5 Tips for Making a Successful Career Change

Don’t let yourself get trapped into thinking that you have to stick with the job you have right now. Anyone at any time can change their career. Some people do it right after getting their first job, others try to take a different course at the height of their most productive years, and there are also those that take retirement literally and gear up for a new challenge in their golden years.

Of course, changing one’s line of work is not a decision that should be made lightly. Many Filipinos depend on their work to support their needs and that of their family, and switching jobs can threaten the stability that they are currently enjoying. It’s a decision that requires a lot of planning, preparation, and good timing so that it can be pulled off successfully. If you’re hoping to switch careers in the near future, consider the following tips so that you can have a better chance of making the most of this change:

Examine Your Reasons

Before making big decisions about your career options, it’s important to examine first how and why you got to this point. What urged you to change jobs? People may leave their workplace for better pay, to improve work-life balance, to avoid stress, to enjoy new challenges, and simply because they don’t feel passionate about the work that they currently have. Now, there are no right or wrong reasons—though some people could argue that there are more practical ones—but your whys can help you determine your next step. Consider your reasons for leaving your current job as you envision yourself in a new career setting.

Set a Clear Goal for Yourself

Where do you see yourself after leaving your current work, and what can you see yourself doing? Also, what are your non-negotiables for your next line of work, and what are your nice-to-haves? Remember the golden rules of goal setting: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Perhaps you want to start over completely and join an entirely new industry, or maybe you want to keep doing the same thing in an environment that is much better for your mental and physical health. Be as detailed as possible when setting your goals and priorities. Also, set deadlines for yourself and find practical means to keep up with your responsibilities while you’re exploring your career options.

Find Out What It Takes to Get There

People don’t just magically end up employed in their dream office or doing the job they’ve always wanted to do. To get exactly what you want, you need to put in the necessary work. Do you have the required training and credentials to maintain a competitive advantage over other candidates who are applying for the same job? If not, can you go the extra mile to give yourself a better chance of reaching your goal? You may dream of owning a business. To set a solid foundation for your new venture, you’ll need to have enough capital for it as well as relevant experience or at least working knowledge of how to get it off the ground. Find out what you need to do to get from point A to point B and if you’re willing to take on this challenge.

Track Your Progress

Putting your plan into action doesn’t mean that the plan itself no longer has room for improvement. As you go along the process of changing your career, you’ll likely encounter challenges and opportunities that can derail your plans, speed it up, or turn you to a direction that you didn’t plan on taking. Keep your lists and plans close at hand, and update them whenever possible. This will help you stay on track of your current goals despite the many distractions you’ll inevitably face down the road. If your goals have changed, then your existing tracker can serve as a basis for your newly formulated plan of action. This will allow you to easily incorporate your progress thus far with the other things you need to accomplish to reach your new goal.

Shift Your Focus

When applying for other positions and workplaces, it’s important to reorient yourself and turn your attention to the new goals that you have. Instead of recycling your resume, for example, reorganize it so that it will appeal to your new audience. If you want to shift your focus on a specific task, put your experience in that particular activity front and center. If the new career is quite different from your previous occupation, perhaps you can highlight the classes you’ve taken to orient yourself to the new role you are gunning for. The bottom line is try to market your skills and experiences so that it will make it easy for others to see you in the role you want.

Shifting careers can be a major life event, so it’s essential for anyone who’s planning to take the plunge to prepare themselves for this big change. If you plan your steps well and time your decisions perfectly, this period can prove to be quite an enjoyable and exciting start to a fulfilling and challenging career.