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“There are eight million stories in the Naked City,” claimed Jack Webb at the conclusion of his ancient television program, Dragnet. He was right, of course. Each of us has our own story about our careers and sometimes that story involves significant change. We all change jobs periodically, but most studies show that we will all change careers several times on our journey.
Sometimes we change because we are unchallenged and become bored; sometimes we develop a new interest that takes us off in an interesting direction. Occasionally a company will suddenly realize that half of their company is redundant. Getting rid of twenty-five $20/hour employees and half their management staff will substantially increase their profits…but you may unexpectedly need a job!
Today’s career experts agree most people experience a career change [not just a job-change] 3 to 7 times throughout their working life. This means a complete transformation—new job, new industry, new employer. It’s a big deal—Chrissy Scivicque
9 Tips for a Career Change
Regardless of the cause, the strategy doesn’t change significantly. Here are 9 steps and considerations that should be part of your plans.
- Make a list. Write down all of your skills and break them into things that you like to do and things that you hate to do. Consider things that you’re really good at, and things that you never want to do again. We can’t necessarily eliminate all of the things that we hate, but being aware of them can help us focus on careers that are likely to minimize them.
- Cast a Wide Net. O*NET Online can provide several fascinating tools including the Bright Outlook search engine for those occupations likely to be extraordinary in some way, the Career Cluster search engine, to locate jobs with similar skill sets, the Green Economy Sector search engine, and numerous others based on Industry, Job Family, Job Zone (education, experience, and training required), or even by STEM discipline.
- Research. Look into many occupations that might be suitable for you. Consider the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics search engine, which will describe the work environment, pay, projected growth, and even a list of similar occupations.
- Analyze. Using the BLS search engine, enter your current job title and find out what the accepted perception of duties and responsibilities are. Enter various careers that you are considering and see if there are any lines of continuity to help you present a good argument for the transition. At the same time you’ll gain insight into the requirements of the new position and possibly relate them to skills you possess that are not being used in your current job.
Network. You have friends or connections to other parts of your current industry or profession. Now is the time to use them. Ask around to see what opportunities are available, since most positions filled nowadays come by internal recommendation rather than locating listed jobs somewhere. Explore LinkedIn to find the thought-leaders or experts in your chosen field. Join their discussion groups and participate in the community by asking questions or offering answers. Once you’ve been in the community for a while it’s easier to approach them and seek advice and perhaps a recommendation for a position.- Learn. You may be able to upgrade your skills while still employed, either on your own, or through your employer. Make sure the degree or certification is meaningful before investing your time. There are plenty of opportunities to obtain shoddy or useless pieces of paper.
- Be Flexible. Your career change might not be a matter of walking across a street to a new building. Running a Capital Management Fund might be better accomplished in New York than Olympia, Washington; taking a pay cut and making a lateral move into an occupation with more growth potential might be the right course; performing volunteer or temp work in your target profession could give you valuable experience.
- Peter Pan. Surprising as it may seem, you have to actually believe that you can fly (accomplish this career change). You may think of yourself as an Account Manager, and your goal is to be a Project Manager. You cannot wonder if you can do the job; you must convince yourself that you can do it. Only when you believe in yourself will others believe in you.
Map out the steps you will take to get from where you are to where you want to be and commit to a realistic timeframe. Look to your friends and family to help support you and hold you accountable. Or, work with a career coach to create a concrete strategy and help keep you on track—Chrissy Scivicque
- Consider going-it-alone. It may come as no surprise, but striking out your own is becoming a viable option. Create your plan ahead of time, however, not as you walk into the office announcing your intention to quit that day. That plan should include 6 to 12 months without any income while you’re starting up, so this is not a spontaneous action. It’s certainly possible, but you have to walk into it with your eyes open, prepared with a business plan, substantial savings or financing in place, the intelligence to outsource things which are beyond your own capabilities, and contingency plans for when things don’t go precisely the way you thought they would.
Know what it is that makes it worthwhile for you to go to work each day. Discover which occupations can provide those desirable things. If you lack any skills for that “perfect job,” work on obtaining them while simultaneously building a network of connections within the field. Be flexible in your expectations, and be willing to adapt.
Remember that you have to believe in yourself before you can convince others to believe in you. The struggle to be your own boss could be long and arduous. It certainly doesn’t suit everybody, but it might be worth your consideration.
You’re not stuck in your job forever; it’s never too late to make changes. If your job isn’t giving you satisfaction, and you can imagine a job that would give you satisfaction, it’s time for a serious look at making a change.