Ask yourself: What are you good at? What skills do you possess, and which are transferable to other kinds of roles or other industries? What kind of work environment and corporate culture best fit your personality? You need to take the time to reflect on who you are and what you want to achieve in your career.
●Be clear about what career you want:You don’t need to worry about a successful career change option now. Just think what career you would like to make the transition to. Sit down, reflect and write 5 possible career changes you can make.
●Sequence your career choices: You cannot have all 5 careers you have chosen for yourself. Write down according to your likings, marketability and growth potential. Start with something that has the most marketability, potential and you like it too.
●What are your core values? Your core values have a lot to do in what careers you would like. Before making any effort to do any career change, simply take a piece of paper and write about the qualities you like in people. Make a list of 20. And then take some time to make it to a list of your top 5.
●Find out why? If you’re asked why you would like to make a change of career, you may give many answers. But the truth is you want to make a career change because of only one major cause. Find that out.
Scan the current job: Do a scanning of your current job. Take some time. Sit for 30 minutes and write down everything you like or dislike about your current job. Being clear about.
●Do a SWOT: It’s the best investment in yourself for making a career change. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all success. Find out your strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
●Talk to someone in the same profession: Talk to a colleague or someone in the same profession. Share why you would like to make a career change option. Get his/her input. Write it down.
●Are you doing the right thing? The most important question is – Do you think that the decision of changing careers is the right thing to do as per your current circumstances and scenarios? Write down your answers.
●Find out some facts: You may find other professionals who are feeling the same. Find out about them. What are they doing? How are they making the shift?
●Do a skill-set check: You may have some skills that you’re overlooking. Simply write down all the skills you have which are marketable. Even include the skill of being organized (it’s marketable)! It will take you just a few minutes.
●What skills do you need to earn your first wage/salary/moola? Start with the first career choice. What skills do you think you need to have to earn your first money from the career? Do you have them? If not, go to the next one and do the check.
●Check your savings: You need to have an emergency fund set aside to make a successful career change option. What if you start your new career and it doesn’t yield enough benefit to you. What then? Check your savings and set aside at least 1 year worth of living money for you and your family. Then take a plunge.
●If you don’t have much savings, the first plan for it: You can take a plunge only then when you’ve at least 1 year of living cost set aside. If you don’t have, plan to save first before you make any career change option. Plan for the entire year’s living cost plus some more and then think ahead.
●Set a date: While saving for the future you may get in the trap to keep on going in your existing career. So, set a tentative date since when you will make a career change. The date is not for taking baby steps; the date is rather for the particular time when you get started in your new career.
●Know about the market: Now, you’ve already chosen 5 possible careers. Pick one and find out its market, its trends, what sort of jobs are available, whether your currents skills are matching with the desired ones or not etc. By doing this you will get a hang of the market and you can understand the reality of making a career change option.
●Don’t think full time in the beginning: The
fatal mistake most mid-level professionals make while going for a career change option is to go for full time. Don’t go for full time in the beginning. If you think you’re smart enough to start off right away, just go for a few part-time projects. See how things work, how much money you can make and how much growth you can have if you do it for your lifetime.
●Tweak your resume: Just take 30 minutes -1hr out and update your resume. Discard excess words, add new skills and experiences.
●Check your oral communication: To check, simply take a word and start speaking about it randomly. Are you able to speak well? If not, do the same thing more often. Every day 5 random topics will do the needful.
●Examine your written communication:To make a career change option, you may have to have excellent written communication along with verbal communication.
●Have a plan for your personal development: Without developing yourself, really you can’t do much in your new career. So, have a plan to develop skills that you’re not good at. And hone the other ones that are marketable now.
●Know your core competency: Ask yourself – “What one thing I have or I can offer that is not replicable and add tremendous value to whatever I do?” And once you find out to add it to everything you do, even in your part-time gig.
●Talk to your family: If you make a career change option, other than you, your family will get affected directly. So before making any change, talk to them about your plans and how you want to implement it.
●Set a particular time of a particular day for yourself: You may not realize the value of this now. But if you want to think about your future and want to transit into a successful career change option, you need to schedule 1-2 hour slot every week for yourself. For example, you can set 2 hours slot for yourself every Tuesday in the afternoon every week.
●Learn: There is no age to learn more. To learn anything that you can about your future career. There are a ton of resources available on the internet. Just be willing and learn.
●Keep your day job: When you get too excited about a career change, you may let go of your day job before you make a transition into your new career. Please keep your day job and then do whatever you’ve to do about a successful career change option.
●Set an income goal: If you start your new career part time and you want to make it full time, start with an income goal. How much is enough to let go of your day job and do your part-time gig full time? Ask yourself and your family. Then set a goal and set a deadline.
●Meet people from the industry: If you’re done with the above step, you would know what would be your possible career choice now. Once you’re done with that, simply go to LinkedIn, find out people in the same industry and just have a look at their profile. If possible talk to them and meet them. Ask them questions if you’ve any.
●Get fit: It may sound irrelevant, but it’s not. If you’re not enough, you will not have enough enthusiasm to make your mark and to invest your energy into worthy goals. To make a successful career change option, be fit and maintain it.
●Let go: Making mistakes are a natural part of transitioning into a successful career change option. So, when you make them, let go and learn from them. Don’t criticise yourself for making mistakes.
●Love the process: A successful career change option is not a destination, rather it’s a journey. There may be some ups and downs. But trust and love the process. Eventually, you will make a successful shift into a new career.
●Be patient: Often the reality doesn’t follow your plans. A successful career change option may take longer than you expect. But be patient and keep on taking baby steps in the right direction. Your destination is near.
●Think Big. Start now.
You can accomplish amazing things if you go out of your comfort zone to seek the right tool set, build the relevant skillset and maintain the right mindset.
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