In days gone by, people could have expected to stay in a single career for life. However, these days, the modern worker is expected to have a minimum of five different careers, which means that there are more opportunities to pivot into a different path than ever before. It is therefore entirely possible to undertake a career change at 35 if you wish, and should you decide to do so and take the plunge into a new career, you will want to do so in the most successful way possible. The following blog post is all about how you can make this transition effectively.
Assess Your Interests & Skills
The best kind of careers are the ones where you can’t wait to get up and face the day ahead of you. Taking career test helps you identify your personality traits, interests and finds a career that matches perfectly. You also need to consider your skills at the same time. While you may have a great interest in a particular subject, you may also find that there are certain qualifications that you are going to need to pick up to enjoy success. For example, if you are going to be an assisted living administrator in California, you need to have the qualification that will allow you to open up this particular door.
Check Out Job Opportunities
Even if you are not quite ready to get into a new career yet, there is no harm in browsing job websites to see what sort of options are out there and available to you. This way, you have a clearer picture of what you are aiming towards. You will also find out key information such as whether you are going to need to move to pursue the job of your dreams, or whether there are opportunities locally. You will also find out about the starting salaries and whether you are going to need to pick up additional qualifications to obtain the role.
Reach Out To Your Contact Network
While you can break into different careers with no formal contacts in the area, it helps if you are able to draw on a connection or two. Even if you don’t know anyone directly, you can try reaching out to a friend of a friend for support. While it can be intimidating to make that initial phone call or send out an email, you will often find that people are more than willing to offer a helping hand – even if it is just a friendly piece of advice. You also ensure that you are getting your name known by all the right people as well.
Volunteer Or Get Work Experience
It is often the case that your first experience in a job role is through volunteering or doing some work experience. First of all, this gives you the opportunity to try out the job and see if it is everything that you thought it would be. Beyond this, you are also getting your name out there, and putting yourself in front of the decision-makers in that particular career path. Also, the act of volunteering in itself can prove to be one that offers personal rewards of its own.
Take A Class
More and more in the modern world, classes can fit around the rest of your life, and you don’t necessarily have to take a huge chunk of time out of your life to achieve success. You can find all sorts of classes and tutors online who can fit their hours around yours, and these can range from evening business classes to gym instructor courses. Many of the most successful people in life started out doing evening classes before transitioning to the career path that saw them realize their greatest achievements. With so many online classes, you also don’t have to make as big a commitment. You can try them out to see if you enjoy them. There really is something for everyone, which means that if you are a fan of sport you can look at taking a Master’s Degree in football business, if you want to take part in adding to the commercial landscape you might think about doing a construction management degree. The world is your oyster.
Check Out Opportunities At Your Current Company
Sometimes, you may not even necessarily have to switch to an entirely new company in order to pursue a different career. In fact, you may find that an opportunity has opened up in a different department that you want to pursue. Once you have already made a good impression at your current company, it is easier to demonstrate that you would be a good fit for the job role.
As you can see from the above list, there are plenty of ways that you can move into a different career. While there is no doubt that this can feel intimidating at first, it is ultimately rewarding if you are able to find a job the provides you with even greater personal and professional satisfaction.
