Career changes may seem daunting at first, especially when there are many job roles across various industries that you can consider. Whatever the reason—wanting to make more money, career goals that may have shifted over time, a desire for more flexible hours—what now?
Explore different industries to find the next step in your career. You can consider making a career switch and get support if you want to make a job switch. A job switch often means investing your money and time to make it a reality. As you would with any investment, it is essential that you take the proper steps before making a well-informed decision so that you can heighten your chances of career success. If you seek to change careers, here are five valuable tips to take note of before starting your journey.
Step 1: Reassess your Passion, interests and skills
To be one step closer to figuring out your new career path, you first need to identify your skills and where your interests lie. While there is nothing wrong with asking family and friends for advice, ultimately, you know yourself better than anyone else—your interests and skills have to be something that comes from you. At this stage, it is vital for you to evaluate your interests, skills, personality, and values; you can do so with self-assessment tools that are readily available online. Once this step is completed, you are ready to explore career options and will be able to choose one that will ensure job satisfaction.
Step 2: Do Your Research
Doing your research is more than just looking at job descriptions—it should ideally consist of you making a list of occupations you would like to explore, the educational and other requirements, earnings, job outlook, and most importantly, advancement opportunities.
Afterwards, consider trying it out through volunteer or freelance activities related to your desired occupation. It is only through trying it out physically that you can assess whether your interests align with the job. If it does not work out, repeat the process until you decide what you want to do! However, it is crucial that you do not rush through; it should be a career that you see yourself doing in the long run.
Step 3: Expand your Professional network
When it comes to career shifts, networking plays a vital role in ensuring that you can convince others to take a chance on you. Through networking, you can find an individual working in your desired field who is willing to expend political capital on your behalf to help you get your career started. In addition, you can also gain skills and expertise from these people, provided you have made sufficient progress in your relationship with them.
Step 4: Create an action plan
Setting goals is one thing, but unless you plan to achieve them, they will remain unfulfilled.The next step is to develop a realistic action plan that you can follow for a more seamless entrance into the new job. An action plan will ideally be your guide as you pursue your goals, so it would be best to be detailed when writing your career plan.
Before you write your plan, you should first list down all of your career goals and then comprehensively sketch out the steps you will need to take to achieve those goals. When doing so, consider adding in potential barriers you foresee—this way, you are well prepared to tackle these obstacles should you face them.
Step 5: Upgrade yourself before you start your new career
Upgrading yourself and your skills do not have to necessarily stop at job shadows, volunteering sessions, or freelance activities. It would be ideal to investigate educational opportunities that you believe will best connect your background to your new career path. Whether it be furthering your studies or attending seminars, it is a good way for you to have a fresh start and acquire an understanding of the field you are diving into.
A great example would be pursuing a part-time MBA degree. MBA graduates typically found it easy to transition to a new industry because they were able to develop excellent skill sets that made them an appealing candidates when it came to changing jobs. A trustworthy education partner with many years of qualified experience, Aventis Graduate School is the one to pick if you are on the lookout for executive MBA courses in Singapore. From a master’s in HR to a counselling and psychology master’s degree, Aventis offers a variety of programmes fit for those looking to achieve career success.
Conclusion
Two essential things to consider when changing your job are to always exercise patience and never limit yourself. Consider strengthening your patience as you embark on your career change journey for major life decisions like this! Moreover, when it comes to a new occupation, a helpful tip is to approach a new field with curiosity instead of finding a job that is an ideal fit for success. There is absolutely nothing wrong with investigating careers, even in industries you have never worked in before. That said, if you ever find yourself feeling anxious as you conduct a career change, it is absolutely normal to take a step back to breathe before continuing. If need be, you can see a psychotherapist if it comes to a point where it starts to affect your mental health.
As you go through this exciting phase, seek as many connections as you can who will support you and, most importantly, never lose faith!