Transitioning careers can be difficult but rewarding. Working in a different industry helps develop your skills and experience so you can add value to more companies.
Having a plan for your career transition can help you make a smooth shift. These suggestions can help.
Follow these guidelines to make a smooth shift while transitioning careers.
Determine Why You Want a Career Transition
Uncover specific reasons why you want to shift careers. Examples include the desire for a new company culture, different colleagues and coworkers, and the need to build something new in a different field.
Think about what your career transition might feel like. Your new role should feel better than your current role and be worth committing to.
Learn all you can about your new field. For instance, set up informational interviews, job shadow, or volunteer with a nonprofit organization to see whether the field might be right for you.
Talk with a Local Staffing Agency
Consider talking with a recruiter from a local staffing agency that specializes in the industry that interests you:
- The recruiter can provide information, answer questions, and serve as a sounding board for your career transition.
- You could take on a temporary job to see what working in the field is like.
- If you decide the shift is not for you, you could focus on another industry that might be a better fit with your transferrable skills, experience, and interests.
Focus on Your Desired Lifestyle
Have an image of the life you want to build. Include the following details:
- Where you want to live
- The type of partner you desire, if any
- How you want to spend your time
- Your desired level of flexibility
- The importance of autonomy
- Your preferred type of schedule
- The type of purpose you want
Focus on what you want your journey to look like:
- The defining events that would mean the most
- Who you want to become
- What you want to be remembered for
Evaluate What You Want to Do
Ask yourself questions to determine where you want to go and what your next step should be:
- What is your end goal?
- Will continuing to do what you are doing get you closer to your ultimate goal?
- When you are 80 years old, will you have more or fewer regrets because of your current choices?
Write down the necessary steps to reach your destination and potential problems you might experience. For instance, transitioning careers might mean you end up earning less income than you currently are. Possible solutions would be to reduce your expenses, pay off as much debt as possible, and save enough money to make up the difference as you adjust to your new income.
Clarify When Your Career Transition Will Occur
Set realistic goals and timeframes for your career shift. Remember that gradual change tends to be more successful than immediate change. Therefore, you can set big goals and take small, daily steps to reach them.
Are You Ready to Transition Careers?
Work with Job Store Staffing® for guidance and support throughout your Colorado career transition and beyond. Visit our job board to start the process today.