So you’ve done your research and now are 100% behind the idea of a career change. Congratulations, as this will hopefully help you achieve your dreams of working a better-paying job or landing your dream job regardless of salary.
Career changes happen all the time. People are also quite enthusiastic about it. Since very few people actually know what they want to do later in life, they make poor college choices that ultimately lead them to work unsatisfying jobs. But if you’ve done your research and are ready to make a change, then here is how to do it.
Write An Ideal Job Description
The first thing you should do is clearly state what you want to do from now on. To do that, grab a pen and paper and start writing what that looks like. Do you want to be a business manager? Well, saying that won’t cut it as you’ll need to outline in detail what that means. While at it, you can also factor in your strengths and talents as to what this job will perfectly suit you.
The reason why you’re doing this is to clearly give you an idea of what sort of change you’re looking for. More so, it tells you what the ideal job looks like.
Get Your CV Sorted
If you’re looking for a career change, then you should know that updating the CV is necessary. Even more so, you need to figure out exactly what can and cannot be added from your previous experience of working as a barista. Your previous job includes a different set of skills inapplicable for your new job. So you need to omit those as they won’t do you any favors. We agree, knowing how to make a mean martini is a skill everyone should value. But sadly, that is far from the truth.
Start Looking For Employment Opportunities
It might be some time before you get to work in your new role. And before that, some career paths might require you to obtain a different college degree. But you know all this as you’ve done your research. So the next logical step is to start looking for work. There are a couple of ways to approach this one. You could do a bit of networking and talk to people in the new industry regarding potential employment. Networking is a powerful tool that can help you easily find new employment.
According to this post from Forbes, networking was the most effective way to find employment in 2010. But does that hold nowadays? According to Apollo Technical and their study, networking is the best possible way for professionals to find career success. So don’t neglect it and start networking right away.
Another way to find employment and work in your new role is to look for job listings online. The great thing about the internet is that most jobs can be worked remotely. This opens a huge market for you to utilize and use to your advantage. With freelancing being more popular than ever, creating an account with a freelance platform might prove to be more useful.
Update Your Skills and Stay On Top
In the meantime, you can work on updating both the hard and soft skills necessary to make it in your new role. Since you’ll be entering a new environment, it doesn’t hurt to stay on top of your game by working on perfecting your craft. More so, you can stay on top of industry dealings by reading news related to your field. By doing this, you are passively learning new things related to your industry.
Not only does this keep you informed, but it makes you seem more knowledgeable.
Get Ready For An Interview
Sooner or later, you will land an interview with a potential employer. Now is your time to shine and seize the moment. But before that, do you even have the wardrobe to make a first good impression? No doubt certain jobs require you to dress in a certain way. We all know that developers and bankers are two very different people. More so, bankers are required to dress in a certain way when working. Developers, on the other hand, not so much.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress for the occasion. What better way to tell potential employers that you ooze confidence than to dress smartly and professionally? To do that, you might need to refresh the wardrobe by getting yourself a new suit, a new tie, new shoes, etc.