Finding a new career: what worked for you?

[DoltFromTheBlue]

Just wondering if anyone has come across any books, sites, questionnaires, tips, anything, that helped you work out what other careers might be suitable?

Have spent years in communications, so it is all I know, but I am so stale, I know I need a new direction. But I really feel like I know a tiny handful of the options - and don't feel particularly equipped to assess what a job would be REALLY like....

As ever, rather restricted by time-poor parenthood, lack of money for retraining and restrictions on hours because of childcare...

TIA

Could you look through job sites to see what's actually out there/what sounds interesting? It might be a springboard for other ideas.

Ironically I'd like to go into communications but not sure if it's possible as a second career - what do you think?

Re communications I would say absolutely. It is actually an ace job - something you can tie to an area that is your passion, quite creative, people oriented without needing to be customer service in style, and with potentially flexible hours.

Do U ever listen to the Radio 4 programme "In business", they often go talk to companies that have radically redefined what they do. It's eye-opening, you think it's a (for example) pencil-manufacturer but they have a completely different vision of what they provide. I think that's what I did in the end. I sort of reframed how I saw my skill set & found a job area that used many overlapping skills with scope to learn new stuff I thought I could manage to learn.

So I had 12 yrs work experience as X.
I redefined myself as Y.
I kept checking websites for jobs like Y.
And ironically ended up working for the same employer that I used to do X for but in a capacity as Z (which uses a lot of the Y skills).