6 inspirational movies to watch before making a career change
Most career change stories begin with that ‘click’ moment. Whether that’s an unexpected life-changing event, a sudden bereavement, or losing your job when you least expected it. But what about the rest of us who are still coasting along with a deep desire to change careers, but have little motivation or are scared to take that leap of faith?
Most career change stories begin with that ‘click’ moment. Whether that’s an unexpected life-changing event, a sudden bereavement, or losing your job when you least expected it.
But what about the rest of us who are still coasting along with a deep desire to change careers, but have little motivation or are scared to take that leap of faith?
Let us help you create your own ‘click’ moment. Stop the persistent job list scrolling and get comfortable. Your film-bingeing desires are totally validated on this occasion, as we bring you 6 films about change to help inspire anyone looking to switch careers.
1. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006): Focus and determination wins out
Whatever your career ambitions are, the thing holding you back is often self-limiting beliefs. What if I can’t do it? What if I don’t get a job? What if I take the leap and fail?
In The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith takes on a more serious role as a man who always ends up with the short straw. He’s struggled to make ends meet, let alone find his dream job.
His ‘click’ moment is the fact he needs to make changes in his life to win custody of his son. It’s a great movie to watch if you feel like it’s too late for you or switching careers will be an impossible task. By the end of this movie you will realise that with focus and determination, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.
Pursuit of Happyness
2. Up in the Air (2009): It’s never too late to change
It’s easy to get comfortable and to convince yourself you’re invisible if you’ve been in the same job for a long time. The truth is that no job is truly 100% secure, so why waste time not doing something that you love?
Up in the Air with George Clooney is a film about losing your job. He travels across the US as a HR consultant offering corporate businesses ‘termination services’ – in other words, he’ll fire you on behalf of your boss.
While it may seem like a cruel job, what transpires in this movie about career change is that losing your job can be just the beginning; reminding people like us that it is never too late to change.
Up in The Air
3. Field of Dreams (1989): Anything is possible
This one’s a little outside of the box – or should we say a little left-field? In Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer both haunted and inspired to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. There’s no logic or reason as to why this is a good idea and he has no idea how it will work, or if it will make him money in the long term - He just wants to do something, so he does it.
A lot of folks in the movie thought Ray was crazy, but he proves that if you believe in yourself, your venture may yield feel-good results. That’s why this film is a great one for entrepreneurs or anyone who wants to start their own business. It reminds you that if you build something, your audience will come.
Field of Dreams
4. Invincible (2006): No dream is too big
There’s nothing like a true story for an extra motivational punch in the right direction and even better when it comes from the likes of Mark Wahlberg.
In this movie about career change, Wahlberg plays Vince Papale, a 30-year-old down-on-his-luck bartender who changes his life in an open tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only will you get a lump in your throat watching Invincible, but it will also fire you up and give you that kick to start your own life-changing journey.
Invincible
5. Yes Man (2008): Shake things up and be more ‘yes’!
If there’s one man capable of motivating you to get into gear with your career then Jim Carrey’s your guy. Throw the pithy determination of Zooey Deschanel in the mix and you’re onto a winner with this flick. The premise is that Jim’s character says yes to everything – quite literally.
Now, we’re not saying that saying yes to every single thing is necessarily the way to go, but there is something to be said for grabbing opportunities. Especially if switching careers is on your radar. Watch Yes Man for a reminder to be more open, shake things up and move outside your comfort zone a little more.
Yes Man
6. The Intern (2015): Desire it enough and you shall receive
There’s a few internship films out there that could inspire, but we’re referring to The Intern with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
If you haven’t seen it, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Hathaway is playing the intern; an assumption made due to her youth compared with De Niro – however, that’s not the case. It is refreshing to witness a flip in an obvious dynamic. Ben Whittaker, played by De Niro, is an intern for an empowering young woman, Jules Ostin (Hathaway).
While this movie about career change isn’t a hang-onto-your-seats kind of movie, the relationship dynamic between De Niro and Hathaway is brilliant and will give you another reminder that it truly is okay to start from scratch, no matter how old you are. Even if you feel like a fish out of water and have to learn everything on the job.
The Intern
Are you ready to make a career change?
“Find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for doing it.” – Katharine Whitehorn
It can be tough to make the move and switch careers when you feel there are many roadblocks such as self doubt, fear of financial insecurity, and lack of confidence. Hopefully, by watching these 6 inspirational movies about career change and taking a leap of faith, you’ll begin to realise that anything is possible despite feeling like there are roadblocks.. If they’re not enough, you can look to professionals when it comes to changing careers. Arnold Scwarzenegger went from bodybuilder, to actor and then Governor while Ronald Reagan became president after his career as an actor. Did you also know that Whoopi Goldberg was a funeral home makeup artist before she became a star?
You don’t need to look far for inspiration. There are many others paving the way and changing things up that soon you will realise it’s never too late to make a change.
If you are feeling inspired, take the first step to your new career today by getting in touch with Learning People. With the support of our Career Services team, we can point you in the right direction to your perfect role in IT, coding, project management and much more.