Career Change Advice

Looking for some solid career change advice?

It wasn’t all that long ago that a man got a job and worked for that same company for 20, 30, even 50 years in some cases.

But times have changed and now you’re facing a career change crisis?  This can happen at any age and even right after college.  It’s startling when it happens after spending over 10 years in your career.  It’s even worse when it’s because of a shift in the economy!

Sometimes a career change is spurred by technological changes making some jobs obsolete.  In the printing industry, for example, many paste-up and plate-burning jobs are gone forever due to the advent of “direct to plate” technology where the print job goes from the computer directly to the printing plate.  In manufacturing, robotics advancements are eliminating numerous “people” jobs.

The other side to those examples, however, is that careers in computer technology and robotics are growing rapidly.  Unfortunately, you probably can’t go from the old job of manufacturing the parts by hand to building the robots to do it for you without several years of further education.

Are You Stuck?

Maybe your desire for career change is because you feel stuck or lack a sense of accomplishment in your current field.  Do you wonder if a career change is right for you?

Before telling your boss you quit and you find yourself without a job or an income, take a breath, consult with a career coach, and plan out your next move with some solid career change advice.  In fact, leaving any job right now is risky.  Those that find themselves unemployed often end up with less pay and statistic show it can take 10 years of more to get to the income they had before the layoff.

Some important questions to ask yourself as you look at a new career option:

• What skills do you have now?

• What careers interest you?

• What personal preferences do you have in regards to working with people? Do you like people? Do you like variety or predictability?

• What lifestyle do you want or need? Will this affect your choice of career?

• What is job growth and availability for your new career?

• If you’re relocating, are jobs available in the new area?

• Do you have savings to fall back on while you go to school full time?

• Where possible, have you tried part time or volunteer work in your prospective field?

Career Change Advice

Take some career assessment tests and talk with your career coach to ensure you’re on the right path with achievable, realistic goals.

Some other scenarios…  Maybe no one has given you a proper performance review with clear goals, or no one has discussed your future with you or told you how to advance.  All these things can make a person feel “stuck”.

Sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Over the years I was able to keep valuable employees by finding out what goals they had or what they felt they struggled in and was able to help them get back on track.

I wasn’t able to do that with everyone, but what if you had a career advocate, someone you could discuss things with and brainstorm ideas?  Could you come up with a clear plan for getting feedback from your supervisors or getting promoted if you had some good career change advice?  Maybe.  There are ways to find out.  More on that in another post.

The “Career Change” Resume

So now that you’ve decided on your new career, taken classes, received your certifications, how you get employers to look at your resume over those of candidates with direct experience?

A “career change” resume.

Resumes can be created in several formats: chronological, targeted, combination.  But the style you’ll want for your career change resume is the functional style resume.

When writing your functional resume, you’ll take the skills and experience from your previous career and show how they will benefit your prospective company.

Instead of showing off your past, you’re showing off your future.  As a manager that has looked at many resume’s I think career changes are exciting for most people and managers look closely at the “why’s” of career change.  Make it positive and real.

A “career change” cover letter is a must, too.  Here is some career change resume advice:

* Be honest. Don’t try to hide that you don’t have direct experience.  Be the first to call it out, but then show them why you are indirectly experienced.
* Show how you can help them, not how they can help you
* Show how your past experience will help their company.  Don’t expect them to connect the dots on their own.

Because changing careers is an emotional event, take the time to plan and map out your change, if your situation permits.  And by all means, Contact Us.  We’re here to help.