The Daily Recruiter

Do you wake up in the morning eager to get on with your job? Or do you drag through your workday just dreaming of getting home and relaxing? If you chose the second variant it’s time to take control and change the situation. We’ll tell you how to find work that is a perfect match with your talents, personality, passion and dreams and how to organize your career change process.

Six Steps to Career Change

#1 Rediscover Yourself

Before jumping to a new career it is very important to journey inward and explore your strengths, values, interests and skills. The better you understand yourself the better chance you have to find the career of you dream. Think of what you like doing in your leisure time and what achievements you had at school. You should also identify the reason why you want to leave so you don’t jump out of the frying pan into the fire: is it the content of your work that you hate or is it your boss, salary, colleagues, the working environment? If you like what you do but you’re dissatisfied with the terms and conditions you’d better negotiate them with your boss or find another job in the same field.

#2 Research your new career

Read as much as you can about the field you want to enter to have a clear picture of how it works. Try to reach out to personal contacts in that industry by attending conferences, networking events. Conduct informational interviews, talk to your friends and colleagues – they can help you with job leads, advice, and information about a particular company or industry. It would be a great opportunity for you to shadow professional and observe work first hand. Follow the latest developments in the industry you’re heading towards.

#3 Volunteer activities

The best way to get an inside look at the career field and to gain necessary experience is a part-time or volunteer job. This way you’d be able to understand if it is really what you’ve dreamt about and make a change in a less drastic way.

#4 Transferable skills

When tailoring your CV for the new career remember about transferable skills which are often overlooked by career changers but are expected by almost every employer: • IT literacy • Leadership • Analytical thinking • Detailed research work • Problem-solving • People skills • Numeracy • Foreign languages • Teaching/lecturing • Getting initiatives of the ground

#5 Educational opportunities

To update your skills and expand your knowledge you may need to gain additional training and experience so investigate educational opportunities and find the most suitable for you.

#6 Alternatives

To make a quality and irreversible decision about career change, experts advise to consider alternatives first i.e. all possible alternative roles within your current industry. E.g. a programmer who doesn’t want to program can become a project manager or get a position in technical sales. A store manager for a large retail chain who is tired of working in the evening and on weekends can become a recruiter in retail industry. This way you’ll be able to make a change in your career and apply the industry knowledge you already have.

Career Change Mistakes to Avoid

#1 Changing career because of salary benefits

There are successful fields which attract with their salaries but if you don’t like the work, money won’t be enough to keep you interested and doing this job day in day out you’ll feel annoyed and frustrated very soon.

#2 Changing careers relying on the success of others

It’s natural to admire the achievements and success of others and to want the same for yourself.

#3 Changing career due to outside pressure

When you chose a career for yourself don’t let your parents or anyone else influence your choice because it is you who has to live that career every day not they. So if you swap career and hate your job you’ll blame those who forced you to make a career change but still it is you who end up losing. 

Changing careers can be exciting and challenging. Just be sure to strategize and plan your transition so that you can create the life you want for yourself.

By Resume Builder

http://resumebuildertemplate.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.