Makeovers on television shows and in magazines are enticing for women the world over. Of course the reason they are so popular is because the idea of a fresh start in life is a golden key we have all dreamt about at one time or another. No matter what their life is like, everyone has something they wish could be different – their home, their body, their friends, and even their career.

Career makeovers are not a new concept and making over your career will automatically set a chain reaction in motion that will affect all aspects of your life, particularly those that are unsatisfactory.

If you’ve ever changed jobs or industries, worked with a recruiter, drafted a new resume or pursued additional education to increase your job prospects or opportunities, you’ve already taken steps to improve or ‘make over’ your career.

Here are some ideas to help you take your career makeover to a whole new level!

1. Look inside yourself
How do you perceive yourself? Are you confident? Do you like yourself? Are you proud of your accomplishments? What is your attitude to life, on working, on the value that you bring to your job? How do you feel about your career? Do you feel in control of your future?

Before this happens it is probably best that you start looking for a new position. It’s a difficult choice to make, but ultimately it’s up to you to set boundaries around what types of treatment you will accept from others – including your employer. If you can’t achieve work-life balance in your current job, you will never be able to give it your best, simply because you will not be at your best, which in turn will affect your future career prospects.

3. Get your relationships in check
They say birds of a feather flock together. Are your friends dragging you down? When I was told by a naturopath my friends were holding me back when I was in my early 20s, I was VERY angry with him and protective of my friends. But a year later when I had taken a grip of my life and moved on, I realised he had been completely right!

Is your network of friends and associates supportive of you and your goals, or are they constantly telling you that your dreams are too lofty? Do they drag you into their gossip or do they inspire you with thoughtful conversation? Your ambition can be affected by the people around you and, because of this, your personal and professional relationships will have a tremendous influence on your career success.

Therefore, to get your relationships in check, evaluate your friendships and acquaintances. It might be time to start gently letting go of some of the relationships that aren’t serving you, which will allow you to fill the empty spaces with new friends who will support you.

Make sure you’re forging relationships with the people who see your value, and surround yourself with mentors who are helpful in assisting you to move forward.

4. Begin with a vision
Having an idea of where you want to go is one of the most important steps in your career makeover. Until you know where you want to be or what you want to have, it’s impossible to decide on the correct steps to get you there.

How do you envision your ideal life? What type of job would make you happy? What brings you the most joy? What type of position would you like to see yourself working in five years’ time?

Give yourself permission to think about what you really want; dare to dream a little. Remember what seems impossible today is only so because you haven’t had the opportunity to break the journey from here to there down into manageable chunks.

Now you are ready to start working on your career makeover.

5. Be the change
Once you have a vision of what you think you might want, it’s time to assess where you are now. What are your strengths and your weaknesses? What skills do you have? Which ones will you need in order to achieve your career vision?

You need to know where you are in relation to where you want to be; the rest is about managing the ‘gap’ in between. Here is where the career makeover really takes place and this is the secret to making it possible.

6. Start at the end and work backwards
Imagine you have your dream job and are living your dream life. What was the final step you had to take to make this all possible? Now what was the step before that? Work this process through until you arrive back at where you are today.