How to Switch Careers Without Screwing Yourself Over
So, the daily drudge just ain’t working for you any more: the long commute to work; mountains of pointless work on your desk; annoying co-workers that spew useless, distracting drivel when you try to concentrate; employee of the month-clubs where only suck-ups and ass-kissers get bonuses; a clue-less boss that makes Michael Scott look like a hero; and of course, perhaps, a meager salary.
You may have whined and moaned to your significant other in your home that you’re “sick of it!” and you really can’t stand it anymore. Your work is pointless and you feel unfulfilled/unhappy/depressed/useless/like a moron.
It just isn’t working for you anymore. You would quit if you had:- a) a million bucks
- b) a new job waiting or
- c) cajones.
If you’re afraid that quitting your job and making a career switch is going to screw your life over, you’re quite wrong: switching careers could be the most significant and beneficial thing you do for yourself in your life time.
That’s a loaded claim, but here me out. Just look at what awaits you if you stay at your current place of employment: you would continue to work at a job that you do not like or one that does not personally satisfy you and you would lose interest. After you lose interest, your work ethic and ability to carryout even mundane tasks diminish. And after that, you slack on work, fall asleep at your desk and begin rolling your eyes at your supervisor. You may stop showering or brushing your teeth before you go to work, and as per tardiness, forget it: you come in late, take an early lunch, and leave just 20 minutes shy of your 3:45 afternoon blood-sugar slump. You may get fired, or you may just become a miserable person. Your friends will tell you you’re a drag to be around and your significant other/bed buddy will stop calling. That’s your future if you don’t act now.
So,what do you do? The choice is your’s, but I have a feeling that after reading this comprehensive manifesto, you may find yourself sending out resumes, getting more education, and leaving your current drag of a job. But since you’re starting over, we have to go back to basics. Let’s go back to infancy and we’ll take it all in baby steps.
Learn to Crawl
It must be noted that you’re making a very important decision, one that takes careful consideration, and most importantly, big, huge balls. Making a career switch can be scary; after all, depending on your age, you have devoted a number of years of building experience and gaining knowledge in a particular field or occupation. Completely starting over can devastate not only your sense of security but your pocket book as well. If you are not careful, you may have to start at a base salary or even minimum wage if you choose a career path where you have no previous experience. As such, take it slow. Go back to basics and learn to crawl before you run into a new career.
First, identify what you really hate about your job: is it your boss, the work environment, the work itself (duties assigned, responsibilities, processes and procedures, etc.), or the coworkers? You may find that it is not the job itself but rather a particular person or persons or even the working environment; the aura, the mood, the atmosphere may just not agree with ya, ya dig?
Second, figure out what you love to do in life: Obviously, if you’re unhappy with your career path, you may not enjoy the type of work that you do. The best part of your life to look for what interests you the most can be found in hobbies and education:
- • Hobbies: What is it that you would do for a living even if you weren’t getting paid? Usually, the types of hobbies you enjoy answers this question. Whether it is mastering Everquest or collecting stamps, you can find something in your daily life that you enjoy.
- • Education: What did you study in school that you really enjoyed? Think way back, think beyond college and think back to high school or even middle school. Sure, you’ve matured since then, however, even a class that you enjoyed back then may still interest you now. Did you enjoy history, English class, or even PE? This can give you clues into a new job path you can follow.
- Professional certification. Getting professional certification implies that you are qualified to perform a specific job. Professional certificates are supplemental to a two or four year degree. They help to solidify and intensify a person’s knowledge in a particular field. If you’re working towards switching careers however, every little bit helps, and achieving personal certification in a particular field may very well serve you well.
- Associates degrees. If you have not yet completed college, or do not have a college degree, consider getting an associates degree. Because the Associates is known as a vocational type of degree, most people who earn it enter into a specific field that they studied while earning the degree. The most common career categories for those with their Associates are the business and commerce technology fields. A close second are those entering into the health services and paramedical fields. Other commonly chosen fields for those with an Associates degree include paralegal, mechanical, data processing, public service, computer related fields, and natural sciences. If you decide to get your Associates and think you might want to transfer later to a four year college, talk to your adviser about which classes will transfer over so you will not have to retake them. The Associates degree is an important part of the higher learning landscape.”
- Bachelors degrees. If you have an associates degree already, completing a bachelor’s degree while majoring in a particular field that is relevant to your dream job(s) may not take very long, especially if completed online. You may find that some schools even count on-the-job training or job-related experience as credits for your degree program, which will save you some dough.
- Give yourself an “official title." If you wish to work in the IT field, but have worked with customer service before, give yourself a title that reflects both your previous experience and experience that is relevant to the job. For example: you’ve worked in customer service; did you work with computers, or even a cash register? Try “Customer Service & Technology Associate.” Sure, it’s a B.S. title, but it’s not that much of a stretch. Hey, you’ve worked with a computer on your job, that’s experience, right?
- Cross-check your references. Make sure you’re up to date with useful references. Contrary to popular belief, employers actually check out a prospective employee’s references. If you left a previous job on good terms, try to get a reference in writing to attach it to your resume.
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Include any extra curricular activities or accomplishments that are related to the job to which you are applying. Now, normally, this is a useless tactic, but when making a job-jump it is
crucial to include as much relevant information or experience related to your dream job as possible. If you were a member of the 4H club and you are applying for a job at a non-profit organization, by all means include that! - Do NOT point out that you have NO experience with their work. After all, if you point that out, why would they hire you?
- DO emphasize universal skills, talents, or training that is applicable to the duties you would perform on the job. For example, if a job requires a person with experience with animation, and you’ve been a graphic designer for five years, make sure the emphasize that you have a lot experience with drawing, color, story-boards, anything that is relevant to the animation job.
