Changing Jobs, Changing Careers, Changing Industries

Change is something we tend to avoid like the plague (or perhaps more timely, Swine Flu).  Yet job seekers right now will have to investigate something different. 

The job you had before doesn't exist any longer.  There were unique sets of circumstances that led to the evolution of your last job and in many cases the employer worked around your strengths and weaknesses to allow the job to suit you.  This time, you will want to position your skills into a job defined by the employer. 

So my advice, stop looking for what you used to do and focus on what you want to do.  There are millions of opportunities out there, really.  The likelihood of your finding the right one for you or even just a job, requires that you fit your skills into their round hole.  If you focus on the skills you most like using, you will be far more successful in finding someone who can use them.  Think outside your previous job title, career and industry.

Thinking outside the box can be difficult.  You will most likely need some help.  Enlist the advice of those you trust. There was a great posting on Life at work about change.  In it was a listing of examples of changes her clients had made.  Here is the list:

From mechanical engineeer to attorney to manager at a start-up specialty beverage company

From college athletic coach to self-employed personal trainer

From journalist to law school student

From full-time instructional designer to contract instructional designer

From laid off administrative employee to self employed retailer

From technical writer to TV production

From hi-tech manager to at-home parent

From corporate training manager to self-employed consultant and professional speaker

From working for corporations to working in two-person partnerships in law, management consultancy and architecture

From full-time high school teacher to part-time curriculum designer

From biotech marketing to self-employed chef-for-hire

From community college dean to e-learning consultant and retiree

How did they make these transitions?  Each story is most likely different, however, they all started the same way, Once upon a time... no, no, no. They assessed their core strengths.  They focused on what they really enjoyed doing and from that discovery became energized and passionate about making the change.

What was your transition and how did you get there?

Comments

[Career Sherpa]

Nancy, glad to hear you found a calling as a writer. Nice use of knowledge and talents!

Mike, I agree with you, it isn't want to do but, LOVE to do. We need to follow a passion that will help drive us past obstacles and challenges.

[mike lally]

Hi Hannah! I get nervous about the "do what you WANT to do" path. I am more of a "do what you are GOOD at and LOVE to do". I WANT to be an astronaut. That isn't going to happen (for a multitude of reasons). :)

But I am pretty good at running a business, hiring people, growing businesses, managing teams, etc. I look for roles and opportunities that will allow me to do those things.

[Nancy Lynn Jarvis]

I went from being a Realtor to writing a murder mystery with a Realtor protagonist.

Contact information: Nancy Lynn Jarvis at: (831)-427-1320 or send email to: nancy@goodreadmysteries.com
The real estate market is a mess. What’s a Realtor to do?
One twenty year veteran of the industry, Nancy Lynn Jarvis, is writing murder mysteries set in Santa Cruz County instead of selling houses. You can read the first chapter of “The Death Contingency” and “Backyard Bones” at www.GoodReadMysteries.com .
“Real estate is an interesting business,” the author says. “The stress level involved in buying or selling a home ranks right after death and divorce. People reveal a lot about themselves during the process. The business attracts its share of colorful practitioners, too.
Their stories and Nancy’s experiences provide the settings where her Realtor and part-time sleuth, Regan McHenry, works while she unravels mysteries.
After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, Nancy worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager of Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
Nancy’s work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years. Writing is her newest adventure.