Tips to change your career

There’s no need to stay in a career that is taking you in the wrong direction

In today’s world most of us face the need of changing career due to multiple reasons, sometimes we like to change careers to get rid of our mental tensions the current job is causing, sometimes it is due to money, etc. But irrespective of the reason behind the possible looking for a change the important thing is once you are in your new career and you taste early success you get a great deal of satisfaction and happiness which is bound to have a positive impact on everything you do.

This article tends to cover some of the key elements one should factor in before changing/shifting his/her career:

Firstly, Ask yourself this Question : Am I sure I want this change ?

“People will be suspicious that it is someone having a mid-life crisis … who in two years’ time will want to do something else,” Nick Parfitt, of Cubiks, an HR consultancy, says. Being able to show that you are changing career in a considered way – for example, by getting experience part-time before a permanent move – will help. So will a genuine, realistic and well-researched certainty that the move is right for you.

“Positive enthusiasm and passion will attract many buyers in interview,” Matthew Chester, a director at Digby Morgan, an HR consultancy, says.

Secondly, Do the basic ground work first .

“Start by looking at the very basic details of your financial situation,” Mr Parfitt says. Assess how much money you have, how long it will last and whether it can finance retraining. “If you are going to change career, you will have to accept that you are going to go down in salary,” Mike Warren, the director of Proteus, a career management consultancy, says.

Thirdly, Identify your basic salable skills or Core Competency:

Make an exhaustive list of all that you are good at, look at new ways to use these skills and position yourself accordingly, Chris Griffin, chief executive of One Life Partnership, a coaching company, says. “The easiest changes are those where your strengths, values and passion line up.” Emphasize your experience and soft skills, such as commercial acumen and political nous. This will help you to compete with those who have more technical proficiency but less work experience.

Fourthly, Are you convinced of the Location ?

Identify the right environment. Consider responsibility levels, the degree of change and the speed at which the sector operates. Mr Warren says: “Many people do not take into account the working environment and whether their behavioral style will feel right.”

Fifthly, Have you talked to the right people who can guide you ?

“Talk to a wide range of people, including people who do not know you,” Kate Donaghy, of Manchester Square Partners, which offers career advice to executives, says. People who know you will think of you in that context; a newcomer offers fresh eyes and a more creative approach. Professional advisers can help. Friends may be of little help. Mr Warren said: “They will always view the problem through their own personality spectacles.”

Sixthly, Better make yourself qualified for the job

Murray Steele, a senior lecturer at the Cranfield School of Management, argues that younger managers can find a full-time MBA an efficient way to change careers while gaining new professional skills, but that most older executives will find them less useful. “There is still an age bias about hiring people,” Mr Steele says. Most recruiters focus on MBA graduates aged 35 and under. Very experienced managers in their fifties can find executive MBAs a useful way to kick-off a portfolio career incorporating a range of non-executive directorships and interim or consulting positions, according to Mr Steele.

Seventhly, Be Bold enough to start your own business if the situation demands so.

Start your own business. This will allow greater control over what you do and how you do it, but it does also carry all the usual risks of entrepreneurship.

Eightly, Be patient and have faith on your own abilities and experiment continiously.

It may take three years – and several steps – to make a big change. Ms Donaghy says: “Change isn’t linear. There is a great deal more randomness in it than you would like. And you will seldom make change in one leap. You generally have to take small bites at different aspects of change.” Explore a range of alternatives, take what you like from each and merge those things to get a final complete picture. Be prepared for the result to be quite different from what you may expect and be realistic about the time it will take to climb a newly chosen ladder.

Ninethly, Wait for the good times and Choose the right moment

Wait for the economy to pick up. For long time, candidates have held the upper hand in the job market and employers have been relatively open to hiring career-changers, as long as they had reasonably transferable skills. “However, the current situation will flip that on its head,” Mr Parfitt says. “Employers usually only get deluged with CVs from graduates, but if this wave of redundancies continues there could be 25 applicants for the job of financial director, whereas before there could have been three or four.”

Tenthly, Your final analysis of your decision …Think again

Often, people who think that they want to change profession are simply fed up with their jobs, Mr Warren says. Mr Steele says that changing employer can make a big difference, or moving to another area or abroad can also provide the buzz of newness.

Before they were famous

• Many celebrities began their careers as teachers, including Sting (better known then as Mr Sumner) and the Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown.
• The legal profession is also a popular first career: the political leaders Barack Obama and Tony Blair started in the law. Jennifer Lopez, actress and singer, also started life working in a law firm.
• And several famous people started out as doctors, including the comedian Harry Hill and Michael Crichton, the Jurassic Park screenwriter and producer
• Robert Pattison a Hollywood actor , he acted in Harry potter movie but no one recognized him once acted in the movie Twilight he was the No.1 celebrity in Hollywood for the past three months and still kicking

In India we have Harsha Bhogle, John Abraham , Akshay Kumar, Mandira Bedi, Rajiv Gandhi all are good examples of celebrities who have had a successful career change.

So wish you all the best in your journey of career change! Do post your questions and any thoughts , personal experience you would like to share with us and our readers !

Compiled by GSG Editorial Team lead Balakrishnan in consultation with our Knowledge Managers in HR