There may be many reasons to switch career paths, however, the ones that lead most people to seek for a change are issues related to overworking, earning or burnout.  According to the data received from the research conducted by Drexel University, many of the respondents considered changing their jobs because of overwork or the enormous amount of work and hours spent on tasks at work, which limited their private lives.

Additional elements for which many people consider changing jobs are also financial gratuities or opportunities for development, which at a certain stage of life motivate people to change. Due to the limited opportunities for promotion, many employees think about changing their current company, to those where there is a real chance to climb to a higher level of the career ladder and thus receive better remuneration for the work they perform. In addition, the below-presented chart also highlights the importance of location and the lack of passion as a factor that can result in burnout or general reluctance to work, which is an ideal reason to change the career path.

drexel.edu

It is worth noting that in the same research conducted by Drexel University, most of the respondents opted for a full change of career path and thus choosing something entirely new, which may be related to a completely different industry. Choosing a completely different career path is a challenge that is not easy to undertake, so to make it easier for you to go through each stage of this process, we invite you to take our step-by-step guide.

drexel.edu

Step One

Prepare yourself for the career change

For some, a complete career change can be overwhelming, stressful and impossible, but why look for negatives in the process when it can turn out to be a remarkable change that improves your whole life. However, before making any decision it is worth to consider this carefully, reconsider all pros and cons. It is also worth to do research and to learn everything that can await you at the specific job position.

Mental preparation is also very important because you have to be prepared for both spectacular success and a great failure. Life writes various scenarios, so you have to take it into account. Another very important factor in career change is financial preparation. In order to change your career path, you will probably have to work at a lower level position, which is often associated with reduced salary, but it is worth taking such a risk that it could result in a successful path to the promotion and a satisfactory remuneration.

When it comes to preparing for a career change, it is also worth to improve your resume so that it meets the requirements of the position for which you apply and contains as many keywords as possible to which the recruiters draw attention. Even if you have never worked in a particular job, it is worth mentioning the set of skills that definitely work in your favour, or mention your passions that are related to the specific processes of the job. It is also important to refine your elevator pitch to be able to talk about your advantages, passions and goals for the future in all circumstances, smoothly and without any problems. An additional advantage will be to find people working in the industry or in the company for which you wish to work.

According to Kerry Cannon, the worldwide recognised expert of the career transitions,” Networking is one letter away from not working”.

Making good friends can definitely make it easier for you to enter a new career path and ideal tools for this are platforms such as LinkedIn or groups or thematic forums. Let yourself be seen by the world you want to get into.

Step Two

Get ready to start everything from scratch

If you have already made a conscious decision to change your career path and have considered all advantages and disadvantages, it is the right time to immerse yourself in the world you dreamed of. In order to successfully change your job, it is necessary to learn as much as possible about the new job. To read, to learn, to observe, to ask and to prove at every step of the way to yourself and to others that this is what fascinates you and that you are willing to do to progress.

Starting a completely new career path often involves starting everything all over again. Again after Hannon’s:

“It’s the nature of the job market. Don’t say no to temp. Don’t say no to contract.”

You need to consider, an internship or a temporary contract that is most often offered at the beginning of a career, but it will certainly pay off. You have to be prepared for the fact that it may be necessary to start all over again. Starting from the bottom of the career ladder is tough, but it is worth to demonstrate commitment and willingness to help your new coworkers in various tasks. Following Hannon’s thought:

“What do you have to lose? Your supervisor can always say no, and you’re right where you are now. But if you say nothing, management will never know that you’re ready to take on different duties or learn something new”.

More experienced employees can teach you a lot, so it is worth listen to them and learning from their experience.

Step Three

Succeed in the new career

No one says that the beginnings are simple but they are necessary for development.

“Keep reading, learning, and taking classes”.

The key to success is continuous development! Learning new things, developing skills, training and a lot of practice. You need to redefine your goals and pursue them successively. It is also worthwhile to constantly make new connections with people in the industry to be up to date and not miss out on interesting projects.

In general, every person changes their career path at least once in their life and most often it happens several times, so it is worth considering it in terms of something exciting and new, something worthy of commitment and improvement.

With each new job, you learn something new about yourself and have the opportunity to develop new skills. The fact that you are currently doing a certain job does not mean that you have to stay in this place of your career forever. Everyone is aware that a career change can be a risky manoeuvre, but change is inevitable, not only in real life but also in a career path.

You know yourself better than anyone else, so trust yourself, your instincts and dare to do the jump. You never know what you can achieve and how successfully your career change can be.

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