Work takes up a big part of our lives, making it critical to love what we do.  It's important to see what career opportunities exist to see if the grass is truly greener.  It's easy to get overwhelmed wondering where to start.  Our goal at Executive Casting is to provide you with the tools, resources and professional assistance to find your dream job and avoid the confusion associated with a career change.  The first step is making sure you have a clear picture of the "Top 5 Items to Consider in a Career Change."

THE TOP 5 ITEMS TO CONSIDER IN A CAREER CHANGE  

1)  Location:  Before beginning a search, determine if you are rooted into your current city or open to relocation for the right opportunity.  This is an important conversation to have with those closest to you, since this can make or break a potential job offer.  If a potential position requires relocation, research the area to ensure you could see yourself living there.  How are the schools? Will you enjoy the weather?  Is the cost of living better or worse?

 *One tool we recommend checking out is CNN Money's Cost of Living Calculator.*

2)  Company Culture:  This is often overlooked when considering a new company, but according to an article from the Harvard Business Review, Company Culture Matters.  A great starting point is to make a list of items that are important to you in a workplace and compare it to your potential companies.

*Glassdoor is an excellent resource to provide unfiltered insight into a company's culture.*

3)  Position:  You may be satisfied with your current job, but are eager for a new challenge or change of scenery.  Establish what's important in a job description by organizing a list of pros and cons early to streamline your job search.  Keep in mind, nothing is set in stone that says you must advance in title to move to a better opportunity.  

4)  Time-frame:  How fast are you looking to transition into a new position?  Are you able to provide a 2-week notice once you have accepted the offer or are you waiting for a bonus that may extend your new start date 6 weeks?  Nail down a timeline before looking for opportunities since hiring managers may have already been searching for the right candidate for months and aren't willing to extend their search an additional 4 weeks. 

5)  Pay:  This is an important piece of the puzzle, but not the only factor, since the four other items play a critical role along with pay.  Determine if you are willing to take a pay cut for the change you are looking for (i.e. growth opportunity, a start-up environment, a better company culture, etc).  If not, decide what compensation and incentives are important enough to make the decision to move to a new company and potentially location.  

*Glassdoor offers an excellent "personal salary estimator" to give you a great starting point when determining your compensation needs.*

Once you've gone through your checklist and are confident in your answers, reach out to a recruiter  to start doing the work for you.  Think of a recruiter as a real-estate agent for your career; they have jobs available that aren't available on job boards as well as a direct link to the hiring managers. 

                Tony Gulley is the Managing Partner of Executive Casting.