How to Make a Successful Career Change in 10 Easy Steps
Are you considering a change of career? There are several reasons why people wish to change their jobs. Your professional objectives or values may have changed; you may have found new hobbies that you would want to integrate into your employment; you may wish to earn more money; or you may desire more flexibility in your work schedule, to mention a few examples of what you could want.
Prior to making a decision, it is important to examine your current position, study job possibilities, determine if your current profession needs to be revamped, and select a career that will be more enjoyable for you.
The Reasons Why People Change Their Careers
There are a plethora of varied reasons why individuals decide to switch occupations. Of course, this is a personal choice that takes into consideration a variety of circumstances. According to the results of Joblist’s Midlife Career Crisis poll, the following are the top five reasons individuals change careers:
Increased Compensation: 47 percent of the population
Stressful to the extreme: Improvements in Work-Life Balance: 39 percent Three-hundred-and-seven percent want a new challenge: 25 percent are no longer enthusiastic in their field: 23 percent of the population
The Advantages of Making a Career Change
According to the Joblist poll, the majority of respondents said that they were happy after making the change:
77 percent of people are happier.
75% of respondents are happy or very satisfied.
69 percent of people are more satisfied.
65 percent of people are less stressed.
In addition, persons who change occupations tend to earn more money in the long run. Respondents who changed occupations in order to make more money earned an extra $10,800 per year compared to their former employment, according to the survey.
10 Steps to Making a Successful Career Transition
1.Examine these pointers for determining your interests, investigating possibilities, considering different job routes, and making the transition to a new profession once you have determined your interests.
Examine your level of work satisfaction at the moment. Record your everyday responses to the workplace in a diary and search for common themes in your entries. Which components of your present employment do you find enjoyable and which do you find frustrating? Are your dissatisfactions with your job due to the substance of your work, the culture of your firm, or the individuals with whom you interact? While you’re doing this, there are certain things you can do at your present work to assist you prepare for when it’s time to make a career shift when the time comes.
2.Examine your personal characteristics, such as your hobbies, values, and abilities. To discover desired activities and talents, look back on prior successful roles, volunteer work, projects, and employment to see what you liked most. Check to see whether your fundamental beliefs and talents are being addressed by your present job title and position. There are several free internet resources available to assist you in evaluating your job options.
3.Take a look at some other professions. Researching job opportunities and sharing your key beliefs and talents with friends, family, and networking connections might help you come up with different employment options. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, you may want to consider consulting with a career counselor for some expert guidance and assistance.
4.Examine your employment choices. Conduct a preliminary comparative study of numerous domains in order to choose a small number of prospects for in-depth investigation and further investigation. You may get a multitude of information online by just Googling the occupations that you are interested in finding.
5.Take it one-on-one. Learn all you can about such disciplines and go out to personal connections who work in those industries to do informative interviews. Your college’s alumni professional network is a great place to find connections for informational interviewing purposes. LinkedIn is yet another excellent resource for establishing connections in certain professional sectors of interest, particularly in the business world.
6.Arrange for a work shadowing opportunity (or two). Professionals in sectors of main interest should be shadowed in order to watch work firsthand. Depending on your interests, you may spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days job shadowing individuals who work in fields that interest you. It is possible to identify alumni volunteers who are willing to host job shadowers via your college’s career services department. More information about job shadowing and how it works may be found here.
7.Try it out and see how it works. Identify volunteer and freelancing activities that are similar to your chosen profession to gauge your enthusiasm. For example, if you are considering a career in publishing, you may consider editing the school newsletter. If you have a passion for dealing with animals, consider volunteering at your local shelter.
8.Consider enrolling in a course. Investigate educational possibilities that would allow you to bridge the gap between your previous experience and your new field. Consider enrolling in an evening course at a local college or an online school to further your education. Attend a one-day or weekend seminar to get some knowledge. For advice, reach out to professional organizations in your preferred field.
9.Make improvements to your abilities. Look for opportunities to learn new skills in your present position that will help you prepare for a career shift, such as offering to write a grant application if grant writing is highly regarded in your new profession. If your firm provides in-house training, take advantage of the opportunity by enrolling in as many courses as you can. The ability to position yourself for a job transition without having to go back to school is something many people strive for.
Consider taking a new position in the same field.
