When it comes to a career change, it’s not the shortest or fastest route that is best but the one best planned. Planning is what gets you to where you want to be. But the directions can be confusing. The current job market is client-driven and with a surfit of candidates to fill every role. The odds have changed but they are not impossible, just more challenging to achieve. People continue to change jobs and it’s about ‘Surviving The Storm’.
So follow these Seven Key Pointers and your pathway to career change will be easier to negotiate.
1. Plan & Control Your Career Change Develop your own ‘self-marketing plan’ with actions & dates and highlight your own strengths and opportunities in the marketplace. Treat yourself like a product, define your features & benefits, establish your target marketplace, set your price and decide how you will promote yourself. Write it down and drive the process.
2. Networking Make yourself known with recruiters and people who work in your industry. The dynamics of recruitment have changed and social networks such as LinkedIn now give more precise access to recruiters candidates and companies who are recruiting. Build and develop your identity within your networks by defining your self-marketing plan, by joining the right groups and connecting with the right people.
3. Be Noticed by the Right People Make sure that people notice you, gain a reputation, for your expertise and for your passion. At the same time be aware that your colleagues and managers who may be in your network may be able to see your connections. Handle your networking privacy carefully and don’t be noticed by the wrong people.
4. Stand Out from the Crowd Make sure your CV is a strong document for you, and that you sell yourself as a benefit – what you can do for a role, an employer and a company, not just what qualifications and experience you have. Collect and develop your history, dig deep for your strengths and achievements and use verbs to describe them.
5. Be Persistent yet Patient Finding the right job takes time – be in control of the situation. Always follow-up applications with recuiters and employers but not too frequently – be persistent but don’t appear desperate because, when you are, it shows. Be flexible, willing to change your expectations and direction and have a Plan B. Having flexibility puts less pressure on you and on others.
6. Emotional Intelligence Be aware of the impact you have on yourself and on others. Learn how to handle your emotions; anxiety, disappointment, anger, hurt, etc., Be motivated for change and to do things differently and to be aware of how you’re doing it differently. Be intelligent about how you are communicating with others. Most important of all, be in an OK place – any bitterness, anger or anxiety about your situation will come across to recruiters and potential employers.
7. Get A Career Coach Probably the most succesful way of helping you to develop a self-marketing plan and working with you through this, is to get a coach experienced in career development. A career coach will get you from where you are to where you want to be faster and more efficiently than doing it alone and have you well on your way to a career change.