Coming to the realisation that you’re on the wrong career path and that the job you’ve worked so hard to get isn’t for you is a tough thing to admit.

Years of studying, late nights at the office and slowly climbing every rung of the career ladder then not enjoying what you do can be heart breaking. You feel that all the effort and hard work you’ve put in has been a complete waste of your time and that in a way you’ve bought this on yourself.

But this really isn’t the way you should be looking at the situation.

There’s no such thing as a wasted skill or qualification in my eyes and there’s absolutely no shame in switching tracks later on in the game.

In fact, many top CEO’s and corporate executives started off in completely different roles and industries before moving to their ideal career.

So really what you need to ask yourself is if the job itself is making you question your original goals or is it the industry you work in? Many skills are easily transferrable in today’s competitive job market and employers are far more open to the idea of hiring a candidate from a different industry as this type of candidate often brings a fresh perspective to the role rather than a ‘this is how I did it in my old job’ approach.

As for looking at a completely new role, you’d be surprised at the high degree of cross-over a lot of jobs have.

For example, sales and customer service roles might seem unrelated at first, but when you consider that they both contain high levels of people skills, persuasiveness and the ability to gauge what the customer needs and effectively satisfy that need then they more closely linked than you might think.

So don’t worry, all is not lost! You just need to change your perspective before you consider changing your career path.

For expert help and support, contact one of our recruitment consultants on 01782 338787 for professional career advice.