Are you interested in changing your career? People wish to change their careers for several reasons.
You may have developed new interests or your career values or want flexible working hours or your goals may have changed. For instance, 39% of people wish to change their careers to get better salaries. Whatever the reason may be, shifting careers can be daunting.
Career change is exciting but things can quickly go haywire if you choose the wrong career to shift to.
7 Practical Tips to Change Your Career
Review these tips to assess your interests and explore options, evaluate different career paths and make a move to a new career.
#1. Evaluate your current situation
The best way to do this is by keeping a journal to note down your daily reactions towards your current job.
What kind of tasks do you like and dislike?
What areas are you dissatisfied with? Is it the people you work with or the company’s work culture?
What’s the best and worst part about your job?
Asking such questions will help you understand if you need to shift your career or if you want to switch jobs.
#2. Understand your needs, values and interests
Review your past roles, jobs, projects and volunteer work to identify preferred skills and activities.
Determine whether your core skills and values are addressed through your current career before you start assessing potential career options.
List out your experience and training (volunteering counts). If you know a little about a lot of things, it’s wise to list them all.
#3. Evaluate alternative careers
Research and brainstorm alternative career options. Discuss your values and goals with your networking contacts, friends and family.
If you’re unable to come up with ideas, consider meeting a career counselor for guidance and professional advice.
#4. Evaluate job opportunities
The best way to search for job opportunities is by Googling them.
Try search terms such as skills assessment, career skills and job skills and tally the required skills with the skills you possess.
If you have the necessary skills required for a specific type of career, then keep it as a possible career alternative. If not, move on to the next one.
77% of recruiters rely on LinkedIn and therefore, you should also optimise your Linkedin profile and interact with the people who are in the industry that you wish to transition to.
Take their help and advice to figure out if that industry would actually be suitable for you.
Narrow it down to a few career options. Now, find out as much as you can about these fields.
You can also reach out to your college alumni for informational interviews.
#5. Volunteer
Shadow professionals in your field of interest to see work first-hand.
Spend a few hours every day shadowing/volunteering to work with people who have jobs that interest you.
If you can’t volunteer, consider interning with organisations or start freelancing in the field of your interest.
You can also take classes that would help bridge the gap between your new field and your background.
You can enrol for night school or an evening course at the nearest college. If not, you can sign up for online courses to learn the basics of the industry.
Attending seminars is also a great way to learn more things about your target industry.
#6. Hone your skills
Develop new skills in your current job that will help pave the way for the change. If your current organisation offers in-house training or seminars, sign up for as many as you can.
They’re excellent ways to upgrade your skills without having to go back to college.
#7. Create a Resume
Your resume can tell a lot about you, so make sure that it reflects your best qualities.
A professionally written resume can boost your earning potential by 7% so seek professional help if you believe you don’t have the skills to design a proper resume.
If not, you can read articles or enrol in free resume building workshops that will enable you to create a resume that’ll stand out from the rest.
Most college students use their resumes to impress the interviewer and therefore, their resumes often lack authenticity.
Understand that the interviewer or HR interviewing you has interviewed hundreds of people. They know what’s genuine and what’s only meant to fill up the empty space on your resume.
Be genuine. Be yourself. Mention the core values that you actually believe in and not because they’d look good on your resume.
The Takeaway
Shifting careers, especially during the pandemic can be challenging. But it doesn’t have to be if you follow our tips.
Do thorough research and work in your field of interest for a few weeks or months to see if your target field works for you or not.
Are you contemplating a career change? Which field do you wish to shift to? Let us know in the comments section below!
