Making a Career Change: Step 7 Putting It All Together

Previously: Step 6: Looking to Others

Let's review. Thus far you've looked back into your past and examined previous jobs, your interests and influences, and generally the important factors that have shaped your professional life. Next you looked at your current job and examined what it is you like and dislike. Then you looked inside yourself and examined your skills, values and what you have to offer. Finally, you spoke to others who know you to see how you are perceived in the work place and to learn what areas you need to improve. Inbetween you have hopefully interspersed some physical activity and are feeling energized by the stress relief benefits.

Now what?

You may remember this is the part of my career change where the build up of all the work I did lead to the career counselor telling me that I should look for marketing jobs. You know that sound when a contestant loses on The Price Is Right? That's what I felt like when she said that.

Step 7: Putting It All Together
Grab your notebook.

1. Spend time some flipping though your notebook and relfecting on what you read. Are there any  common themes?
2. Use the information in your notebook to write your own job description. If there was a job that no other person in the world could do but you, what would the advertisement for that job opening say?
3. Make a list of careers and industries that you've been thinking you might like to explore.
4. Start reading job descriptions in these industries. Look at the skills they are asking for and the level of education required. Notice the years of expereince needed. If the number of years exceeds the number you currently have, find a job description in that industry that asks for the number of years you have. The job you want may be a down the road and you may need to take a different one in the new industry first.
5. Start researching those industries. Look at the companies. Go online and read blogs and articles about those industries. Learn about their trends and innovations. Learn about hiring trends taking place within these industires. Find conferences you can attend and journals you can read.
6. Considered any gaps you find in the skills and education needed for these industries and think about filling those gaps. Will you need to go back to school? Can you assume new responsibilities in your current job to help fill those gaps? Can you volunteer in your area to gain experience that will help fill the gaps?

I learned the hard way that there is no magic formula or computer program that can spit out exactly what it is you should be doing. Even if there was, how would it know what you want to do? This is where career cousellors step out and you step in and take over. You need to answser the tough questions.

Your notebook is now a resource filled with many pieces that together constitue the whole of who you are, what you have to offer and how you can get where you want to go. So don't rush this step. Take time to review it, consider what you see in that notebook and what you see yourself doing next. Remember, the best thing that can come out of this step in the process is an understanding of what you want to do. What you REALLY want to do. Once you determine that, you can start your research using the questions above and other resources like the internet, conferences and journals to begin to see how you match  what you want to do next and if you don't what you can do to become a match.

Up Next: Step 8: Looking to Your Nework

Making a Career Change: Step 6 Looking to Others

Previously: Step 5: Looking in the Mirror

It's amazing how good an exercise routine can make you feel isn't it? Especially after Thanksgiving!!

Making a career change is very much about putting yourself out there. In order to do so effectively you need to know how others see you and the best way to do that is to ask those around you.  Your colleagues are your best resource when it comes to understanding who you are and how you present yourself because they are the ones who see your personal and professional interactions from the outside.

Step 6: Looking to Others
Pick 3-5 people whose input and feedback you trust. Be sure not to pick all of your friends. It's OK to pick one friend but it will be infinitely more helpful if you are able to get the objective feedback of colleagues, supervisors, clients, customers and other people who have no vested personal interest.

Set up a time when you can have a conversation. Perhaps it's over lunch, coffee, after hours, or before work during breakfast. Just pick a time outside of the craziness of the work day so you won't feel rushed. When it comes time to have these conversations thank the person for joining you and then provide the framework for the conversation to take place by saying something like:

"I am trying to learn how others perceive me in the work place so that I can get a better understanding of what I do well and what areas I need to work on and I thought you might be able to help me."

From here you do not want to steer the conversation too much by asking specific questions. Just allow the conversation to happen and see where it goes. You want to hear the person's initial response and then perhaps ask followup questions for clarification. If they only speak to your strengths, after a while thank them and then ask for a few things you might be able to improve. Same goes for the reverse. Remember, this is just a conversation and not an interview. You are trying to learn how others perceive you so you need to allow them to communicate that perception.

It is likely that you will find that the hardest part about this process is to strip it of emotional and objectively listen to what the person is saying . You may need to fight the urge to rebut "I am NOT like that!" Remember, you've asked someone you trust for honest feedback. There are reasons they are saying what they are saying and it is up to you to figure out why. If you don't like what you hear, now is the time to change it but first you need to learn what "it" is and the person speaking to you is doing you a favor so don't argue with them.

After the meeting, write the person a thank you note (email is fine but I prefer hand written) and then head to your notebook and document the conversation. Note what strengths and areas for improvement came up. After you have had a few of these conversations look for trends and patterns.

Up Next: Step 7: Putting It All Together