Thinking about a Career Change?

Is it time you changed career?

Have you begun to lose interest in the job you’ve been at for the past several years? Is there another job that interests you more? Did your company suddenly downsized and you were one of those affected by it? Are you hoping for a career with less stress involved? Do you not get a sense of personal achievement or satisfaction in your current job? Well, these are just some of the reasons for that career change.

Before actually embarking on a career change, you have to make sure that it is really what you want to do, because it will be difficult to switch back to your previous career once you already did a career change. You have to make an assessment of your likes and dislikes in a career first so you can better choose which career is better for you. You might want to make a career change because you dislike your company policies, your colleagues, you boss, or even the job itself. But while knowing these dislikes, you also need to reflect on what you like in a career so that it can lead you to the right direction. You may use self-assessments to do this, or simply use some time for rediscovering yourself, what you enjoy doing while at the same time working. What are your hobbies? It’s important to list down your interests because you may end up in a job doing what you love. There are certain careers centering on your interests, so you might want to take advantage of this.

If you cannot think of your interests or passion that can be made into a career, you can also list down your skills and experiences, and use them as bases for your career change. For instance, if you are good at planning and leadership, you might want to try supervisorial or managerial careers. If you are good at software development, you might want to shift gears and apply in IT companies instead of being a nurse, for example. These are termed transferable skills. You might be surprised to learn that you do not need to learn new skills for your new career, because you’ve chosen something in which you already have a solid amount of experience.

Also, bear in mind that there is tough competition out there, and you have to have the necessary experience for them to take your application seriously. In a career change, you are starting from square one, so you have to make good impression by having that experience in your new career, be it a volunteer work or a part-time job; these are termed “moonlighting.” Use this to get to know the culture and how people work in this new career, so you have get a feel of how things are done. This way, you can assess as well if this is the right move for you. You may find it unnecessary, but it will really influence the decision as to whether you will be chosen for the job or not, as it adds solid experience points to your resume.

People may doubt you for your unexpected decision for a career change, and for sure, you will feel like it will be an overwhelming, intimidating task. But remember that you do not have to endure the horror you always encounter with your previous career. You can take on new ones, and even flourish in them.