Time For Something New
What will your next career be?
Career pivots as they are now being called are the new norm with people of all ages opting to change their career and try something new. Not sure how to transition to a new career? Here are a couple of points to consider.
Understand why you want to change and what you’re looking for in your next career. Part of this is revisiting yourself – what are you passionate about, what motivates you, what are your strengths? Understanding the answers to these questions will help you as you assess courses, opportunities and positions. Equally important are your values and what you’re looking for in your next role, industry and organisation.
Interested in a particular career/industry? Research it to understand what opportunities it provides. What are you reading and hearing about the career you’re focused on? Leverage your network and connect with others working this area to understand whether your understanding of the industry and the careers available matches the reality. Remember you’re gathering information here rather than looking for a job but remember also that when you’re successful in one field, you are often seen as a great candidate for other fields. If you know what next career is, gather some intel on what industries provide the career you’re looking for.
Do a skills audit by comparing your current skills, experience and qualifications to those that you’ll need in your next career. Many skills readily transfer between careers/industries and are just as valuable as experience to employers. Examples of transferable skills are:
· Leadership
· Interpersonal and Communication
· Planning
· Sales and Marketing
Where you need additional skills, develop them by enrolling in a course, getting involved in projects with your current employer - look for opportunities to develop these new skills. Remember you don’t have to complete a course for everything and while qualifications remain valuable you may be able to start your new career while you’re studying.
Think about the opportunities which exist for your new career with your current employer? If you’ve got a good work history, internal opportunities with training can kick-start your new career. Organisations want to keep their good performers and will often support your development with short-term projects, secondments and training. Explore what’s available to support you.
Talk with others to help crystallise your next steps. The key though is to start - who knows what opportunities are out there?