A career transition is when an individual changes the focus of their work. This can be by a variety of factors including getting married, having children, suffering a health event, or advancing in age. Career transitions are often met with uncertainty and concern because they require one to re-think priorities and perhaps even change careers. Careers are not just about your job; they are about who you are as an individual who strives to create something meaningful from your life’s work. A recent study found that over half of individuals surveyed felt somewhat or very unprepared for their career transition, which led them down many unknown paths.
Why would you need to change your career?
If you are unhappy at work or feel like you have hit a plateau in your current position and don’t know what steps to take next, then it is time to think about changing careers. Changing careers is not the same thing as quitting your job, which is often not a good idea. Changing careers is more like getting out of a rut and applying yourself in another way. If you have been laid off from your last job, and are looking at other options, then this also counts as a career transition. The biggest difficulty is that most people do not know what type of work or industry they want to pursue in the future.
Know your career options.
Many industries have various job titles and responsibilities for which you can choose; these include computer gaming, IT, marketing, accounting, journalism, social media and software engineering. The best way to find a job that matches your skills, interests and abilities is by having a list of all possible careers in front of you. Knowing yourself as an individual is a basis for this because it will help you reach the proper findings about what type of job you want to take on next.
Make a plan.
It is important to plan your career transition because the process involves much more than just picking a job. It takes time and energy to plan for the transition effectively, and you need to start early so that you can at least have a few years’ worth of work to show for it if your old career does not work out. The first step is to put on paper all of your past jobs, skills and interests and then discard the ones that make no sense for your future job pursuits.
How to transition from one career to another
The key to transitioning from one career to another is to take something from your past and apply it to the future. For example, you can take the experience that you have gained as an accountant and apply it to a new career in IT, or as a journalist and apply them to your computer gaming skills. The most important thing is to make sure that what you choose is directly correlated with what you want. This will make the transition much easier; put together your resume and cover letter while learning new skills simultaneously.
Conclusion
Career transition should not be looked at negatively because the uncertainty of change is often more appealing than the mundane monotony of one’s current job. Making a successful career transition takes time and dedication, but the rewards are worth it. It is important to be open to other possibilities and be ready to return to school or take another course if necessary. If you are still unsure about the next career that you want to pursue, then just keep looking around at different options until something feels right.