The last few months in self isolation have made many people reflect on why they do the job they do. What is the “why” in your career choice? If you look back over your career to date, what motivated you to make the choices you made? Have these choices made you feel excited and fulfilled in your career, and are they still making you feel this way? Or have things changed?
For many people, working from home has given them more time to reflect on what they enjoy, what they don’t enjoy, and where to next in their career. Everyone needs a purpose in life. For many people their purpose may have taken a bit of a beating this year.
With our lives changing so dramatically over the last few months, are you now trying to figure out if your current career is really the right choice for you? If you are going around in circles, getting more and more confused, try taking a few hours out of your day, sitting down and doing some self-evaluation.
However, before you do any of this, stop and ask yourself “how committed am I?” In other words, how much do you want a career change? If the answer is 100% yes, then read on!
First Things First
Get a blank piece of paper and then a𝗌𝗄 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝟥 things:
1. WHO – Who am I? What are my values, what is important to me? What are my personal attributes?
2. WHAT – What are my skills? What have I achieved in my career? What do my colleagues and friends say are my skills? What are my strengths? What comes naturally to me? What career achievements am I most proud of? What makes me happy? What energises me?
3. WHY – Why should a company employ me? What benefits would I bring if they did?
If you want to really dig deep into your career journey, and create a detailed picture, then a very helpful book on career change and job search is, “What Color is Your Parachute” by Richard N. Bolles.
Brainstorm
In doing all of this, it is also worth thinking about what the job market needs and also being realistic. If you are unclear about this, then check out the job boards and see what jobs are popular, what is in demand at the moment? Do you have these skills and attributes, are these jobs that interest you?
Then ensure your career message clearly tells people this. It is very important that what information you then change or add into your resume and LinkedIn profile, reflects not only your technical skills and ability, but also signifies what you are seeing in the job adverts you are applying for.
Any career change is made easier by moving in micro steps. What do I mean by this, well you might currently be a Marketing Manager but have aspirations to work in Cloud Computing. How do you do this? By taking micro steps………..
Collating Ideas
Firstly, find out what additional skills you need to work in Cloud computing, what training can you do, identify any technical gaps and explore what they are.
Next step, if you are currently working then who can you speak to in your IT department who can tell you more about working in Cloud Computing? Is it possible to gain experience in your current company through some project work?
If this is not an option then go to your network (LinkedIn is the easiest option for this) Do any of your contacts know people in this field? Can they make an introduction? This is where it can be really helpful to conduct informational interviews to gain more insight.
An informational interview is a short, focused conversation with other people working in your field of interest. They are never about asking for a job, but are about introducing yourself, stating your interests, then collecting insider information that will help you advance your job search.
What is Your Story
Ensure you have created your story and know why you want to make a career change. What is it that you find interesting about your new passion, how much do you know about it? As a career changer, invest extra time and effort in crafting your career story. This allows others to connect the dots more easily, between what you have done and what you want to do and why.
Finally, think about your career change as an expedition not just a day trip. Prepare yourself that changing careers is not an overnight thing but is an exciting journey.
If you are 100% committed to career change, then you will keep on that journey regardless of how challenging it may be.
If you could benefit from career coaching or job search advice, then contact me today for a FREE 15-minute career chat.