We discussed about 3 signs that shows you need a career change in our last post here and believe we shouldn’t stop there.
We can look at how to prepare for a career change. You can’t just change career like that without putting some things in place. You are going to a new field with no experience of the modus operandi there.
One thing people think is “I don’t have experience in my new field, and I don’t think I can fit in”. Lack of experience in a new field doesn’t mean your skills are invaluable in that field. Skills are meant to augment your experience deficiencies.
Are you ready for a career change and worried you don’t have the experience or skills to land a job in your desired field? Here are those things to do before you make that move.
1. Change your social media circle
Social media is past the post pictures and giggle stage now. Use social media to your advantage to rebrand yourself in your new career area. Connect with industry leaders in your new field and interact with them by commenting on their posts, subscribing to their lists. Attend the industry conferences, workshops, and meetups to have a better understanding of how things work there. You can even take up volunteer positions, take courses, and attend professional events which will allow you get first-hand information of the in-working of the industry.
Technology now allows you to market yourself to the whole world seamlessly. The more hardworking you are in your new target industry, the more people start noticing you which will make your career switch easy.
2. Find your transferrable skills
Career change is not instant and requires self-analysis. Everyone has a handy skill that can be useful elsewhere, they just don’t know it. Are you a HR before moving to the finance industry? You can market your company and build your customer base by using the same skill set you used to uncover qualified job seekers. The handy skills are there to be utilized. You just need a change of thinking.
Breaking down your achievements will help you uncover these handy skills. You will notice a pattern of core strengths. Show your colleague or superior this core strengths and they will help to identify the most useful one for that industry.
3. Ditch your title
Most people introduce themselves using their job titles which can be wrong when changing careers. Your job title may be irrelevant outside the industry and this may cause doubts that you aren’t a good fit for that job. A title can cause confusion to someone in another industry. Most industries use language that doesn’t translate outside their industry.
Don’t dwell on your title, instead, place emphasis on your skills that will be valuable in that industry.
4. Irrelevant experiences
Our best achievements may not qualify as one in the new industry we are targeting. It may not have any relation to the job being applied for. In order to rebrand yourself professionally, select the parts pf your experience that aligns most with the target industry/role. It means dropping your best achievements and looking for what fit in first. This will make the recruiter see you as a good candidate for the role.
Happy Reading
