Career changes are sometimes inevitable. No matter how comfortable you may be in a job role, a point comes when the monotony of the daily grind or the stress of deadlines gets to you. And, you decide to desperately seek change in your career.
Before you take the plunge in search of new shores, take a look at the 10 steps you should ideally be considering to make sure your career transition is a successful one.
Thoroughly evaluate the satisfaction level of your current job. Keep a record of your daily responses to your work environment. Do you really enjoy waking up every morning to head to your workplace? Which aspects of your current job do you enjoy and which are the ones you dislike? Are your frustrations related to the quality of your job, your workplace culture, or your colleagues? If you are not satisfied with any aspect of your current job role, initially discuss your apprehension with your superior before you decide to consider a career change.
Take a long, hard look at your passions, values, and talents. Reflect on your previous successful roles such as volunteer service, projects, and community work to determine your passion and abilities. Ask yourself if your core values and talents are taking a back seat in your current job. If not, utilize some free online tools to determine the career options that would be a great fit for a professional with your unique talents and passions.
Think about alternative careers. Explore different career options by researching online and then discussing them with family members, friends, as well as your network of contacts. If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, you might consider talking to a career coach for advice from an expert.
Explore job opportunities. Do a preliminary comparison of various fields to pinpoint some areas of interest for further study. There are plenty of information sources available for the job you are interested in.
Reach out to professionals in the career you are interested in. Find out as much as possible about your field of interest and connect with individuals in those fields for an informational discussion. Your alumni's career network from college and LinkedIn are great sources for locating contacts in specific career areas.
Get ready to shadow them. You can shadow professionals in the field you are interested in so you get to see how they work on a typical day. You could spend a couple of hours every day or even a couple of days shadowing those with jobs that you are interested in. The career center at your college could be a great resource to find professionals you could shadow.
Look for volunteer and freelance opportunities. Before taking the plunge into a new career, take up volunteering or freelance work to get a taste of the real job. For instance, if you're considering publishing as a profession, you could try editing the newsletter for a local community. If you're keen on working with animals, you could volunteer at the local animal shelter.
Enroll for an online course. Find educational opportunities that can connect your previous knowledge to your new career. You might consider taking an evening class at your local institution or a certified online course. You could attend some of the weekend or daytime seminars as well or contact professional associations that specialize in your field.
Upgrade your skills. Explore ways to acquire new abilities in your current position that could open the doors of opportunity for a new career path. If your company provides in-house training programs, enroll in the relevant ones and keep yourself updated on skills that would come in handy as you surge ahead in search of a better career.
Remain within the same industry, if possible. Instead of opting for an entirely new career that you know absolutely nothing about, it is more pragmatic to consider different roles in the same industry that you have considerable expertise in. For instance, if you're an employee at the largest retailer and you've become tired of the long nights and weekend hours, think about the possibility of a shift to corporate recruiting in the retail sector.
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HiCounselor has forged technical advances to transform the hiring landscape for job seekers and recruiters alike. Our career accelerator program provides job seekers with coaching and mentorship from industry leaders employed at FAANG companies while recruiters ally with HiCounselor to empower their hiring strategy and hone in on the best candidates. Learn more about HiCounselor here and reach out to us on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
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