Thinking of Changing Careers? Here’s How to Successfully Transition

Most people start on a career path, only to realize that it’s not what they want to do with their lives. For instance, let’s say you graduated with an IT degree and even worked in the profession for more than 5 years. But lately, you are in the PR department of your company more times than you can count. Deep inside, you feel that you should have had a career in PR.

Another scenario would be someone who took the first job that came by after graduation despite having a degree in a totally different field. Years later, whatever was keeping you in the job (money or raising kids) starts to wear off and all you want now is something more fulfilling. You’ve been an Accountant for years and now you want to join the HR profession.

In these two scenarios, one thing is clear; you want to change careers but you lack relevant experience. Yes, you may have 5 years of experience and above. But you lack the experience to move to a completely new field. Where do you begin your journey? How do you get hired in jobs you don’t have direct experience for?

Here are 5 Tips to Help with Your Transition

1. Be sure about the new path you need to take

The first step towards a successful transition is knowing exactly what career path you want to follow. If you aren’t sure yet, take time off to think hard about it. In fact, you don’t need to continue reading this article because the next four tips won’t work unless you are specific about what you want.

READ ALSO >>> 4 Reasons Why You Should Stick With A Career You Don’t Love 

Only when you have a determined career path can this guide work. So, if you already know the career you want to move to and you are certain about it, it’s time to take up the next steps.

2. Be ready to start from the bottom

This might be painful to do, especially for anyone who is not willing to take a pay cut, work for free or take a position lower than what they are used to. When you want to move into a new career, you don’t have the experience required.

Regardless of your years of experience, you are almost like a fresh graduate trying to get a job in their field of study. You must be willing to volunteer your time in the departments you want to join and be willing to start all over again.

If want to work in HR, look for a department or company that will allow you to volunteer. Apply for available internships that don’t mind your age and be ready to take entry-level positions. This will give you the practical experience required to excel in that specific field.

3. Improve on your educational qualifications

When experience is lacking, the next best thing is your education. Ask yourself; what additional course can you take that will add value to your career. For instance, someone who has a Degree in Accounting or other field and wants to join HR, can take up a Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management.

This will be very useful on your CV and convincing employers that you are hell bent about working in HR. Study the career you want to take; what qualifications are required? What can you do to meet those qualifications? Then go ahead and do it.

SEE ALSO >>> How To Make A Successful Career Change Without Going Back To School

4. Leverage on your transferrable skills

These are very important when changing careers. Having worked in a certain position for years, there are various skills that you must have picked up. These skills can be very useful in other careers as well.

For instance, the ability to handle pressure, supervisory skills, analytical skills, communication skills and teamwork are all transferrable. Make sure they are very clear on your CV. They might not get you the job you applied for, but if they are related to the position, they will prompt a recruiter to continue looking through your CV.

And who knows? They might decide to call you for an interview in order to get to know you better.

5. Use networking as your primary job search strategy

If you are trying to change careers and your only strategy is to apply with your CV, you are doing yourself a disservice. You will get so frustrated that you will no longer know what to do. When recruiters are browsing a CV, they expect to see the experience they are looking for and the education they need.

This means that despite your remarkable career history, the recruiter will push aside your CV to look at the next one. Why? You are not qualified. So forget about the normal application and focus on networking. Update your LinkedIn profile, attend networking events and buy decision makers a cup of coffee.

Let them know what you are looking for, the career you seek and ask their advice on the best way to go about it. You’ll be surprised what this gesture can result to.

RELATED ARTICLE >>> 3 Ways To Make A Successful Job or Career Change in Kenya 

In the End…

Changing careers is not a light process. You have to take your time making the decision, planning out your strategy and waiting for results. Yes, you have to be very patient for the process to work.

Also, there are a few things you need to consider before changing careers. You can read more about that in this post.