Seven tips for a smooth career change

So, you’re considering switching careers. Perhaps you’ve been have been feeling down about life in general, especially during the long slog of the last two and a half years. The industry you work in may be facing its own crossroads due to massive changes caused by the pandemic or that were already underway since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Or maybe the enforced solitude of lockdowns and quarantines have led you to profoundly re-examine your priorities and the direction of your life.

Whatever the reason, there may be no better time in recent history for you to make a career change. With reason to be cautiously optimistic that the worst of Covid-19 is behind us, businesses and companies are opening up again. Despite the pummeling taken by the economy, job demand remains incredibly high, with more positions open than there are qualified applicants. It looks like everything in the world is shifting. Why shouldn’t you?

Before you make that leap, take some necessary steps to decide if a change is the right decision, if so, in what direction, and to make the transition and smooth and successful  as possible.

Here are seven tips for a smooth career change. 

Evaluate yourself

Who are you? Where do you come from? Where you going? As someone standing on the precipice of a career change, it’s time to ask yourself the big questions.

There’s a reason you’re hankering for a change, and it’s important for you to understand why. Knowing what you haven’t liked in the past and knowing what you want more of in the future ensures that you don’t make a mighty leap into more of the same.

Life is short, and time is your most valuable resource. If we learned anything in the last few years, life is also unpredictably fragile. Examine your past career moves and look at what has worked and what hasn’t. Ask what you want out of life and how you might get there. Getting your work priorities, wants, and needs down on paper can help you get to the core of what you want from a future career. Writing down a comprehensive list of your skills, qualifications, strengths and weaknesses will further help you evaluate what career paths are viable for you.

Evaluate the future of your current job and industry

That antsy feeling might be your gut telling you to make a move while you can.

Emerging technologies and other changes to the business and economic landscape mean that many of our ways of making a living will soon be obsolete or changing in ways we can’t foresee. Examine the direction of your job and your entire industry.

Ask yourself whether your current job will even exist five years from now. If so, will the work you do will be done in the same way? If it will be done differently, how will it be done? Will this shift require your current skills, or will you have to acquire new ones? If acquiring these new skills doesn’t interest you, what adjacent industries are there where your skills will still be valuable?

Find your talent stack

Part of self-evaluation is finding your “talent stack.” “Talent stack” is a neat way of framing the combination of different skills you bring to a career. Unlike generic skills or qualifications, “talent stacks” are combinations of different skills you have acquired that make you unique.

Many people have accumulated valuable skills and knowledge in more than one area. If you’ve been working for at least a decade, this is even more likely. Maybe you pursued a few years of a exercise science degree, only to shift into a career in software sales, all while moonlighting as caterer.

We may think of these different areas of knowledge and skills as unrelated, but these odd combinations from different areas in your life can often line up synergistically (building a presence for an online sports nutrition company, for example). This is your talent stack. Talent stacks allow you to combine skills from seemingly unrelated fields in order to find career paths that may not have been previously visible to you.

So take some time to see how some of your strictly non-job related skills might serve you in a new career. That talent for stage magic or stand-up comedy may be more valuable than you think.

Envision your future job

If you have discovered that your current career is not what you want, start envisioning what you do want. Think about the things you have always looked for in a career and write them down. Make a wish list. Go big and write down all your dreams.

Have you always dreamt about a job that would give you lots of opportunity for travel, or do you dream of staying put? Have you always wanted that corner office downtown or do you wish you could work from home? Do you want bulletproof benefits and failsafe security or freedom, flexibility and a performance bonus? Do you want ironclad hours, a generous pension, and an absolute guarantee you can leave your job behind at the end of the day? Or are you longing for your personal passions and future career path to converge? How much uncertainty are you willing to endure in the pursuit of your dream job? Weigh the costs and benefits.

Dreaming is the first step at putting you on the path to these goals. And your dreams will no doubt be modified as you move along and mold them into reality. Knowing what you want most deeply, however, is the most important thing to determine from the start. By understanding that this time of transition is a gift, you can blow the barn doors off your imagination and really start thinking about what is possible.

Then think realistically about what is feasible. A common recommendation for deciding what to do with your life is to find something you’re good at, that the world needs, and that you can make money doing (find salaries for jobs in Canada here). Finding your transferable skills and jobs that are growing in demand will also help. Skilled trades pay well and are always in demand, for example. 

Dreaming is the first step at putting you on the path to these goals. And your dreams will no doubt be modified as you move along and mold them into reality. Knowing what you want most deeply, however, is the most important thing to determine from the start. By understanding that this time of transition is a gift, you can blow the barn doors off your imagination and really start thinking about what is possible.

Upskill

Thinking pragmatically, at least one of the skills in your stack is going to have to be technical.

One of the realities of a rapidly evolving job market is the reliance on new skills for increasingly complex platforms. Fifteen years ago, for example, knowledge of WordPress or basic HTML skills were not an essential requirement for someone working in print journalism. Now, with most content moved online, CMS, image editing, basic coding and even design skills are often required for journalism jobs. Sales and marketing jobs, meanwhile, may require knowledge of software systems like Salesforce and Hubspot.

The big decision between candidates for any job may come down to a solid resume with some additional tech and software expertise that is over and above the requirements. Additional tech skills are the cherry on top of your talent stack that will land you the new career of your dreams.

It doesn’t have to be technical skills. Do some research on what skills are required for jobs you’re considering moving into. If you’re unsure of which way you’re moving, this can help you decide.

Connect with your network

 Going into the unknown means you need friends and allies. Lots of them. You also need to know who your most valuable contacts are.

Go through your contacts and identify people who have been allies in your work life and/or generally supportive. Mentors, supervisors, co-workers and contacts in your industry that have always been professional, good to work with, smart sources of inside information and supportive of your efforts may help you choose a career path or move into the one you’ve already chosen. They can provide valuable insight into industries or particular jobs, help you see where you can be valuable, and connect you with new contacts.

Let people know you’re making a change. Reach out to your friends and ask if you can pick their brains over lunch, coffee or a zoom call.

Get moving

You don’t have to leap into the void all at once. Maybe you’re ready to do just that and start right away on your new path. Or maybe you’ve decided to make a move but are not ready to just cut and run from your existing job.

Either way, you can put one foot in front of the other and get moving towards your goal. Start taking those courses, reaching out to connections, and perusing job sites. Revamp your resume and LinkedIn profile. Do something every day to make your future a reality.