Your career is one of the most important factors deciding the quality of your life. A promising career takes time to build and offers you both financial independence and mental satisfaction. Now, if you are willing to explore more or pursue a different passion, you might think of changing your career.
However exciting this change may seem, you would not just jump into some other career option without looking more into it. In this article, we have curated a simple stepwise approach to help you transit smoothly from one career to another:
Step One: Self Assessment
If you have decided to change your career, there has to be a robust reason underlying it. Monetary benefits, job satisfaction, growth, nature of work, etc., can be some of those reasons. Ensure that you give it a lot of thought that you would want to make a career transition. If you can answer it for yourself, only then will you explain it to your interviewers? Also, this self-introspection is crucial to keep you motivated throughout the transition of your job.Â
Step Two – Assess Your Strengths
If you wonder how this step is different from the first one, let me tell you it is. Once you have decided why you would like to change your job, it’s time to assess your strengths and weaknesses. This assessment is required to help you explore opportunities that you didn’t think even existed. Being able to evaluate yourself offers more clarity and lets you make smart decisions.
Step Three – Make A Career Choice
When you have finally assessed yourself and are ready to transform your life, it’s time to explore the options. Depending upon what outcome you need from your new job, make a list of available career options that best suit your needs.
You may use the internet to look for alternatives or ask your friend/family/colleagues if they know people from a particular field you might be looking for. You should jot down every job that you get along with its pros and cons. The simple activity will let you differentiate between all the available options and help you make informed decisions.
Step Four – Learn About Your New Career
I am sure that it wouldn’t be easy to pick one option from the lot simply. You will need to know more about every opportunity that you have shortlisted to make the smartest decision. To learn about every alternative career option that you have chosen, research well. You may start by exploring the internet and also link yourself to people working in the same field.
You may use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to connect to relevant people. A simple idea of the work can offer insights you’ve been looking for. You may also talk to your friends or colleagues to put you in touch with people dealing with the field you’ve chosen.
Step Five – Add More Skills
When you reach step five, you’ll already be knowing what you would like to pursue moving forward. So now, the next step would be to enhance your skillset. Since you’ve chosen a career change, it is highly recommended that you add on some skills to your resume before going for the interviews. You may start by taking an internship or some classes that can help you perform better.
You may also consider reading a lot about the job profile you are going to work in. You may again ask queries to the people already working in the same department or profile. This will let you know the kind of expectation your new employers may have from you.Â
Step Six – Revamp Your Resume
After taking all the training, internships, or courses, it is time to reframe your resume. Add all your new skills and experiences to make sure that you look best from the rest. You may be transitioning from one career to another, but all your experiences count. Ensure that you create a resume that highlights your new skills and gives a clear idea about your strengths. Do not start a resume that looks a little confusing, making the interviewers wonder why you would make such a decision.
Step Seven – Get Ready For The Interviews
Start sending out your resumes, and do not hesitate to give interviews even in the firm you would not like to work. This is because, at this point, you will need an idea about the questions being asked and expectations made. Giving interviews will only uplift your confidence and let you get your dream job.
How to Do Career Transition?Â
It is one of the most challenging questions to answer, and we hope that we did that for you.Â
If you are willing for a career change, you must be clear about it. The article mentioned above offers you an easy step-by-step transition process. While you are practising/following the method discussed above, remember that making the right decision is not a one-day job. Give yourself some time and a little slow.
Taking decisions in haste may not prove to be very fruitful. Make sure that you compare your current career option to your new one to know the differences and the similarities. After all, you would not want to choose a career that doesn’t satisfy the goal that made you shift to it.
Your career reflects your strength; therefore, make sure that you opt for the best!
Conclusion
 With the advanced times, skills have become an inevitable requirement that makes people suitable for any work. These career skills, job skills, and employability skills have a significant impact on a person’s workability and help an organization grow.
It is best to upskill yourself with the latest technologies. Checkout upGrad’s top courses in Data Science, Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, MBA & Full Stack Development.
You can also check out our limited-time free courses to utilize this lockdown to upgrade yourself.
Why is it important to select the right career?
A career is often advised to be picked by high school. That is primarily because the graduation and further education that one wishes to pursue should be in the same field, which does not seem to be the case. At a young age, people are confused about choosing the right area for them and thereby end up making a flub. That is because they do not realise the importance of selecting right at the right time. A career once chosen will nearly take 7-10 years of a person’s life for him to work out if the decision was correct or not. Jotting down the interest areas and conducting meticulous research in the careers related to that field, taking career aptitude or interest tests, consulting a career counsellor, etc., would help pick the right field.
What is a career transition?
Transition, as commonly understood, is the process of changing from one place or circumstance to another. Similarly, career transition is the procedure in which a person changes or switches one’s career. There is no age limit nor limit on the number of times a person changes career. Though it is easier to do it at an early age where the skills, as well as flexibility, are adroitly well. The reasons for such a transition can be numerous. Some mentioned are low remuneration, interest inclination towards another field, career satisfaction, change in philosophy and objectives, etc.
How to revamp a resume?
Updating a resume periodically is considered more of a need nowadays. Getting a job does not imply not trying for better. Reskilling and upskilling are now pressing priorities. To find a better opportunity, whether within or outside the organisation, it is always recommended to revamp the resume. Adding more information to short sections, expunging old and irrelevant experiences, changing the layout, updating recent information, adding newly acquired skills, etc., are all part of revamping a resume. A revamped resume is always ready to be submitted without making an opportunity to wait for you.
