If you’re not happy in your present career, you might be looking forward to 2023 to make a change.
There are a number of reasons you could be thinking about a career change. For example, you might want a new challenge or something more fulfilling, you could want something with higher pay or better benefits, or you might be working to achieve a better sense of balance in your life.
Other common reasons for career changes include seeking more purposeful work, returning to work after a long break and realizing you don’t enjoy it anymore, wanting to be more creative, or possibly just feeling like your current career doesn’t suit your interests, strengths, and personality.
If any of these sounds like you, the following are tips to help you prepare to change careers.
1. Consider Learning and Development
Maybe you aren’t prepared to go back to school entirely, but luckily there are a lot of ways you can learn and develop the skills that may be needed for a new career field or position. For example, one option is finding the right online certificate program for you.
With a certificate program or something similar for learning and development, you have the opportunity to continue working in your current job while you build the skills you need for a new one. You can also use a certificate program or online learning program to make sure the career you’re thinking about is one that’s actually a good fit for you before you make any big changes.
2. Consider What You’re Interested In
Whether or not you participate in formalized learning and development before making a career switch, it’s important that you’re going in the direction of what you’re interested in.
This is what’s going to help you feel fulfilled over the long term.
Taking an online course or certificate program, as mentioned, is a good way to test and make sure that what you think you’re interested in really is enjoyable for you as you put it into practice.
Even if you don’t necessarily know a lot about a career field, if it involves things you’re inherently interested in, that’s helpful.
3. Look at Current Job Openings
By spending some time looking at current job openings, you can achieve a few different things.
First, you can figure out what the demand is and what roles most need to be filled.
The second thing you can learn is what hiring managers want to see in applicants. This will again take you back to the first tip on this list. When you know what hiring managers are looking for, you’ll know what skills you might already have versus what you need to try to learn and gain.
When you’re looking at job openings, you can also start to research the industry itself. What are the trends in the industry, and are these likely to be in line with your career goals?
4. Make Sure You Need a Change and Not Just a Shift
Sometimes you might think you need a drastic change in your career, but in reality, your needs could be better suited to a shift. A shift might mean that you try to pursue a new role in your current company, for example, or maybe you stay in the same position at a different organization.
A shift can go a long way to helping your career satisfaction, and a change might not be exactly what you’re looking for.
If you think a shift could work for you and you wouldn’t mind staying with your current employer, be proactive about discussing your goals and interests with your supervisor or someone from HR.
5. Talk to People
If possible, contact people who work in the industry, role, or company you’re targeting, and do so. Reach out and see if you can learn more about what’s needed to succeed, what their level of satisfaction is, and what their recommendations are to you as someone who’s considering this career path.
6. Identify Roadblocks
There are going to be obstacles that come along if you’re making a big career change or even just a shift.
You want to identify what these are going to be early on, so you can have a plan for overcoming them.
Finally, if you’re committed to a career change, update all of your personal marketing materials. This includes your resume, your LinkedIn and social profiles, perhaps your portfolio or personal website, and any cover letters.
You need to be able to bridge the skills from your current career with what will transfer to the new career in a succinct way.