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Jobs & Internships
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Ten Steps
to a Successful Career Change
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Interested in a new career? If so, it is important
to take the time to evaluate your present situation, to explore
career options and to choose a career that will be satifying for
you.
Ten Steps to a Successful Career Change
1. Evaluate your current job satisfaction. Keep
a journal of your daily reactions to your job situation and look
for recurring themes. Which aspects of your current job do you
like/dislike? Are your dissatisfactions related to the content
of your work your company culture or the people with whom you
work?
2. Assess your interests, values and skills through self help
resources like the exercises in What Color is Your Parachute.
Review past successful roles, volunteer work, projects and jobs
to identify preferred activities and skills.
3. Brainstorm ideas for career alternatives by discussing your
core values/skills with friends, family, networking contacts and
counselors. Visit career libraries and use online resources like
those found in the Career Advice section of the Job Search website.
4. Conduct a preliminary comparative evaluation of several fields
to identify a few targets for in depth research.
5. Read as much as you can about those fields and reach out to
personal contacts in those arenas for informational interviews.
6. Shadow professionals in fields of primary interest to observe
work first hand. Spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days
job shadowing people who have jobs that interest you. Your college
Career Office is a good place to find alumni volunteers who are
willing to host job shadowers.
7. Identify volunteer and freelance activities related to your
target field to test your interest e.g. if you are thinking of
publishing as a career, try editing the PTA newsletter. If you're
interested in working with animals, volunteer at your local shelter.
8. Investigate educational opportunities that would bridge your
background to your new field. Consider taking an evening course
at a local college. Spend some time at one day or weekend seminars.
Contact professional groups in your target field for suggestions.
9. Look for ways to develop new skills in your current job which
would pave the way for a change e.g. offer to write a grant proposal
if grant writing is valued in your new field. If your company
offers in-house training, sign up for as many classes as you can.
10. Consider alternative roles within your current industry which
would utilize the industry knowledge you already have e.g. If
you are a store manger for a large retail chain and have grown
tired of the evening and weekend hours consider a move to corporate
recruiting within the retail industry. Or if you are a programmer
who doesn't want to program, consider technical sales or project
management.
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