Career Change Checklist
Maybe you feel that you’ve outgrown your current job and want a new challenge. Perhaps you’re tired of sitting behind a desk and want to start working with your hands. Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to pursue your dream career. Changing careers can be one of the most exciting decisions that you’ll ever make, but it can also be nerve-racking. If you’ve made up your mind and are set on a new path towards a new career, then you may be wondering where to start. For help achieving a smooth career change transition, take a look at our ten actionable items to tackle before changing careers:
Establish New Goals
What do you want out of your new job? Are you seeking a challenge, financial security, an environment where you can grow. Establishing new goals before beginning your job search will ensure that you stay on the right track to finding the best career for you. With practical & manageable goals, you can keep the momentum going as you search for a job that you’ll love. Creating a timeline for career growth in your new industry will also give you more clarity about what you hope to accomplish in the short and long term.
Review Your Finances
There are many financial obstacles to overcome when changing careers. You may need to invest in education and training, your new job may pay less than your current job, it may take you a while to work your way up to a higher paying position, or you may not earn anything for a while if you start working for yourself. Before jumping into a career change, review your finances and make sure that you have enough savings or are able to reduce expenses in order to remain financially stable.
Think About Hours and Salary
Are you prepared to work more hours each week or do you need a flexible work schedule? Do you need to take home a large salary or is salary not the most important thing in your career change? What benefits are you looking for: do you want medical benefits and holiday pay? Noting down what you need out of your new career, and what’s important to you, will help you to avoid pursuing job opportunities that are not suitable.
Explore the Job Market
If it’s been a while since you looked for a new job or you’re entering into a brand-new industry, then you’ll need to put in some time exploring the job market. Having a clear understanding of the positions you can secure with your experience and training, and what positions don’t fit your skills, will give you a lot of clarity about your career change and what’s possible. You may require additional training to land an in-demand job or your skills may be transferable, whatever the case may be, it’s important to know in advance!
Consider What Your Ideal Workplace Is
You could be spending hundreds or thousands of hours in the same working environment, so it needs to be somewhere that you want to spend time. Would you prefer to work independently or as part of a team? Should the environment be fast-paced or relaxed? Do you want a bustling workplace or a quiet workplace? Having a clear understanding of the environment you want to work in will narrow down your job search and give you an idea of what to ask during interviews.
Start Networking
Reaching out to people in the field you want to be in through email or social media sites like LinkedIn, is a great way to make new industry connections. Creating a professional LinkedIn profile is like an online resume that makes you visible to recruiters! However, if you don’t want to reach out online straight away, then you could go to conferences and events to start building new relationships. Great networking can get your foot in the door and may even lead to job opportunities.
Create a Professional Resume
As well as a LinkedIn profile, you’ll need a traditional professional resume. Creating a resume and accompanying cover letter are two of the most important things to check off your list when changing careers. Spending time perfecting your resume is essential if you want to showcase your strengths, advertise your skills, and impress hiring managers. If you’re not comfortable writing your own resume, then you can use a professional resume writing service to craft the perfect resume for your new career.
Tailor Your Resume
Technology has had a big impact on how resumes are processed. You’ll need to tailor each resume you send out and ensure that the right keywords are included to pass the computer test. An optimized resume will have a better chance of reaching hiring managers! Again, this is something that a professional resume writing service can help you with.
Prepare a Pitch
Being able to comfortably talk about your skills, strengths, and goals will be important at many different stages of a career transition. You’ll need to perfect your pitch to articulate your strengths in a job interview and when building connections at a conference or event. Nailing your pitch early on will help you to make the most of every opportunity.
Get Experience
You may have an idea in mind of the perfect new job, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll land it straight away. Temporary jobs, freelance work, internships, and contract jobs may not be what you initially envisioned, but they’re an opportunity to test the waters and see whether your new career path is something you really want. These kinds of opportunities are also brilliant ways to make connections that could lead to your dream job in the future.
Want more advice about changing careers?
Vocamotive can assist you with many of the most important areas of career change transition, from resume and cover letter writing, to job placement and skills training. With support from the career change professionals, your career change will be less nerve-racking and a lot easier!
Last Updated on September 26, 2019 by Voca_GC