If you're feeling stuck in a career rut or are just ready for a change, it might be time to consider a career switch.
While some people make this move with ease, others struggle with the decision and the transition.
There are many reasons why people choose to change careers: They may be unhappy with their current job, or they may have found something new that they love more than their current field. But whatever the reason, making such an important decision can be difficult.
When considering whether or not to make the switch, there are several factors that need to be considered: your skills and experience, how much training is required, and how much time it will take before you get back on track financially.
If you're thinking about making a career change, here are five steps you can take to help make sure everything goes smoothly:
A career change can be both exhilarating and terrifying. On one hand, you're excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. On the other hand, you're scared of making a wrong choice.
The best way to make sure that you're headed in the right direction is to take a step back and examine your current situation. You may find that it's time for a change, or perhaps you'll decide that everything is fine just as it is. Either way, it's important to know where you stand before moving forward.
So you'd want to consider the following:
â— Identify where you stand at this point in your life so you can determine what's next for you professionally.
â— Identify what's working and what isn't working for you in your career.
â— Assess how your work is affecting your personal relationships.
â— Think about what you want from life and how your current career fits into this picture. This includes your financial goals and other aspirations.
â— Understand what motivates you. Your motivation might be money, but it could also be a desire for more free time or more flexibility in your schedule. Think about what's important to you and how much it matters.
â— Identify your strengths and weaknesses and how they can help you figure out what kind of career move might be right for you.
â— Consider if there are any trends coming up that could influence what type of work will be available in the future.
Next, take some time to think about what success means for you and how it might look in your new role or field. This includes both tangible things like salary and benefits as well as intangible qualities such as work-life balance and work environment (think culture).
No matter what industry you are in, we all have a different definition of success. It is important to identify what makes up success for you so that you can start to build your career path around those values.
What does success mean for you?
It may sound simple, but defining what success means for you is a critical step in building a career path that will align with your goals and values. This can be challenging because it requires introspection, self-awareness, and some honest assessment of where you want to go in life.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
â— What do you value most in your work life?
â— What makes you happy?
â— What do you enjoy doing? What do you like talking about at dinner parties? What do people always ask you about because they want to know more?
â— Do you prefer working alone or in a team environment?
â— What kind of work environment would allow you to thrive?
â— Do you need a steady paycheck, or are you willing to take risks in exchange for freedom and flexibility?
These are all clues as to what might make up success for you in your career.
Once you've identified the key factors that will help shape your ideal career, create your own list of needs and wants. The more specific and detailed your list is, the better. That way, when an opportunity comes along that intersects with what you want or need from your ideal career, it will be easy to identify it as such.
Before you can start strategizing about how to make your dream job come true, you need to figure out what that dream job actually looks like and what you would want to achieve in that dream job. What kinds of skills do you want to learn? What kind of work environment would suit your personality? What would you want to achieve in your career within a given time frame?
What type of salary would be ideal? If possible, try to quantify these desires in terms of dollars and cents—for example, if $80K is the number that pops into your head when you imagine yourself in your ideal job, then write that down as your income expectation. Then try to figure out what kind of work experience might lead up to that salary level.
Next, make a list of options. Once you've figured out some ideas about what type of work might appeal to you and what skills it would take to get there, it's time to brainstorm all the possible ways those things might come together in one career path. Start by listing all the possibilities that you can think of, and research potential careers that fit the bill.
Explore the job options available in your industry (or industries) of interest, including related jobs within organizations that would hire someone with your skill set and experience level.
Career experts recommend that job seekers focus on three things when researching a field:
The industry's hiring trends: The best place to start is with the Bureau ofLabor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook. It provides detailed information about employment, training, and education requirements for hundreds of occupations.
Salary ranges for different positions: You can research salary data for thousands of jobs by geographic region, education level, and other factors at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. This information can help you determine whether it's worth making the leap from one industry to another—or not getting into the field at all.
The skills required for success in each role: You can find out which skills are most important for each role by reviewing job postings for similar roles at companies within your target industry or looking at skills listed on company websites or job listings for similar roles in other industries.
It's also a good idea to talk with people who already have the kinds of jobs or careers that interest you during your research — preferably people who work in those fields full-time and enjoy their work.
Create a detailed plan of the actions and steps you'll take to land your dream job in the new career path you've chosen.
Some major steps that should be on your plan include:
â— Acquiring training, certifications, or work experience to plug your skill and competency gap
◠Updating your resume to make it relevant to the new position to which you’ll be applying.
â— Writing and sending professional cover letters when applying for jobs
â— Get involved in the new industry. Join professional associations and attend conferences to become acquainted with industry trends
â— Building up your network. Attending industry events will also help you meet new people and build relationships with them. These relationships can help you get insider information on how the industry works and how to thrive in it. Plus, some of your new acquaintances might be able to help you get your foot in the door and land your first job.
The best plan is useless without execution. You'll need to schedule time within your daily routine to execute your action plan consistently.
As often as possible—perhaps weekly—track and measure the progress you've made on executing your action plan.
Remember, what gets measured gets done.
Making a career switch doesn't have to be an uphill task that discourages and overwhelms you, especially when you're certain it's time to move on from your current industry. Like any other worthwhile goal, break your career-change process into the smaller manageable steps that have been outlined in this post, and begin to work on them consistently. While it may take some time to switch to your dream career, it's never too late to start making the change!
Looking to
make a career switch? Discover Clever Ways to Convince an Employer to Hire You with No
Experience.