Advice for Career Changers

Changing careers may have been on your mind for some time or, like many people of late, you may be exploring a career change out of necessity. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have all had ample time for introspection, you may have re-defined your goals, learned new skills or found new interests. Whatever your reasoning for exploring a career change, there are several important steps you should take to build a solid foundation for your new professional life. 

Evaluation and Context Gathering: 

If you are/were unhappy with your current or most recent working arrangement, it’s time to figure out why. Knowing specifically what you want to change will help you in avoiding a career path with similar issues. The best thing to do is to start a daily journal, noting down what irritations arose throughout the day, along with the positive aspects. Doing so will allow you to identify trends in your daily working life which frustrate you. You should also note down the parts of your job which you enjoy and those you don’t. You should consider whether your co-workers or company culture are making you unhappy. Would removing those factors improve your job satisfaction? 

It’s also important to analyze your personal life, what do you like to do in your free time? Often great careers are built from what we like to do in our spare time. Leaving your 9 to 5 aside for now, what projects have you worked on in the past that you found really enjoyable? Simply narrow down that enjoyment to the singular skills you used throughout the project and you have a great jumping-off point for a new career. 

Planning: 

Now that you have an idea of what you like and what you’re good at, it’s time to find careers that fit your skill set and interests. A simple google search or multiple searches along the lines of ‘What careers suit people with good organizational skills?’ are a great place to start for example. Rinse and repeat this process until you have a list of jobs/career paths that align with your interests. Speak to your contacts within this field to get the inside scoop too, you’ll likely learn things you didn’t know. 

The next step is to balance your expectations against the barriers to entry of this new career path and the time it will take to get where you want to be. It may be a case of studying to upskill or starting in an entry-level position to earn your stripes. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into and what the progression path looks like. Don’t allow the average salary of this new role to carry too much weight, of course, it needs to be balanced against the financial responsibilities in your life, but career changes don’t come around too often. Take the risk and chase your dream career if you can. 

Action: 

By now, you should have a concise list of positions or industries you would like to work in. It’s time to act and make tangible steps towards your new career path. If you’re unsure which of your shortlist options would be the best fit, you should identify key employers within your industry of choice and lean on them to answer some of the more pressing questions you may have. Be honest about your situation, you may even be able to set up a job shadowing or internship opportunity. Companies with good HR practices love embracing career changers, diversity of thought and opinion are crucial to growth, your unique perspective is very valuable to an employer. 

If you need to brush up on some skills or earn a qualification in order to make the first step in your career, make that happen. You can speak to an instructor or admissions officer to learn more about the course or class and ensure you’ll get what you need from it. You may be able to avail of employee development plans with your current employer. 

You should also consider moving to a new discipline within your existing field. Your industry experience will make you stand out over other candidates and it could be a nice transition into your new career path. 

If you’re considering a career change, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to talk through your experience to date, motivation for changing career and explore your options for the future. Don’t let another day slip away, begin your search for a new career today with Celtic Careers.