A writer’s guide to career reinvention

Are you ready for a change?

If you’ve been thinking of jumping out of your current occupation and into a new one – like freelancing – here’s a little inspiration.

From December to February, I helped produce Reinvent Yourself, a series on career reinvention for BlogHer, the women’s blog network (Editor’s Note: I’m also a member of BlogHer’s advertising network).

For the series, I solicited career coaches to write posts for the series sharing advice with women in their 40s and 50s who were thinking about making a major change in their work lives, either switching professions, starting a business or going back to school or work after a long break.

I also trolled through the voluminous network of BlogHer blogs and members to find women who had gone through significant career changes and were willing to share first-hand accounts of their transformations.

And what stories. I met one woman who’d gone from helping run Starbucks’ human resources department to running her own recruiting and coaching business, another who switched from brokering high-stakes deals in the tech business to running a cattle ranch with her husband, and yet another who traded work as a dental hygienist to answer a higher calling to be a chaplain.

The experience taught me that you can do just about anything if you’re willing to sacrifice and work hard. The other key ingredient in successful career transformations is ignoring the little voice in your head that says “Are you kidding, you can’t do that!” and powering through anyway.

Freelance writers are all too familiar with that little voice, the one that often stops us from stepping out of our comfort zone to pursue projects or publications that seem out of reach but on closer inspection are eminently doable if we’d just give ourselves permission to go for it.

So, in the name of pushing you out of your own comfort zone, here are sharing links to some of my favorite posts from the Reinvent Yourself series, with the hopes that you’ll find them as inspiring as I did.

From the Recareering Coach – advice from career experts

• 4 Steps to Identifying Your True Calling
• 9 Resources for Mid-Life Job Hunters
• Mission Driven: Transitioning to a Nonprofit Career
• Gaining the Skills for a New Career
• Are You an Entrepreneur? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions Before Taking the Plunge
• Career Networking Etiquette in the Facebook Age

My Career Makeover – first-person accounts from career changers

• A Career 180: From Software Exec to Ranch Owner
• Called to a Second Career as a Chaplain
• Can Blogging Help You Reinvent Your Career (WordCount readers know the answer to this – yes!)
• My Career Switch from Marketing to SAHM to Yoga Teacher
• A Career Change from Expat to B&B Owner (from blogger and multi-year WordCount Blogathon participantAlexandra Grabbe)
• How Social Media Helped Me Change Careers