you didn't have to look back at the clock to count down the minutes to leave work. Make a note of those activities and do more of them.
"Tasks that make time feel like it flew by might be your strength. It might be useful to see which roles in your current environment are also roles that match your natural talent," says Klipin.
If you have some fear around shifting careers, Klipin says it could be helpful to reach out to a mentor in the industry and ask for a virtual chat or coffee meet-up to hear about resources, successes, failures and coaching opportunities in the job you're interested in.
If you want to shift careers or become an entrepreneur, Klipin recommends saving enough money to carry you through your search-for-work period.
Klipin says six months' salary upfront is usually the ballpark figure of how much you should have saved before leaving a job without stepping into something new.
"Take the leap of faith and see every step along the way as a learning opportunity because there's no benefit staying in a role that doesn't benefit you," says Klipin.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.