Managing a career change strategically

Changing jobs is one thing, launching into a completely new field/industry is another.  As you consider what roles to apply for, have a think about the following:

Be prepared for…

• a reduction in income

• a change of status, responsibility and prestige

• a change in lifestyle

• relocation

Create a bridge for change…

Are you gaining qualifications that are necessary for the new type of work you’d like to do?

• Investigate whether or not particular qualifications are actually necessary - but don’t rule out the need for part-time study to expand your knowledge and create the bridge

• Try and do some work observation/work shadowing/work exploration to determine realities of the new kind of work

Focus on your transferable and marketable skills

• Look at the skills you have and how transferable they are to other occupations/industries

• Be creative in finding ways that your knowledge, interests, skills and experience can be applied to another field

• Convincing an employer of your ability to change into a new field/job takes preparation. Demonstrate to prospective employers your enthusiasm, flexibility, self confidence, capabilities, persistence and commitment to making a career change

• Do your research and be prepared

Create your own opportunities

• Keep building your network and your image

• Join organisations/clubs to extend your network

• Research industries/organisations and write proposals

• Have C.V. fliers ready to hand/send to potential employers

Find allies to assist the transition

• Work your dissatisfactions/decisions through with a career coach or a mentor outside your work setting or keep your feelings of dissatisfaction to yourself

• Talk to others who have made career transitions and how they made them. Their examples may provide solutions to your predicament

• Gain the support of your “significant others”

Check out other areas of your life aside from work: relationships, leisure and challenge

• All of these, not just work, contribute to your satisfaction with life

• Consider the importance of relationships at work and the impact of work on relationships. Look at all the combinations

In public, speak well of your current/previous profession, boss and co-workers

• Your work relationships and the quality of your work there are the keys to your future employment

Look at each job as a building block in your long term employment path

• Let go of the idea that you are committed to your current employer or your industry for forty years and consider other options

When you retire will you look back and say “I wish I’d made this career move/taken that job”?

• Keep evaluating your likes and dislikes over your employment years and overcome fears of the unknown or fears about success and failure that might be standing in the way of making career moves.

Anne Fulton is Managing Director of Career Analysts, specialists in strategic career management and outplacement.  You can contact Career Analysts on 0800TALENT or www.careeranalysts.co.nz.