5 Strategies On How to Make A Successful Career Change

According to the London School of Business and Finance, nearly half of all workers in the UK (47%) would like to change careers.

The figures behind career change statistics are pointers to the growing number of people who are considering a career change.

Career switch has no particular age limit, you can change career at 30 or 40, as long as you’re passionate about growth and are willing to learn the ropes of the industry.

In order to successfully change career path, you need to consider these five career change strategies:

#1: Start with self-evaluation

In order to launch a successful career change plan, you need to assess yourself by weighing the pros and cons of your intending switch.

You need to understand that switching careers requires proper planning, commitment and the willingness to learn from scratch.

These processes are necessary in order to avoid career change related stress. Seeking a career switch? Ask yourself these questions:

• Why are you seeking a career change?
• Are you leaving out of boredom or to make more money?
• Will this new job make you happier?
• Are you passionate about the new career?

Reflecting on these will help you make an informed decision.

#2: Determine your new career path

Having carefully outlined your core reasons for switching careers, you need to understand the new career you’re looking to transition to.

It’s worthy to note that some careers such as medicine, engineering, meteorology etc. require specific training or some level of practice to be completed before you can be qualified.

Again, outline these changes and take note of those careers that might take extra efforts to transition to.

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#3: Identify your skill gap

Every career requires a healthy combination of hard and soft skills. For instance, a graphic designer switching career to Product Design might find their knowledge of using various design tools helpful in the new job.

Changing career with no job experience shouldn’t deter you from making that switch as long as you can conduct an honest career requirement audit to know the specific hard or soft skills you can import from your previous jobs.

To equip yourself with the skills required for success in your new career, search for the job descriptions to get an overview of the necessary skills, knowledge and certifications.

This way, you can analyse your strengths and weaknesses, then chart a favourable career pivot strategy to help you get up to speed in your new career.

#4: Employ the help of your networks

The opportunities you seek for success in your new career sometimes lies within your network.

When switching careers, you need to get the word out – tell your friends and family or connections on LinkedIn – that way, they can recommend you to other people or guide you in the right path towards your chosen career.

For some, they would need mentors or career change buddies during this process. You need all the help you can get, don’t be afraid to ask.

Although most of the jobs that might come your way at first might be entry level positions, accept it, learn and grow with the job.

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#5: Focus on your job applications

In step 3, I talked about searching for relevant job descriptions relating to your new career path.

After conducting a proper career requirement evaluation, you should have discovered skill gaps that need to be filled.

Create time to learn these skills, obtain the certifications and industrial training needed for success in that position.

Next step, focus on crafting a fitting career change cover letter and resume. Tailor these in alignment to the new job, emphasizing on your transferable and soft skills.

To succeed in a new field, you need to learn as much as you can. Take online courses, build connections and support systems that can help you weather career change storms.

Volunteering can also be a good place to start off when switching careers.

Conclusion

Is it okay to change careers at 30? Yes. Even at 40? Also yes! As long as you have a passion for growth and an appetite for learning, you can switch careers at any time.

However, you should be objective in your career change plans. Can you commit to learning? Do you have transferable skills that can help you ease the stress of changing careers?

Above all, start with what you have and then work your way upwards.

Have you changed careers recently or have worked with people who have switched careers in the past? What was it like and how did you navigate this tricky situation?