Ask Vicki: What's the best way to make a career change when you’re comfortable with your current job?

Vicki Salemi

Each week, Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi—a former recruiter who utilizes 15-plus years of experience in recruiting and human resources to empower job seekers—answers user questions on Quora. We’ll be republishing the answers here. If you have a question for Vicki, send it to socialmedia@monster.com.

Q. What's the best way to make a career change when you’re comfortable with your current job?

A. The best way to make a career change when you’re comfortable with your current job is to start exploring!

Being comfortable with your work situation is a blessing and a curse. First, the good news: You’re not in an anxious, gotta-get-a-new-job-by-yesterday kind of place. You’re employed and not in such a dire situation that you’d accept the first job offer that comes along.

The bad news? Not having a sense of urgency can eventually turn into complacency, which may lead you to hit a career plateau.

Make a commitment to put action items on your calendar. If you’re thinking about changing career paths and doing something completely different, reach out to people in your network who can put you in touch with people who are doing what you aspire to be doing.

If you don’t know what career you want to transition into, that’s OK too. Leverage this time to have insightful conversations with your contacts. Have at least two monthly meetings with people with the goal of learning about a variety of positions and industries.

The more you speak with people, the more you’ll discover possible fields of interest. From there, immerse yourself in industry knowledge (attend industry conferences, read the latest headlines, get active on social media), and you’ll make more and more headway down your new path.

Read Vicki Salemi's answer to "What's the best way to make a career change when you're comfortable with your current job?" on Quora.