Are you looking to make a career change and wondering how to make it as painless
as possible or maybe you've already decided that a career transition is
right for you you just don't know where to start. In this video, you'll learn five
steps to help you make a smooth and effective career transition and if you
stay around until the end, you'll learn where you can find a free resume
template that you can grab today and use to apply for your next job. If we've
never met before, I'm Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com and #thecareerclub
on Facebook and on this channel I provide simple solutions to help you
launch a career you love so if you're new here consider subscribing and don't
forget to hit that bell notification down below so you don't miss a thing.
Making a career transition can be a scary thing especially if you've been in
one industry for a very long time the good news is that if you're ready for
something new you don't need to start all over again
Before we jump into my five strategies to make a career change remember that a
career switch is different than a job switch what you might find is that all
you need is a job switch so let's jump into a tip number one evaluate your
current situation so you want to think about is a career move really something
you want or are you just unhappy in your current position so if you find that you
enjoy what you do but perhaps you don't enjoy the work environment it might be
best for you to find a position in the same field but just with a different
employer this gives you the chance to put yourself in a positive work
environment with fresh new energy you might also want to consider a partial
career change this is a related position with a similar skill set and knowledge
base an example of this would be moving from a financial analyst position into
an insurance underwriter or even a multimedia artist into a graphic
designer step number two conduct a
self-assessment this will help you narrow in on the types of positions that
fit you best and help you pinpoint what you are good at you'll also gain a
greater insight into you are as a person so take a few
minutes to answer these questions what will get you out of bed in the morning
what do you love to do what are you passionate about what would you do for
free think about what creates that burning
fire inside of you now what if you don't know what you like to do or what you're
passionate about that's okay you can start by listing your life experiences
experiences and life that you've really enjoyed also let's see experiences in
life that you haven't enjoy another thing you can do is ask others that you
trust most what they think you do best and don't underestimate the power of a
personality test one of my favorites is sixteen personalities calm it takes 12
to 15 minutes to answer a couple of questions to give you more input into
who you are as a person and the types of positions that you will excel in so I'll
go ahead and link that up below step number three do your research conduct
informational interviews with others that are in a field you would like to be
in ask them what do you like best about your position what are some of the
unique projects you get to work on or what do you not like about your position
also take a look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics you can find just about
anything you need to know about a specific position such as the pay the
education level required the on-the-job tasks that you would do the training
involved once you've conducted your research you want to evaluate the types
of skills and knowledge you'll need to jump into that position and you'll also
want to decide is it worth your time and money to do the career switch step
number four is to make a plan and start networking you want to start by
revamping your career documents like your resume your cover letter your
LinkedIn profile they all need to be tailored for the specific position you'd
like to be in you also want to focus on transferable skills so these are skills
that you can take from your previous career and apply them to your new career
these are things like teamwork flexibility drive innovation written and
oral communication skills and even a little
skills you want to highlight your superior performance so how did you
succeed in your previous position and how would you add value to your new role
and then of course you want to surround yourself with people that are inspiring
to you there's a famous quote by Jim Rohn that says you are the average of
the five people you spend the most time with step number five is take action do
the impossible you want to start by connecting with people that are doing
what you want to do or that have the job title that you would like to have in the
future an easy way to do this is to send a customized message on LinkedIn your
message could say something like hey there Sally sue we've never met in
person but I noticed that you are currently working at company XYZ I'm
very impressed with your experience and would love the opportunity to find out
how you got to where you are today would you mind if we connect on LinkedIn
now emphasizing your passion for the industry and the position will go a long
way you want to find groups and associations on line and in person of
the field you would like to go into and join them this type of networking is one
of the most powerful forms of job placement in fact it's been reported
that 85% of jobs are filled via networking by referrals companies love
to hire referrals because it costs them less they have lower turnover and it
actually produces a higher quality employee now to make this process a
whole lot easier for you I have a free resume template that you can download
today and customize for your new position I'll go ahead and link it up
below and if you liked this video be sure to hit the like button down below
make sure you share this with anyone you know that might benefit and as always be
sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next video.