- Include information about your education. You may be well educated and this shows a lot of dedication. Often, if you’re applying for a job in a field in which you may have little experience, your education can compensate for any lack of training in that field. It shows that you are a learner, and that you are receptive to on-the-job training.
By taking the time to devote reviewing some of the things you both enjoy and dislike about your job and your hobbies, you can have a clearer understanding of what career path you want to take.
It should be noted that you can also take a career aptitude test to identify some careers that match well with your skill set and personality. One such test is the famous Myers-Briggs test.
Third, make a list of dream jobs that you think you might enjoy other than your own. List several that are unrelated to the work you currently do. Think outside of the box. For example, if you currently work in customer service, but are unhappy in that occupation, don’t list “work at the Hustler store,” on your dream job list. If you’re unhappy with work in one area, a similar area might befall you the same fate.
There are several different occupation areas available to people of all levels of educational backgrounds Take time to explore and research different jobs and occupations to learn more about the possibilities that await you in the future.
Learn to Stand
Now, little one, as you learn to stand, your legs may be a little wobbly, and you may find that it is hard to become mobile as you begin down the job-jump path. No worry, however, it’s perfectly normal, you’re still early in the stages.
So, you’ve come up with a list of jobs and occupations that you think you may enjoy. The next procedure into making a job-jump is to look for jobs on the list that allow you to make a lateral move rather than start from scratch. For example, if you currently work with computers and you would like to try out working in a chemistry lab perhaps look not into becoming a chemist but rather work as a lab assistant, a position that allows you to work with computers while updating databases. This allows you to work in a new field while retaining the experience that you have built over the years.
So, omit jobs from your dream list that may require you to start over and start at the bottom of the barrel. But if you’re willing to make such a sacrifice and are up for a challenge, by all means keep ‘em!
Once your list of dream jobs is whittled down to a few feasible careers that allow you to make a lateral move, begin to research the requirements for each job. Some jobs require you to get more education, or have more experience. Even if you have a bachelor’s degree you may need to take a class here or there to learn more about specific functions or skills the job requires. Many of these classes can be taken online...
If you have an associates degree, you may require additional higher education beyond the general education an associates degree provides. Again, many schools have online classes that can be completed entirely online to save you time and money!
So, how do you research what the job requirements are for a particular position? Well, I’m glad you asked: Here on jobprofiles.com, you can find a comprehensive resource about different types of jobs in a variety of fields. You can also find information on the best jobs for a particular type of person and how to make a job jump easily.
Some thorough research may be involved, but it will better prepare you for making a "switcher-oo" without causing you too much stress. Remember: Lateral moves! It may not be in your best interest to start from scratch after having built years of job experience, so again, when researching jobs, make sure that you have at least some if not at least half of the job requirements already, so you can get a foot in the door.
Learn to Walk
After you narrow down your list and weed out fanciful jobs from feasible jobs, find out if you need to take any additional classes or if you require any additional training in a particular area. If so, get to stepping, kiddo, you’ve got some work to do.
Now, normally, you don’t really have to worry about dropping your current job to go back to school full time. In fact, you may just need professional certification in a particular field to get things moving along more easily for you once you start to apply to new jobs. If you need additional education before you can apply for another job, here are some degree programs that you can complete fairly quickly.
Additional education only serves you better when applying for your dream job(s). Make sure that any electives or major programs are applicable to the jobs to which you will be applying.
So, now you’re walking step by step, making small movements towards your completely new, lucrative career. What’s next?
Turn back the hands of time. Your resume is your publicist, and if you are making a job-jump to a completely new field, you’re going to have to do some work on the bad boy. Give it a make-over: re-write the descriptions of duties performed at previous positions and update the resume with any new specialties, education, or training that is relevant to the field. Sure, you’re starting over in a new career, but you’re not without work experience. And that’s the key: on your resume, you must strike a balance between highlighting your work experience and highlighting what experience is relevant to the job to which you are applying. It’s a little rough, but it can be done. Here are some pointers:
If you make these simple changes, you’ll be on your way to running away with a winning resume in hand. And speaking of running….
Learn to RUN!
The bigger picture here is you’re growing up, growing out of your job, and ready to get the heck out of dodge! You’re now ready to run into the welcoming arms of a new company. You just need to get a few details out of way first.
Your resume should be cleaner and leaner than before, including information that is relevant to the jobs to which you are applying. What about the cover letter? Hey, a cover letter is the single most important element when applying for a job. Why? Well, your resume is clean, new, lean, and fresh-faced, but if you “cover it” in a stained suit, it aint gonna look so good!
The most important thing about this particular cover letter is that you are approaching a new frontier: you will be entering into a field in which you may or may not have any experience and it is important to emphasize to an employer why you are applying for a job. And here come the tips for making this work:
The next step is easy: float out the resume and wait. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a response on the first 5 (or even 10!) tries. Persistence is key: remember, it can’t get much worse than where you’re at.
If you’re not a thumb-twirler and you want to be more pro-active about applying for a job, strap on some shoes, throw on some cologne, and go door to door; hey, it can’t hurt.
Sometimes, people just show up at business and personally hand a resume to a manager or hiring party. It’s such a rare thing these days that many employers might be flattered or even receptive to it. It not only gives you a leg-up over other people who merely email or fax their resumes, but it gives you an opportunity to come face to face with a hiring-party to let your personality shine through the minor details (like you may not have any experience in that field at all!)
The sad truth is that work is like high school: the popular win out. If you can put on a good face and leave a lasting impression, some employers may rule out a candidate who has related experience but with a not-so-chipper personality. So, if you’ve got the time, and a high-tolerance for face-to-face rejection, get up and get out there and find yourself a new job.
So that’s it. It’s all pretty easy, really. It’s scary world out there, but with a little time and effort, you can be well on your way to working in your dream job.
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