Need a Career Change? Here is Where to Start

Guest Post by Mary Madsen

Have you been thinking about making a career change? If you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, you find yourself continuously procrastinating, you are frequently sick and you feel pessimistic about the future, there is a good chance you need to make a career change. In today’s world it is not uncommon for people to make career changes several times, regardless of their age.

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

It can certainly be a daunting experience to change careers after being in one for a long time. Although some people love and thrive on change, most of us prefer to stay in our comfort zones. Listed below are a few suggestions for starting the process of changing careers:

Have the Courage to Make the Change

Strangely enough, many people initially land in careers based on happenstance and random situations without ever basing career decisions on personal attributes, aptitude and interest level. This can result in making a bad career choice. It can be a painful experience to dedicate years to a profession only to find out that you are doing something you don’t enjoy. It can be even more painful to stay in a profession after realizing it is not what you want to spend the rest of your career doing. The first step in making a career change is in having the courage to make the change.

Don’t Change for the Wrong Reason

Some people actually change career paths because they dislike their employer or the corporate culture of the company they work for. That is really quite foolish. If you are good at what you do and you enjoy doing it, don’t change careers to avoid working for your boss or a given company. Simply find a better working environment in the same industry while staying on your career path.

Self Assessment

Once you have determined that it is a good decision to change careers, one of the first things you need to do is to honestly assess your personality, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, your current skill set and your aptitude. You really need to take those things into consideration in order to find a career that is a good fit. There are numerous excellent aptitude tests that are extremely good at providing an accurate profile and matching you with compatible career choices.

Identifying Transferable Skills

If it is possible to leverage your current skills, past training and past experience into a new career you can often start off in a higher position and a higher pay scale with a shorter learning curve. Nevertheless, don’t be afraid to start at the bottom and take the time to acquire a completely different skill set if your passion is in a path that does not allow you to transfer existing skills. The ideal is in finding a career that will provide long-term fulfillment.

Research New Careers

Once you have made the decision to make the change, assessed your personal skills and aptitude and transferable skills, you are now ready to research new careers. There are some great online resources for seeing what types of career options there are out there. Be patient and take your time evaluating as many options as possible. Some career changes will require going back to school while others will not.

Do Your Homework

Once you have identified the two or three options that interest you the most, it is time to do your due diligence. Read up on the career you decide to pursue and learn as much as you can about it. Identify people already in the career that you can interview and network with. They can let you know what the pros and cons are. They can become mentors and they can also be an invaluable resource for finding job openings in that field.

Finding a Fulfilling Career Is Worth the Time and Effort

There are numerous things involved in the process of landing a new job in a new career including the creation of an effective resume, the use of successful interviewing techniques and salary negotiation. By seriously considering the suggestions covered in this post, you can get started in the right direction in identifying your next career and making a successful career change. Finding the right career that will bring years of joy and fulfillment is well worth stepping out of your comfort zone.

Mary Madsen is a writer for Bellevue University providing standard and online degree programs ranging anywhere from Health Care Management to a Masters in Information Systems. To find out more about Bellevue contact them today.

image via Hyder Consulting

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