How To Switch Careers

January 20, 2023
5:16 pm

Does it ever seem like if you were in a different job, your life would be a better fit for you?

Have you thought about how other industries seem to have more flexible work hours, a culture that values life and responsibilities outside of work?

There are many reasons to consider a career change.

But how do you actually do it?

The following steps will help you think through an action plan for how to switch careers.

What Do You Want To Keep?

A first step when considering switching careers would be to list the aspects of your current role or title that you most enjoy. What are the facets you want to keep in place even after you take steps away from it?

Ask yourself questions like:

What parts of the company culture do I enjoy?
What parts of my day most excite me?
Why did I get into this field?
What skills do I like to use?
What parts of this job description would I definitely want to replicate in another role?
What skills have I expanded upon that I want to use in a future role?

Thinking through these questions will start to solidify a foundation for future moves.

What Do You Want To Add?

Many of us can easily point to gaps in our workplace atmosphere, management, and role. Next, it may be helpful to walk through what your wish list is for what you’d like in a role that you don’t have right now as you consider how to switch careers:

What do you feel is lacking in your current management and/or leadership?
What do you wish your role encompassed that it currently does not?
What kind of work style do you prefer? Teamwork, leading projects or teams, working very independently?
What skills do you have but wish you got a chance to use more?
What skills would you like to grow?
What is missing in your company culture that you’d like to have in your next place of employment?

What Skills Might Transition Well?

While changing roles may mean you won’t be able to state that you’ve been doing the exact responsibilities of a new job you’re applying for over many years, you still likely have skills, experiences, and talents that can transition well between fields.

How do you manage others?
How do you manage projects?
At what pace do you work?
How do you tackle a challenge?
What do your coworkers appreciate about you?
What are the areas of your skillset you’ve expanded or improved?

Mulling these over will help you on your way to changing careers.

According to the 2022 LinkedIn Learning Report, opportunities to learn and grow are the top drivers of great work culture. This significantly impacts employee happiness.

Ensuring that employees are properly trained for the position means that they are likely to stay with the company long-term and increase their personal wellbeing. Employee well-being also feeds into the stability and security an employee feels in their organization.

What Gives You Energy?

We often hear about pursuing our passions.

For some, that can be inspiring – seeking to bring to life opportunities aligned with where we’d like to spend our time.

For others, that can seem daunting or out of reach. What if your passion is snowboarding? Or seeing the latest movie? Or hiking? Or making crafts as gifts? They might not translate quite so easily into a job paying the bills.

It may be wiser to think about what energizes you. What opportunities, responsibilities, and details don’t slow you down, but speed you up and make you want to keep going? What tasks are you excited to pick up when they get to priority status? What reminds you why you love the career you’re in? Even if you leave the job, you can use what energizes you to help you pivot in how to change careers.

Check Out What’s Out There

Certain industries may have more jobs available than others. You can check out the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry to see what fields have lots of openings right now, as well as projections for coming years. You can also look into local job postings and major job search engines such as Indeed.com to see what the market looks like.

Some major career fields right now:

Healthcare
Technology

Within those arenas, roles such as pharmacy technicians, medical assistants, and physical therapy aides are all possibilities. In technology, data science experts and software developer jobs are only growing. Many of these possible career paths require some education, which can be completed with online certificates through Pacific Union College.

Next Steps

Talk to people throughout your network to see what roles they might see you in and what openings they might know of. Expand your network by attending events in other industries, meeting up with new connections, and maybe even shadowing folks in industries you are thinking of moving into. Reach out and talk with the workforce training specialist here at Pacific Union College, and we can help you find your direction. Call or text us at (707)962-4313 with any questions you may have.

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