10.Examine alternative roles within your current industry that would allow you to put your existing industry knowledge to use, for example, if you are a store manager for a large retail chain who has grown tired of working evening and weekend hours, consider a move into corporate recruiting within the retail industry. Alternatives to programming include technical sales and project management if you are a programmer who does not want to program.
Create a resume and cover letter for a career change.
Before beginning your job search in your new field, compose a cover letter that expresses your aims, as well as a resume that is refocused in accordance with your new objectives. Here are some pointers on how to write a strong job change CV, as well as an example career change cover letter with writing suggestions.
How to Advance in Your Career
In certain cases, it may be more beneficial to go down the professional ladder than than up. Choosing to leave a fast-track profession in order to pursue a job that is less stressful or more enjoyable might be a conscious decision on your part. In other circumstances, particularly in a down employment market or in a sector that is struggling, it may make sense to consider alternate work opportunities and reduce your career.
How does one go about moving down the professional ladder rather than up? First and foremost, you must evaluate the possibility that you may make less money, but that you will also have more freedom, less stress, and a greater variety of career opportunities. Then you must evaluate what options are open to you, as well as how to locate and apply for those alternatives..
Moving Down the Career Ladder: Some Pointers for Success
You need to choose a choice! Determine whether or not you can make do with a smaller wage. If so, by how much is the difference between the two values reduced. Consider whether or not the advantages of a lower-level work are worth the possible compensation you might get in a higher-paying career. See what you may make in a different position by using a salary calculator. If you want to change occupations without going back to school, take a look at some of the options available.
Take a look at your employment possibilities. Describe your areas of interest. What do you think you’d be interested in doing today? Is it your dream to quit your job as a college administrator and work in a bookshop instead? You may also consider leaving your financial services position to sell real estate, work from home, in a seasonal job, or take on a few of part-time jobs in addition to your current one. To acquire ideas, go through your career and work alternatives. Then think about how you might transform your career. Finally, spend some time thinking what your dream employer would look like.
Activate the links in your network. It is possible to get information about employment alternatives and assistance with a job hunt via your internet connections and personal relationships. Examine the possibility of scheduling informational interviews to learn more about potential employment opportunities.
Try it out and see what happens. You should experiment when you are unsure about your choices. To ensure that it is really something you want to pursue, consider taking up a part-time work or volunteering. It seems smart to test the waters before quitting a well-paying career if you have the opportunity. There are several alternatives for part-time work that you may pursue while keeping doing your regular job or job-related duties.
Resume revision is essential. In most cases, resume professionals would advise you to emphasize your abilities and experiences in order to improve your job possibilities. As a result, you should revise your CV to highlight your desired career path (rather than what you are doing). Reduce your assertiveness so that you don’t come out as more powerful than you really are. When you’re overqualified, here are some pointers on how to write a strong CV.
Cover letters should be used in this situation. Write cover letters that highlight transferrable talents that are relevant to the position you are applying for. Utilize such abilities to assist in explaining your transitional situation to others. Below you’ll find an example of a career change cover letter and some pointers on how to write a cover letter when you’re overqualified for a position in your field.
Job applications are something to get familiar with. Given the fact that you may have never had to submit a job application before, it is a good idea to get to know the people who will be reviewing your application. It is possible that you will be required to submit an online job application, a paper job application, or an in-person job application to be considered. Job applications and the process of completing them are explained in detail below.
Begin looking for work. When it comes to shrinking your profession, this is one of the easier things to take. More positions are available at greater levels of responsibility, but there is more competition as a result. When you’re searching for lower-level positions, the reverse is true, which means you’ll have more options and job ads to evaluate. To begin, utilize job search engines to identify openings in your desired geographic area and industry. After that, use specialist employment sites to find job posts in your desired geographic region and industry.
You might think of it as a period of adjustment. Instead of thinking of your new position as a step down, think of it as an opportunity to try something new. Every job, no matter what we’re doing, is valuable in some way. That which you provide — as well as what you get as a result of your employment — is critical.
Embrace your inner strength. For most individuals, the prospect of change is frightening. The prospect of making a mid-career switch and starting again might be even more terrifying. Although it’s not ideal, the alternative is more worse. Instead of remaining in a job that you despise, it may be preferable to take the risk and try something else.
Maintain your dignity. Perhaps the most crucial piece of advice is to be honest with yourself. Whether you want to go down the job ladder or are forced to do so, you may find that you are no longer seen as the vital person you previously were. You should maintain your dignity while being open-minded and flexible in order to perform what your superiors want of you.”