88%

Out of 662 full-time working Americans from a variety of industries and educational levels who recently went through a career transition, Indeed.com found in a 2019 survey that 88% reported being “happier since making their move”.

If that ain’t a glowing recommendation, I don’t know what is.

So, if you find yourself in a job or career that doesn’t make you happy, and you’re thinking about making a career change in 2020 – you’re not alone.

“Each year, millions of people make an internal shift, reaching a point where they are ready to explore a new career…No matter what the impetus for a career transition, the path is filled with new challenges.” (Dana Manciagli)

Considering a career shift can feel overwhelming, and everyone’s journey will be different, but following some basic steps as guidelines can help make your career change a success.

Step 01: Make Sure You Need a Career Change

If you’re feeling unhappy in your work, it could simply be a sign that you need a new job, not necessarily a new career. Here’s the difference:

If you’re happy with the tasks you do and the responsibilities you have, but you hate your coworkers, your boss, or the work environment, then getting a new job could solve your problem.

But a whole new career may be the right way to go if:

• you’re doing work that isn’t consistent with your values,
• your tasks and responsibilities either bore you to tears or make you want to pull your hair out, or
• you just can’t bear dragging yourself to work any longer.

“If you take a look at everything and realize that the problem isn’t your commute, your boss, or your company, but the actual work itself—then it’s time to consider a different type of work.”

– 2 Big Signs You Don’t Just Need a New Job, You Need a Whole New Career, Christie Mims

Remember that making a career change is complex, and will likely take an investment of time, energy, and possibly even money. So, consider your options and make an informed decision.

(Still on the fence about whether you really need a career change? Learn more about the warnings signs in my recent blog, 5 Signs You Secretly Want a Career Change.)

Step 02: Evaluate Your Wants, Needs, and Passions

Once you decide that a career change really is the right move for you, consider this as the time to start over and really get it right.

You don’t want to find yourself in 10 years in the same unhappy position, just a different career field – right?

I say, go big or go home. If you’re going to make a leap, go all-in on something that you’re really passionate about.

This is the time to take a chance on yourself, and get over-the-moon happy in your career.

Spend time evaluating what you really like to do, the skills you enjoy using, and what purpose you want your work to serve. You can also consider the opposite – things you don’t like to do and skills you don’t like to use – to help guide you.

I know it can feel overwhelming, especially if you really don’t know what else you’d ever do for a career, so I’ve included some self-reflection questions that might help get you started:

• What is it that I don’t like about my current job?
• What do I enjoy about my current job?
• What was I doing the last time I got so invested that time passed quicker than I realized?
• What would my perfect day (or lifestyle) look like?
• What do I daydream about when I’m bored?

The point of this exercise isn’t necessarily to connect these answers to any actual job options. That will come later. For now, just focus on what makes you happiest to spend your time doing.

Step 03: Explore Your Possibilities

First, a disclaimer: This stage may require a mindset shift in order to really explore your full range of possibilities.

Do your future self a favor and get outside your comfort zone. Think big, think outside the box, and don’t let your own perceived limitations stop you.

Fight the fear. You won’t be 100% qualified for anything else – and that’s okay.

(Ladies, this is especially important for us to remember. An article in the Harvard Business Review states that “Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.”)

So, keep an open mind, and spend some time researching positions and/or fields that may be a good fit for you. You can start with something as simple as a Google search for ‘career change nurse’ or ‘alternative career lawyer’. This will get you started with a simple understanding of what else may be out there.

Don’t be afraid to stretch the limits of what you can do, and consider how it applies to anything you find that seems like even a partial fit.

Since you’ll be looking for something that make you happy, not just a stop-gap, you may want to research local companies to find out if there is a particular organization you’d like to work for. From there, you can search for positions within the organization either on the company website or 3^rd-party online job boards.

Speaking of online job boards, you can also use websites like LinkedIn.com, Indeed.com, ZipRecruiter.com, Snagajob.com, CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, etc. to read up on job descriptions an better understand the career direction you want to go.

The goal here is to find positions you (a) are interested in, and (b) feel qualified for.

Once you’ve done this, you can conduct informational interviews with people who are doing work that interests you. You can also consider job shadowing, volunteering, or working an internship as other ways to get a feel for an occupation that interests you.

You may also want to think about consulting with a Career Transition Coach, Career Coach, Executive Coach, or Life Coach to sort through your thoughts and help identify potential directions to go in.

While speaking with someone can help you get started in the right direction, only you can truly know what is a good fit for you. That’s why the research element is so important.

Step 04: Develop Your Plan of Action

At this point, you should be able to identify a short list of potential jobs you’re interested in. Form here, you will want to get clear on your target positions and the requirements to reach them.

Will you need training?

