How to Make a Career Change
When you are feeling burned out in your current profession, it may be time to take a look at how to make a career change. Career changes are becoming the norm rather than the accept in today’s society. Many people change careers five or more times throughout their working lives. There are a number of things that you need to consider when looking at how to make a career change.
Do you have the skills necessary?
One of the first things you need to consider is what types of skills are needed to succeed in your new career choice. Before you focus on how to make a career change, you have to first determine if you are prepared to make a career change.
First, research the field that you hope to enter, and find out what skills are necessary to gain entry into the field of your choice.
If the career field that you want to enter requires skills other than the ones you have, you may need to pursue additional training before you can actually change careers. There are a number of affordable and convenient options for instructor-led and online training that can help you get the skills you need so that you can move into the field of your choice. Check out www.dailycareerconnection.com for a comprehensive guide to career change training opportunities.
Can you afford to make a career change?
For some people, a career change will represent a boost in pay. For others, changing careers might mean a temporary or permanent decrease in pay. If you have been working in your current occupation for any length of time, you have probably progressed beyond earning an entry-level salary. For example, if you have had a sales position that required you to travel extensively and you are making a career change so that you can be home with your family, you may well find that non-traveling careers are not as lucrative as the one you are giving up.
An important thing to consider before focusing on how to make a career change is whether or not you can afford to make a career change. Depending on what you want to do in your new career, you may find that you have to take a step or two (or more) backwards in salary when you make a career change. Educate yourself about initial earning potential in the new career that interests you, and make sure that your expectations for what you might be able to earn are realistic.
Do you have contacts in the career field you want to pursue?
Once you are sure that you have the skills to change careers and are comfortable with the potential for compensation in the new field, it is time to start focusing on how to make a career change. One of the most important thing you can do is cultivate relationships with professionals already working in the career field that interests you.
For example, if you are working as a social worker, but want to move into a human resources career, your chances of finding a job in human resources re greatly enhanced when you get to know people who are working in the profession and let them know about your interest in changing careers.
You can go about cultivating contacts in a new career field in a number of ways. One of the best things you can do is take a look at the people you already know to see if any of them are working in human resources. If you do find that you already know some people, contact them and ask them for assistance. Let them know your plans, and ask if they have any advice for you regarding how to make a career change from social work to human resources.
Another excellent means of getting to know human resources practitioners who might be helpful to you is to get involved in a professional organization related to the new field. Most cities have a local chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management that holds monthly professional development meetings.
Find a chapter in your area and go to the meetings. You will have an opportunity to meet many professionals in the field that interests you, and have an opportunity to ask them for input regarding how to make a career change to human resources. You might even get leads about job opportunities from members.
Article Written by Mary Gormandy White, 2007. Article may not be reprinted without permission of the author.
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