As a career consultant/coach, I am often asked: "Is it time for me to make a career change?" My response invariably is: "To do what?" And, more importantly, "Why?"

I am reminded of the exchange between Alice-in-Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat. To paraphrase, Alice asks: "How do I get out of here?" The Cat responds: "Where do you want to go?" Alice says: "It really doesn't matter." The Cat replies: "Then any road will take you there."

Where am I now?
Most of us really haven't "managed" our careers. This is true whether we are early-in-career, mid-career or for that matter, later in our career. We completed our education, which may or may not have had a career focus, then tried to find a job that would utilize our skills and preparation, and provide the rewards we were seeking. And we did all that with limited knowledge of what the wide world of work and options really looked like at that time.

We may or may not have been successful in landing a "good fit" job at the outset. Remember the old paradox - the Cat in effect says: "This job requires experience"; Alice, in effect asks: "Then how do I get experience, if no one will give me a job because I don't have any experience?"

Most of us started our careers by simply starting where we could. After that, we just kept putting one foot in front of the other. As long as we did not encounter major obstacles in our path, we just kept on keeping on.

Some of us, by good planning - or luck - or both, selected the right path. Others of us met someone along the path (a great manager, a friend, a coach) who guided us to an alternate path that was a better route to where we wanted to go. We may have gone back to school for technical training, perhaps higher education, or we took another kind of job to gain the experience to better position us for an alternate path. If that happened, it is likely that we - wittingly or not - had some sense of our destination/goal/objective - to be on a path headed in the right direction.

Some of us have now reached the end of the path we were on. Our job was eliminated due to organizational restructuring or downsizing. We were at a 'dot.com', when the bubble burst. As much as we hoped/wished that the suboptimal job we started would work out, it just hasn't. Now what?

Is It Time For a Career Change?
The best way to determine whether it's time to change careers is to start with a rigorous self-assessment; what are my skills, my personality/temperament, behavioral characteristics, my interests, my values, my motivations. What really intrigues me, gratifies me, gives me a sense of real contribution - AND is fun!

Too often when contemplating change, the first consideration for many, is what are the external options. The world is full of options - obviously not all of them are appropriate for any of us. It wasn't that long ago when all the B-school grads wanted investment banking; then entrepreneuring was the rage; even more recently was the stampede to catch the dot.com start-up wave. The grass is always greener somewhere else. I agree with Erma Bombeck - the only place the grass is always greener is over the septic tank.

Each of us has gifts - unique strengths, personal qualities and characteristics, special talents that differentiate us from any other person on the planet. Wouldn't it be great to be able to identify these, to have the confidence and ability to articulate them, and then proactively approach the market telling prospective employers what makes us special, what unique contributions we could make, and the value of that to them.

Increasingly, I am seeing and talking to people who want to proactively take control of their careers from a strategic perspective. Think about it for a minute. It's pretty clear that the "world of work" is volatile and not always "user friendly." Further, that world does not necessarily operate either on your career/family timetable or with your best interests in mind.

What Can I Do About It?
If you possibly can, start with an objective, professionally guided self-assessment, preferably not when you or your company is in trouble, but NOW when things are going "well"-or are they?

At a minimum, seek out resources that are available to you. Check out your school's Alumni Placement Office, or your college Career Development center. What assessment instruments are available to you-on-line or otherwise: instruments such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DISC, Campbell Preference instruments, LifeStyles Inventory, FIRO-B, etc.

Read! There are lots of titles out there, some better than others. For openers, check out William Bridges' Job Shift, Managing Transitions and Creating You & Co. Still one of the best resources is Dick Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?

Talk to people, lots of people. Let them know what you are thinking about. Tell them what you are doing. Seek their advice; ask for referrals to others who could be helpful. If you possibly can, find a "career coach". A good source is the IACMP website (www.iacmp.org).

—Ed Kelleher, founder of Kelleher Associates, Inc., is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the International Association of Career Management Professionals (IACMP). Kelleher Associates, Inc. is a unique Human Resource consulting firm specializing in career management including corporate outplacement, executive coaching and individual career management.