That’s a definite possibility, and for some career fields there’s no choice. But for many other career fields, there are alternative solutions to formal education that take a much smaller investment of time and money, and will help you get ahead.

I’ve already mentioned internships, which can be a great way to gain experiential knowledge of a new career field. Skills-based volunteering is another way to gain hands-on experience

Another option is MOOCs – massive open online courses offered by numerous reputable universities, educational institutions, and intellectual organizations. Many MOOCs are offered for free, while others are offered at a drastically reduced cost. MOOCs tend to be centered on singular subjects and are usually a few weeks to a few months long – many are even self-paced.

And – believe it or not – YouTube can be another great resource for certain kinds of self-development / training. I’ll follow that by saying it definitely isn’t effective for all kinds of training, and you always want to be smart about the resources you trust. But at the very least, YouTube can help you familiarize yourself with important concepts, language, and requirements of a new career field.

Identify Your Transferrable Skills & Unique Value Proposition

Based on what you know about yourself from Step 2 and what you learned in Step 2 about your new target positions, ask yourself these types of questions:

• What value do you offer?
• What makes you unique?
• How does your previous line of work relate to this new one?
• How can you benefit these new target companies?
• Why is it a good thing that you’re coming from a different career?

Work on Expanding Your Network

If the only connections you have are at your organization, it’s time to branch out. Developing multiple avenues for networking can greatly change your results. (Source)

Start interacting with people in your new target field. At this point, you’re not mentioning your job search yet, but just developing relationships.

Follow influencers from your new target field on social media. Learn about what they’re working on, what they’re proud of, what they’re frustrated with.

You may want to schedule a few more informational interviews. This time, your goal will be not to learn about the broad concepts and aspects of what they do, but the specifics about their day-to-day jobs and responsibilities. You want to learn as much as you can, and apply it to how you can showcase your own strengths and experience in a way that meets the needs of the role.

Step 05: Recreate Your Job Search Collateral

All roads in your job search eventually lead to, ‘Send me your resume’. It’s inevitable. So, before you really start getting the word out about your career change, you’ll want to have your job search collateral ready to go. This includes:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• LinkedIn Profile
• Professional Bio
• Networking Letter
• Letter of Inquiry
• Thank You Letter

The complexities of a career transition affect your job search collateral, as well. It will be important to use language (ie. keywords) to target the types of positions you’ll be pursuing.

Keywords are especially important in transitional resumes, as it will be necessary to ensure that your content is worded to appeal to readers from your new intended industry/career-focus, instead of using language more suited to the industry you’re trying to leave.

Minimize verbiage and ‘jargon’ that relate only (or mostly) to the industry you’re leaving, and wherever possible, try translating what you’ve done into the actual language/jargon of your new career target area.

Step 06: Put it all in Motion

As I’ve already mentioned, career transitions are complex, so you’ll want to expand your job search beyond just online applications. 

The hiring and recruiting markets have changed drastically over the last several years with the greater incorporation of technology.

More and more, recruiters and hiring managers are building candidate pools on social media, continuously engaging with those candidates, and relying on them when hiring opportunities open up.

This means that just applying to online applications isn’t a very effective strategy anymore. These days, a diversified job search strategy – including online applications, social media networking, and in-person networking (through networking events), and sometimes still just feet-on-the-pavement, in-person job hunting – is most effective.

Here are some resources on these subjects:

• Jobvite – Continuous Candidate Engagement
• Go Beyond Online Job Boards
• Game Changing Job Search Strategies

And don’t forget that referral hires have always been the preferred source of new candidates. So, focus on connecting with people. Networking is even more important when you’re making a career change.

Oh, and have a great-looking LinkedIn profile – and make sure it’s using LinkedIn’s search algorithm to your advantage!

LinkedIn is still a huge player in recruitment and hiring. In fact, 61 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 40 million are in decision-making positions. You can find additional compelling statistics here.

Set Goals for Your New Career

Don’t just stop at deciding what you want to be – make it real by setting goals for what you want to achieve once you get there.

Visualize yourself in your new chosen role/career path and decide where you want your potential to take you. Develop your drive

Step 07: Set Realistic Expectations and Stay Positive

Job searching takes time

As much as most of us don’t like to hear this, sometimes it just takes time. According to a survey done by the recruiting company Randstad USA, the average length of a modern-day job search is clocking in at five months. And that’s not even specifically for career changers. Those job searches can take up to a year, or more.

To stay focused and positive when the job search feels long, set measurable goals and track your progress. Being able to see your progress and achievements is a great way to stay motivated.

Follow-up whenever possible after applications and interviews – phone interviews, job interviews, informational interviews. Any time you take up someone else’s time, show your gratitude with a thank you, and be persistent (but not annoying) in your follow-up game.

Remember: You got this! And I’m here to help.