Six Steps to Career Change

If you are thinking about changing career, it is very common to feel overwhelmed by the number of possible directions in which you could go, the new qualifications you might need and all the different ways you can study for them. Things become even more complicated if you are over 40 and children to consider or a mortgage to pay every month.

Deciding what you want to do and enrolling on a course or brushing up some of your skills at home is just the beginning. Next you have to produce a dynamic resume, find the sort of openings you want and succeed in an interview. To help you out, here is a step by step plan which will take you through the process from initial decision to final interview. It’s designed to be completed at the pace which suits you best.

Step 1

First, that all important decision – what am I going to do? If you don’t have a clear idea, you can ask yourself a number of questions which will uncover your interests, existing skills and the type of activities you prefer doing. What are the best aspects of your presnt or recent jobs? Which skills have you enjoyed using or would you really like to use at work? Would you prefer working with people, animals, things, like machines, computers or equipment for building or creating products or with information - or would your prefer your job to include a combination of these? Write a description of your ideal work job, for example, would you wear formal clothing, be based in an office, school, factory or hospital environment, and be employed from 9-5 or would you go for casual dress, a job which involves being out and about and which has very flexible hours? Take a look at all the aspects of your current or most recent job and choose what you want to keep and what you want to ditch, as well as noting what would replace the tasks you dropped. this might take a little while, you might want to go back over a few of your past jobs or you could talk to friends about their work experiences. As soon as you have built up a clear picture, of what you want, continue with step 2

Step 2

Before you start applying for jobs, you need to do some background. Take a look at the type of job which would fit the profile you’ve developed in step 1. At this stage you might have some very specific ideas, such as reading information about a job which seems a good match or you might be doing some more general research, using terms like “outdoor jobs with travel” or “jobs working with children”. You can do a lot of research online or, if you can, try talking to people who are already working in the jobs which are of interest to you.

Step 3

Once you know the direction in which you are heading, you’ll need to create a generic resume to fit the jobs you’ll be applying for. You will have to modify your resume for every job, so that it targets the individual demands of the employer. However, there are times when you need a resume quickly and so it’s a good idea to have one ready. The research you’ve already done will have pointed you in the right direction, showing you the skills, qualifications and experience you need for the job. Once you have a generic resume on your computer, it will only take a short time to adjust it for each application.

Step 4

The next step is working out a strategy which will enable you to actually find a job. Depending on your current situation, the first step could be getting the skills or qualifications. If you need to do some part-time study, you could think about other jobs within the industry, for example those involving support and backup, such as admin. This will give you a foot in the door while you are training for your ideal job.

Research has shown that the best way to get a job is to create a network, beginning with people you already know and extending and developing your contacts. You can start off by telling friends and family what you are looking for, and asking them if they know anyone who could help, or who knows someone who might be in a position to do so. Keep doing your background research and as you do this, you’ll make more contacts. Another great way to get some experience and research a particular type of work is volunteering. This will give you even more contacts and something very useful – a reference.

Step 5

Once all the initial factors are in place, you can start applying for jobs, whilst preparing yourself for interviews. It’s a good idea to consider the questions you might be asked and prepare some answers. Make sure you are able to provide plenty of examples of how you have met the criteria necessary for the job in the past – you can use experiences from previous jobs, or things you did as either a student or a volunteer and in any other area of your life.

Step 6

Now it’s time to review your progress and decide what happens next. If things are going to plan and you have been offered a job you really want, think about what you can learn and the development you hope to see over the next few years. This will help you to review the situation in a year or two, in the light of your career to see if you are still on track.

If things aren’t working out as you’d hoped, think about why this is. It could be because you are applying for jobs you think you should do, instead of the ones you’d really like. Are you perhaps setting your sights too high or too low? Another possibility is that the job you thought was right for you is really not much fun. The important thing is to be honest with yourself. The aim of changing careers is to become happy and fulfilled and so it’s important to go for what you really want, rather than something other people think you should do.

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