I have a friend who had always dreamed of becoming an airline stewardess. After years of secretarial work, and in her early 40's, she decided to take the leap - the career change leap. Today she's approaching her 10th year as an airline stewardess and still living her dream. I've always envied her for that and wondered if I would have the courage to make a career change, should the opportunity arise.

I was satisfied with my position as a Sr. Human Resource Administrator in the pension and benefit area of Maytag Corporation. The office was conveniently close to my house and the job paid well. I would probably still be employed there today if not for the buyout by Whirlpool Corporation. Some time ago, I had read somewhere that every person will experience job loss at least once in their lifetime. I thought I was exempt from such an experience. Boy, was I wrong. I was permanently laid-off after 17 years of service and suddenly faced with choices AND a whole gamut of emotions fighting for position in my head. It dawned on me that I could now pursue my dream career, if only I knew what that was.

After straddling the fence for a couple of months, instead of climbing down to follow the path leading to safe and familiar places of employment, I chose to dive into the river of academics on the other side. It wasn't an easy decision. Uncertainty clung to me. What if I was too old? What if I didn't fit in? Would I pass my courses? Then, I remembered what a friend once told me. She said if you're facing a decision and you feel a sense of excitement along with fear, then it's your intuition telling you to go for it.

Well, I now knew I wanted to go back to school, but in what direction? I was surprised to find that I knew exactly which vocation I didn't want to pursue, but not a clue as to which one I would. I had taken some management courses in the past and finally settled on enrolling in the Management Program at Des Moines Area Community College.

It only took a few weeks into the semester for me to discover my passion for learning, doing research and composing written assignments. Since I had taken the first step towards this discovery, why not another? I found myself applying for the office manager position of the school newspaper and after claiming that spot for myself, I went on to write and publish an article about making the most of second chances. My next victory was to be voted in as the VP of Communication for the Management Club. Even though I had no prior experience, I wanted to do the newsletter in a bad way. Our chapter ended up placing first in state competition for our management newsletter. Needless to say I was thrilled! I soon discovered that each achievement is its own reward. This gave me the confidence to keep reaching outside my comfort zone. To one person it may mean an unpleasant task, while to me it was a means of achieving fulfillment. Along the way I also discovered that if I took 5 additional classes, I could obtain a Marketing degree as well. Therefore, I am pursuing a double major to be completed August of 2009.

I still have a year of school left in my two year stint at DMACC, but I am well on my way to flushing out my true calling. Awareness as to what that calling might be has been evolving all year by a process of patience, something I've never had, and my willingness to take advantage of every learning opportunity available to me. The ability to participate in the workshops that Tero has to offer has only added to my ever growing skills base.

I'd like to share other courses of action I've taken, which have assisted me in my career-seeking journey. They are:

1. Determine your strengths. There are many useful tools available, such as a book and on-line guide by Marcus Buckingham called, Now, Discover Your Strengths. Sometimes we don't see or realize our talents that are so apparent to others. Pay close attention to the compliments you receive. Don't take them lightly - those compliments may be a clue as to what your next career will be. Also, look at what you enjoyed as a child, chances are you still enjoy the same things as an adult, but didn't put them in the same category as a career.

2. Know your personality and communication style. Expert trainers at Tero are certified to administer the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality assessment.

3. Create a Vision Statement. Creating a Vision Statement will help you in acknowledging your values - values that will play a big part in determining your career choice, place of employment, and the culture you seek. Some of my values are: To be a life-long learner who pursues new experiences while challenging my children to do the same. To always finish what I start. To not compromise my pursuit for a career that will utilize my talents and one I look forward to every day, by a greed for monetary compensation.

4. Seek moral support of friends and family. Avoid naysayers.

5. Create a new resume that emphasizes your skills, experience, talents, dependability, and work ethic, not what type of job you had before. Before an interview, soft skills or interpersonal skills should be fine-tuned.

6. Create the perfect job description and look for careers that have those qualities.

7. Research the Occupational Handbook to see which careers are growing and which are declining.

8. Job-shadow, seek out volunteer opportunities, find a mentor, and ask lots of questions to discover your next career choice.

9. Read every book and article you can find on areas of interest, persons who have made career changes, as well as, self-motivation.

10. Take a class. If actively employed, take a night class of something totally unrelated to what you're doing now, but that you're curious about. I took three semesters of Spanish to begin with and hope to take a fourth semester someday.

11. Pursue an internship. Having the opportunity to intern in a small organization, when I've always worked in a large organization, has given me new perspective into which atmosphere I prefer.

12. Listen. Deb Rinner, one of the trainers at Tero, said something that to me was very profound. She said that when she was changing careers, she looked at what experiences and skills she wanted to take with her and which ones to leave behind. I am taking that advice to heart.

I'm sure my list will get longer, but these are the Aha's that so far have been very helpful.

Motivators for me are inspirational messages or quotes. I can't get enough of them. As a matter of fact, I have several stenciled on the walls throughout my house. My favorite is the one to be found on the wall above my desk. It says Never stop learning - as if I could! Another quote I have on my wall is by an unknown author. It says, Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift - that's why it's called the present.

There is no time like the present. If you're contemplating a career change, then think about this - if you didn't know your age, how old do you think you are? I think I'm 35 - not too late for a career change!

Julie VanCleave is an intern at Tero International, Inc.