Are you looking to make a career transition? Long gone are the days when you chose a career as a young person and followed it for the rest of your life, often staying with the same company for your entire working career, moving your way up the ladder.
These days, the job market is changing rapidly, which sometimes forces a career transition and provides opportunities. No longer are you stuck in a specific line of work that you might have chosen as a youth. As you grow and discover new interests, you are free to change your career to encompass those interests.
But breaking away from your safe career and making a change can be challenging, as it means stepping outside of your comfort zone, potentially taking a cut in pay and responsibility, acquiring new skills, and imagining new ways to apply your existing skills.
Your Guide To A Successful Career Transition
We suggest going through the following steps to have the best chance of making a successful career transition.
1. Decide on your Course of Action
You’re only one defining decision away from a totally different life. – Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker
The first step on any path to change is deciding that you want to make a change and to devote yourself to it. Change doesn’t just happen, you need to make it happen.
In this situation, you need to decide both that you are keen to leave your existing career, and in what direction you would like to take your professional life.
Is the problem really your career path?
Keep in mind that being frustrated at work does not always indicate the need for a career transition; it may simply indicate the need for a change. Check out how you can embrace new challenges and create new routines.
It could be that you have developed unhealthy working habits. You just need to make some changes to bring more balance into your life. You can try focusing on one task at a time at work to boost your productivity.
Perhaps the company you are working for has problems, and you should be looking elsewhere, but within the same area.
Transform your routine and transform yourself. Listen to Five Steps to Coping With Change and Achieving Transformation Today. Soar: A podcast with TAYLOR SHANKLIN
Or maybe you are frustrated because you just aren’t challenged anymore, and you need to look to expand your role and responsibilities but within your existing field.
However, if you have lost your passion for what you are doing or have developed a passion for something else that is drawing you away, it may very well be time for a career transition. If you do decide to make a change, then the question becomes what kind of change.
If you have a passion in mind, whether it is a good career choice, and how you should focus your efforts. Are you looking at a career market that is growing or one that is quickly being crushed by automation?
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Assuming your career choice is a viable one, which of the many ways do you want to take? For example, suppose you decide that you want to teach. In that case, there can be questions about whether you want to go into mainstream teaching or try alternatives such as online teaching (which is becoming increasingly popular).
If you aren’t sure what direction you want to go in, put together a list of your interests and skills. Then research careers that might allow you to utilize these. Narrow down the choice to a career that you are most likely to enjoy, gain success in.
Sense-Check Your Thinking
It is always a good idea to talk through these decisions with people that you trust and respect. It is easy for your judgment to become clouded if you feel frustrated, emotional, or trapped. So, get some fresh eyes on the issue to sense-check your thinking.
2. Conduct A Self-Assessment For Your Career Transition
You will already have begun to assess your suitableness for your desired career when choosing which path to go down, but once you have decided, this is a task that needs to continue.
You need to assess what transferable skills and qualifications you have that will qualify you for the career that you are seeking and what you don’t have that you really need to go forward.
In some industries, the requirements are obvious. For example, lawyers and doctors need specific training. However, other careers have more grey areas. For instance, while there are degrees to qualify as a teacher, there are also alternative paths for professionals to transition into the profession.
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Other career paths are less clear. For example, if you want to work for a non-profit, while you will find plenty of qualifications listed in job descriptions, things such as a university degree can often be substituted by 10 years of work experience.
What they are generally looking for is someone who has proven that they are smart and dedicated, rather than a specific degree, so you have more options for adapting your existing experience.
If you need help figuring out what is required for the career that you are interested in, check out online resources that provide information on things such as booming industries, competitive salaries for different careers, and common job description elements.
3. Execute a Career Development Plan
Figure out what you need for a certain career. Once you do, you need to develop a plan to fill any skills and experience gaps.
This should start with looking at the transferable skills that you have. Some may be directly transferable, while others might need tweaking to get you to where you need to be.
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For example, suppose you want to develop apps or other digital assets and have your heart set on a management position. In that case, you will probably need a qualification in agile working methodologies. You might have a good understanding of this, thanks to your experience, so getting the qualification that you need might be a relatively quick process of taking an online test.
If you have a passion for photography, you will need to know how to use certain software. Most of the roles you are looking at may need you to get this experience. For example, can you take a free online course, or can you volunteer somewhere that will let you gain experience?
But if your dream is to become a psychologist, there is no question that you will need to engage in formal training. So, your plan will need to involve finding the best training and figuring out how you will find the time and resources to do it.
4. Start Applying
Once you have removed barriers to applying for your next career, such as essential qualifications, it is time to start applying.
This means:
1. Rewriting your resume so that it is targeted at the new industry that you want to work in
For example, if you want to move from law to business management, you no doubt have transferable skills, but you will need to reframe those skills for the new audience.
You will want to draw your resume up so that it is less focussed on legal qualifications and case wins. Focus on how you manage teams of researchers and paralegals to deliver essential work of high quality and to tight deadlines.
2. Updating your approach to covering letters
You should write a new covering letter every time you apply for a job. A covering letter is where you address the role you are applying for and why they should give it to you.
But there will be certain things that come up again and again, and it is useful to have template text that you can reuse and tweak to make the process faster and easier. Spend time working on these bits of text.
This can also be good practice for interviews, as you will probably address similar things at the interview.
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3. Practice interviewing
This is especially important if you have been off the job market for a while and are out of practice. Interviewing is not as straightforward as it sounds. Selling yourself without appearing like you are arrogant, or bragging is a difficult balance to strike. It is essential because likability has been proven repeatedly to be an important factor in hiring.
Enlist people you trust to do interviews with you. Let them give you feedback if they are from the industry, even better, as they can share more of the types of questions you are likely to face.
Remember, when you share your past successes, it is more about the impact you had than the details of what you did. And, when it comes to the job in front of you, it is not about what you have done. It is about what you will be capable of doing in this job.
You will probably have at least some unsuccessful interviews on your path to finding your job. Therefore, always make sure that you ask for feedback. Most interviewers are more than happy to provide this for you, which is one of the best ways to improve.
5. Start Now
Whether it is a matter of starting a course or putting yourself out there for job opportunities, start now. Don't wait until you think that you are ready.
The Journey to Becoming: How to Navigate Times of Change & Transition Listen to the Podcast now
If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives. – Lemony Snicket
Career transition can be challenging but don't give up. Secure yourself. Keep working while you are looking. Don’t wait for the stars to align to start taking risks. This is because you will probably never feel like they are exactly in the right place.
Don't let rejection get the best of you. These aren’t setbacks, they are learning experiences. They can help you become more prepared for the next opportunity if you take on board the lessons learned.
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