PLAN YOUR WORK SEARCH for CAREER CHANGE -
BE POISED TO CAPTURE SUCCESS

Enjoying Your New Career Is Like Enjoying The Ocean

What steps do you need to take as you search for work? 

How do you figure out what career you want?

Are you trying to get away from something or trying to move toward something?

These are some hard questions with some hard answers.  In order to be more likely to succeed, you have got to do the work.  How much are you putting in to find the answer?  Don’t make the mistake of starting to look for a job right now.  We will talk through some items that you should consider in your work search for career change.

WORK SEARCH for CAREER CHANGE TIP #1

Start By Researching

Primarily, you want to figure out what you want.  The best place to start is with research.  Figure out yourself first.  Let’s consider some steps to take.

• Write down your skill sets and experiences (This is Key)
• Define your accomplishments
• Include your education and degrees
• Identify your attributes that could be considered as qualifications for a position
• Use your current resume and past resumes as food in this thought process
  

This exercise helps you identify your skills, qualifications, and accomplishments.  You can now draw on those in your work search.  Evaluate which skills you enjoy the most.  Are those the ones that would draw you to a new career?

WORK SEARCH for CAREER CHANGE TIP #2

Find Out Everything About Your Desired Career

Next, research the career in which you have an interest.  There are plenty of ways to get such information online.  One of the best is to find a job posting site, such as indeed.com, careerbuilder.com or others.  For those interested in career coaching, check out Career Coach Jobs. Pick out a job listing that interests you and carefully read through the posting.

Read through the job responsibilities and the requirements.  Think through them carefully.  Then make a list of each of the skills that are desired by the hiring company.  Keep this list handy for additional use in an exercise below.

Do the same thing with a position in a similar career field.  Are there skills and qualifications that are different from your first position? 

Now take the step of examining a different career that you are interested in.  Put your list together for this career also.

WORK SEARCH for CAREER CHANGE TIP #3

A Mentor Can Help You Understand A Career Field

You have pulled together information about careers in which you have an interest.  At least you have gathered some data from one source type.  That type is the job posting.

It is beneficial to add more information from other sources.  Remember that it is difficult to do all of this by yourself.  You need others, specifically others that work in the desired career field.  You may have friends or family that work directly in that career.  Or they may know others that do.  Give them a call, text or email to give you their views on their career field.  Most people would jump at the chance to do so.

Here are a few suggested questions for you.  You could ask when you tell them you want to find out what that career field is really like:

• What is a typical day?
• What is a non-typical day?
• What skills do you frequently use?
• What skills are extremely helpful but are not called upon frequently?
• What frustrations do you encounter?
• Why do people fail in this field?
• What have you learned are the secrets to success?
• Ask if you can hang out with them for a half day.

If you cannot locate the career field you want from those sources, then there is another approach.  The same approach would work if you want to keep your search private. 

You could use a service like that provided Career Redo.  It has a listing of mentors to get your thought processes going.  Try 2 - 3 different fields to widen your view.

This method shortcuts the the time spent in your search.  You could ask the same questions to this mentor too.  You may consider that it is well worth a few dollars to ease your path to your final goal.

Your mentor may be able to introduce you to others in your desired career.  Contact them to gain even more insight.  Just meeting for coffee can be extremely helpful.  Network and get referrals.

The next step is to take these same actions for a different career!

COMPARe

It is time to examine the information you have obtained from your work search for career change. Place three columns on a paper or spreadsheet.

In the first column list your skills and qualifications.  List the skills and qualification required by Career X in the second column.   List the skills and qualifications required by Career Y in the third column.

Then draw a connecting line from each of your skills to the skills in Career X.  Draw lines only to the skills that match.

Do the same thing for Career Y.

The columns may end up looking something like this:

Crucial Skills Comparison

WORK SEARCH for CAREER CHANGE TIP #4

You have done a great deal of research.  Now it is time to develop your plan.

If you have carried out the first tips, you have already started on your plan.  Let’s summarize.  Your plan should include:

• Evaluate yourself ———-> DONE
• Evaluate possible careers————> DONE
• Probe what each career entails, i.e., what skills are needed ————> DONE

Skills

Consider if you need to improve your skills.  Can you get training through your current employer that would help you in your chosen career?

See if local colleges provide online or evening courses.

Are professional seminars available to enhance your transferable skills?

Timing

Some additional items for your plan.

• Don’t rush!  Your evaluation should not be hurried.  It takes time to find the right fit for you.
• Take a step forward.  Start some action.  Learn more and adjust your goals.  Just keep evaluating.
• Recognize that a chosen path may not be the right one.  So, try again!  This is not a mistake.  It is just part of the process.  You learn as you go.
• Focus on confidence by learning from your mistakes.  Each time you build a better understanding.
• Don’t stop.  Show that you have grit.

CONCLUSION

Career change is available to everyone — no matter age, married status, gender, wealth, or other.  Remember the major steps you should take.

• Prepare
• Initiate your plan
• Gain insight from those who worked in the chosen career field. Find your mentor.
• Reflect on the results
• Network and get referrals
• Have GRIT!  -  Be persistent
• Succeed!

Your work search for career change can succeed.

Catch Your Star

Find a mentor for your new career by clicking the Search button below.

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Do you want to serve as a Mentor with us?   Why not join our team of Mentors right here at Career Redo?  Find out more by clicking on the button below.