How to Prepare for a Career Transition
Last week I discussed how to know when it’s time for a career transition, so if you missed that, give it a read now. Or, if you already know you’re ready to make a change, you are in the right place!
You’re unhappy in your job. Now it’s time to decide whether you can make a change in your current position to fix the problem or find a new job.
First, I recommend taking a look inward and identifying what the real problem is. If the challenge is within you rather than from your job itself, it will follow you to a new job too. And once you know what it is, there may be a skill you can learn or perspective you can adopt that can change everything.
If the problem is your current job and the issue is something along the lines of:
You feel as if you’ve achieved all that you can in your current position
You don’t feel challenged
Your work is boring you
Your goals have shifted
It is possible that you can make a change without switching jobs or companies.
Make a Change In Your Current Position
The chances are your company would rather retain you than lose you. Someone within the company will likely want to have a conversation with you to help make your job more fulfilling. more content in your job. Speak to your boss, mentor, or somebody in HR about the possibility of shifting your responsibilities or moving jobs within the business.
At every step, check in on how you feel.
If it’s not possible to create a position that fulfills you where you currently are, it is likely time to start looking elsewhere.
Prepare To Find a New Job
There are three areas that you will need to prepare before you start applying for new jobs.
Yourself
Your Network
Your Public Persona
Prepare Yourself
It’s time to take stock. These three areas can help you start the job search with confidence and interview for a new position like the catch you are:
1. Your Skills
Think about everything that you do in your current position and in previous positions. Think about the skills you have picked up in your everyday life.
What hard skills have you learned?
What soft skills do you possess?
What unique skills do you have?
What are people always telling you that you are good at?
If you would benefit from a new perspective, speak to a co-worker you trust or a friend outside of work and see what they would identify as your strengths and skills.
2. Your Experience
Write down all of your past work experience and break each role down into talking points.
Identify your duties.
Identify the skills you used.
Get clear on your contributions.
Interviews often focus on your past experience. Knowing your talking points and being able to frame them as positive qualities will help you feel confident in this phase.
3. Your Interests
Perhaps most important of all, take into consideration what you are truly interested in. Take a look at what gets you moving, and what lights you up.
The key to having a Fulfilling Career and Happy Life is following your joy. You will be able to effortlessly recognize what positions will be fulfilling to you during the job hunt if you know what brings you joy.
When a potential employer asks, “What are your interests?”, you want your real interests to be in line with the job description you are interviewing for and not the opposite.
Set aside some time to outline these three areas.
Craft the story that you want to tell when you start interviewing. Make what you want to share, how you talk about your background, your accomplishments, and what makes you unique bulletproof by preparing it ahead of time. This helps you deliver it in a highly digestible and impactful way.
Also, think about what you hope they won’t ask you! Prepare for that as well.
Once you're comfortable with what you want to talk about, say it out loud. Whether you practice with a person or record a voice memo or Zoom video, it makes a big difference.
For more on this, check out my podcast episode Three Key Questions To Help You Unleash Your Awesome. My guest, Professor Amanda Box is a communications expert who shared her perspective and some simple yet powerful tips that can improve your impact and help you craft your story, starting right now.
Prepare Your Network
Ideally, your network is warm before you need it, but if not, there is no time like the present.
Reach out to your connections. And don’t get in your own way by over-thinking it! There’s no reason to think you’ll bother someone or that an old co-worker won’t want to speak to you. Most people will want to hear from you, and it’s okay if they don’t! Let them decide if they want to hear from you, and send the email or make the call.
When I reach out and haven’t heard back, I typically send a follow-up email letting them know I just want to pop my message to the top of their inbox. If I don’t hear from them after that, I send a final email to close the loop. That’s often when I hear back from them!
People are busy. Not hearing back isn’t necessarily a bad thing. No response doesn’t mean they don’t want to speak to you. Sometimes things just slip past us. Either way, there’s no harm in reaching out.
If you find yourself considering a search, so your networking efforts do have a specific purpose, I approach the idea of networking as three concentric circles. With this networking strategy, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships with your current contacts and extend your network even further.
Turn to your first circle to start. This is your core group — 2-5 people who you really know, trust, and can be open with. These are the people you turn to for brainstorming and collaboration. Talk to them about your ideal role and what you think you’re looking for. They will likely have input and ideas that you couldn't have thought of on your own.
Once your ideas are solidified, put out feelers in your second circle. This is made up of ~10-15 people who may not be in your day-to-day life, but whom you know and respect. They may share a similar position or even be one step above you. The goal of this step is to start testing the waters by exploring what you now have your eyes on to see what’s out there.
Remember, your thinking about what you want can shift as you have these discussions. Essentially you’re doing research and new information often changes your thinking.
From there you’ll find your third circle: people you know personally although less well, and even the connections of your connections. These are people who work in the company or industry you want to work in or are in that next tier. You’ll likely be referred to them by your second circle connection.
I’ve supported many clients through a career transition, and a strategic approach to using your connections and networking makes it all so much easier. It’s a helpful mindset to think of it as a project you’re managing as opposed to asking people for a job.
Did you know 76% of people say that knowing the right people is what gets you ahead? Making connections is so important but good networking takes practice. Make a plan, start small, and seek out genuine connections based on shared interests or common goals.
For more on how to build connections and grow your network, read my blog Connections, More Important Than You Think.
Prepare Your Public Persona
These days, your LinkedIn profile is about as important as your resume. In many cases, your profile is what a potential employer will see first.
Make sure that it’s optimized. Take a look at people who have your ideal job and use the keywords and elements they do if it seems to be working for them.
LinkedIn has a list of 20 steps to create a better profile that you should check out. Make sure yours is up to date before you start to send out your resume!
Navigating a career change can be easier with a coach by your side. If this is something that interests you, book a free discovery call with me to see if we’re a good fit to do this work together!