change your career

1 © 2021 Lee Hecht Harrison LLC.

Change your career Explore how to change your career

Some reasons why people may change their career:

Downtrend in the industry

Lack of Opportunity

Lack of Interest

Desire for Meaningful Work

Change in work/life balance

Desire for more flexibility

New challenge

Desire for higher salary

Career vs industry

Career = Field of expertise (engineering, human resources, technology etc.)

Industry = Series of companies that operate in a similar business (manufacturing, healthcare, retail etc.).

Preparing to change careers

The pandemic sped up existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, and automation, with up to 25% more workers than previously potentially needing to change career.


Begin with self-assessment

Ask yourself ► What do I love to do?

► What are my priorities?

► What do I value?

► What are my skills and strengths?

► What am I most proud of?

Consider your IKIGAI

Japanese psychologist, Michiko Kumano, has said that ikigai is a state of wellbeing that arises from doing activities that you enjoy. When choosing your career, consider the following:

What you love.

What you are good at.

What the world needs.

What you can get paid for.

Identify transferable skills All the things you’re good at that can be applied to various roles in various industries.

Project management

Communication

Time management

Gathering and interpreting information

Science/Engineering

Business insight

Leadership skills


Do your research Review job specs.

Create a list of contacts.

Identify differences and similarities between industries and jobs.

Research online

Identify skills gaps

The SMART way to network

Describe your marketing plan when appropriate.

Ask about organisations on your target list.

Professional objective, positioning statement and exit statement.

Give your conversation partner some useful information.

Marketing plan

Summarise

Ask questions

Referrals

Trade information

Ask for introductions.


Expand your network for career change

Ask great questions

Prior to reaching out to a contact, know what information you would like to come away with after speaking with them. Have some questions ready to ask, such as;

What current issues and trends in this industry should I know about?

What types of accomplishments are valued and rewarded in this industry?

What skills do I have that you think would benefit this career?

What kind of education and training does this career path require?

What are common career paths in this area?

Are there related fields of work that you would recommend I also look into?

How did you begin your career in this area?

Can you recommend journals and/or professional associations that would be of benefit?

What is a typical day for you?

How does you job affect your general lifestyle?

What do you like most about your job?

What is the salary range?

Join professional bodies. Tell people.

Volunteer your time. Use social media.

Attend industry events. Keep people up to date.


Use social media to learn more and connect with companies Use Google to learn which are the top

companies to work for in your industry.

Refer to Glassdoor and other platforms for company reviews.

Use LinkedIn to search for relevant contacts, follow, and connect.

Look up Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms for companies to follow.

Update your resume/CV for a career change Focus on transferable and job-specific skills

Incorporate key words and industry language

Transferable skills + job-specific skills can = a qu Create a strong summary sectionalified candidate

You must translate your background to show potential employers that you are a qualified candidate


Create a strong summary section

Original career Career change Job posting ABC Environmental Consulting: Office Coordinator Overview: Strong computer and technology support skills a must. This position provides administrative, technical, and office support to consulting staff and Operations manager in a fast-paced, specialised, and focused environment. Responsibilities: Support for planned office move. Preferred qualifications: Experience in operations support, both IT and building operations and maintenance. Required: Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and proficiency in MS Word and Excel; Experience working in architectural/engineering and/or environmentally sensitive firm a plus.

Administrative assistant in banking industry

Office coordinator in

environmental consulting industry

Note: No mention of banking

Resume/CV – Summary section

Administrative professional with

extensive experience in office management, sales and marketing, and senior-

level administrative support. Strong computer and technology support

skills. Client-focused with strong relationship-

building skills. Education in environmental science. Proficient in MS Word and

Excel


Emphasise transferable skills/experience section

Original career Career change Examples of well-known people who used their transferable skills to change careers Jeff Bezos Computer science career to launching Amazon e-commerce Michael Bloomberg CEO of financial software company to Mayor of New York Vera Wang Editor of Vogue to design director at Ralph Lauren J.K Rowling Researcher to author

Loan processor Legal assistant

Accurately processed high volume of loan applications.

Accurately processed high volumes of extremely

confidential client data, meeting tight deadline

requirements.

Provided support for 10 loan officers, ensuring

accuracy of all loan documentation.

Provided support and follow-up to ensure compliance with all

paperwork and processing requirements.

Be prepared and confident when interviewing Focus on transferable and job-specific skills.

Be prepared to answer the question, “Why you are changing careers?”

Know your value and use SOAR stories as examples to demonstrate this.

Be able to talk about an experience that will help minimise a skills gap.

Be able to talk about how you will fill any skills gaps.

change your career

Documents