Start your Career
A career change is exciting, but it can be worrisome. A vision and system for starting a new career can make it easier and efficient. If you take time at the beginning to discover what you really want to do in your work life, you can then explore possibilities and move forward.
Whether you are tired of your current work and just want something different, or you have a specific career in mind, an organized approach will serve you well. Whether you want an entry-level job or a completely new profession, these steps will help
What do I want?
Start by doing a self-assessment of your values, how you like to work, and what you’d be compelled to do even if you never got paid, says Alexandra Levit, the author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success.
Woodward agrees. He says it’s important to identify and articulate your core values because they act as your compass, particularly during times of uncertainty and change. “Most people can’t articulate their core values and thus tend to make the same bad choices over and over again. When your values are dramatically misaligned with those of your employer, you will become disengaged and possibly even disgruntled.”
How to Successfully Change Careers
People change careers for many variations of two reasons: They leave their career, or their career leaves them. Either way, employment challenges are much the same when it comes to marketing yourself in places where you haven’t been before.
Even when you think you can easily transition from one career field or industry to another, employers can be a hard sell when it comes to green-lighting career changers for a payroll. Except when they’re filling entry-level jobs, hiring authorities have a frustrating habit of preferring candidates who, on someone else’s payroll, have proven that they can do the work a job requires. When you want to give your best effort to prevent a career change, whether voluntary or involuntary, from going awry, pay attention to the following pointers: