Last week I met with a mid-career female who is in a job search.  She asked me what I thought of the concept of ‘reinventing yourself.’ Specifically, she wanted to discuss the pros and cons of reinvention.  I had never been asked this question before so it took me a few moments to formulate an answer.  And, I’m not sure I answered her question because I simply told her that I was on my fourth career, but I never considered these career changes as reinventing myself.  Instead, I see my own career changes as a journey of discovery and growth.  Whenever I realized that I was not happy, not learning, or not making a meaningful and positive difference in the world around me, I knew it was time to move on.

For some people, the idea of reinvention seems huge, daunting, and a scary proposition.  These folks may be thinking, “I’ve put a lot of time and energy into building this career and I can’t just throw it all away and start over.”  That is certainly one perspective, but there are plenty of others.  Here’s one that might just help someone move forward instead of staying stuck in the comfort zone: “I’ve learned so much in this career and I’ve gained competencies and strengths that can help me successfully transition to another area that really interests me.”

Think about some well-known people who have reinvented themselves.  Every former US President has had to reinvent himself after leaving office.  The same can be said of famous athletes who retire from professional sports.  As they transition into philanthropy or business or whatever, they build on their existing foundation of experience, skills, and knowledge.  Imagine you are a one story building and you want to be a two story building.  If you have a strong foundation, you can build a second story on top of the first one.  You don’t have to tear down the house and construct an entirely new two story structure.

We all need to get comfortable with the idea of reinvention because the days of staying in the same job, same company, and/or same profession for a working lifetime are long gone.  In fact, young people entering the workforce today will likely have four or five different careers and dozens of different jobs over their working life.

Regardless of your age and career stage, you can reinvent yourself.  Enjoy the journey!