How to Get Past the Overwhelm of Thinking About “Job Change”

Whyever you’re considering a job change, one thing’s for sure: the moment you open that door, overwhelm can come a’burstin’ in and slow you wayyy down.

Suddenly, you’re drowning in questions:

• What if I make the wrong move?

• Am I even qualified for something else?

• Do I really want to start over?

• Why does my resume look like I wrote it in 2014?

• Should I just suck it up and stay?

Cut to: you're spiraling, doing absolutely nothing, and convincing yourself that binge-watching another season of Below Deck is a better use of your time. (It’s not a BAD use of your time, let’s be clear 😉 but let’s also get you through that overwhelm.)

Why, Overwhelm, Why?

The reason changing jobs feels so overwhelming isn’t just because of all the decisions involved—it’s because your brain sees uncertainty and immediately panics.

Your mind doesn’t like the unknown. It wants guarantees. It wants to know for sure that you’ll end up somewhere better.

And because you can’t predict the future (sadly, we’re not psychics), your brain decides to keep you stuck in analysis paralysis (or just maintaining the status quo) instead.

How to Get Unstuck and Start Moving

If you’re feeling overwhelmed about making a job change, here’s what you need to do:

1. Stop Trying to Solve the Whole Thing at Once

Thinking about every possible step—rewriting your resume, job searching, networking, interviews, negotiating—at the same time? Recipe for shutdown. Instead, break it down:

• Today, just update one section of your resume.

• Tomorrow, spend 15 minutes looking at job postings.

• Next week, reach out to one person in your network.

You don’t have to do everything all at once. And that’s GREAT NEWS because — you can’t.

Take comfort in the fact that the best way forward — “just take the next step” — is also the only way.

2. Focus on What You Do Know

Your brain loves to fixate on the unknowns (What if I hate my new job?!…et…cet…era.). But let’s shift the focus:

• What do you know about what you want?

• What kind of work lights you up?

• What are your non-negotiables?

You don’t need 100% certainty to move forward. You just need enough clarity to take action.

Spoiler: This will likely appear to your mind as “not enough information,” which is a-ok. We’re not pretending you have all the answers. But we are no longer discounting any information you have.

You DO have things to go on. Look at them. Own them. Write ‘em down.

3. Make a Decision and Adjust as You Go

The truth is, most decisions aren’t permanent. You can take a new job and realize it’s not the right fit—and guess what? You can make another move.

Does this feel like you’re gambling with your future? To your stressed out nervous system, well…it might, yeah.

But we’re not saying “Leap off a cliff! You can always go to the hospital if you break all your legs!” like it won’t hurt.

We’re saying it’s time to give yourself more credit for your resilience (aka your ability to handle and respond to things not going exactly how you want down the road) and it’s time to stop asking the impossible from yourself (guarantees about how things “definitely will go”).

4. Stop Waiting to Feel “Ready”

Truth time: You’re never going to feel 100% ready.

Actually — let me rephrase that.

You might never feel 100% ready until you are so far beyond your own boundaries of how bad you can feel but still get up in the morning that you feel like you have absolutely no choice but to quit on a dime the next time someone eats your yogurt or a sassy email comes in.

So. You know. If you don’t want to get to that point…chances are you won’t feel 100% ready to make a move.

Confidence comes after you take action, not before. So instead of waiting for the perfect moment, decide to start now.

Even if it’s messy. Even if you don’t have it all figured out.

The Bottom Line? Just Take the Next Step.

Changing jobs doesn’t have to be an overwhelming nightmare. The keys are to stop trying to control everything upfront, focus on what you can do today, and trust that you’ll figure out the rest as you go.

Because the longer you stay stuck in indecision, the longer you stay exactly where you don’t want to be.

And let’s be honest—you deserve better than that.

Wait, I need more help!

Is it time to work together? I help overthinking high-achievers trust their choices.

Whether you need help being more decisive, taking up more space in your own life, or truly figuring out what you want so you can take action on it — coaching with me gives you guidance, accountability and an expert in your corner.

We’ll use science-backed tools and proven strategies to change mental and physical habits, decrease your baseline overwhelm, and grow your self-trust to the point that you make clear, conscious, self-honoring decisions with ease, daily.

It starts — naturally — with some decisive action.

Book your no-strings Free Consultation where we’ll talk like humans, break down your goals, identify a path forward, and figure out if we’re a fit to work together.