It’s a new year, and, for a lot of people, that means new goals and resolutions. If you’re looking to kick-start a career transition, the first step is to take that idea that’s been bouncing around in your head and bring it into the outside world.
You may have been thinking about switching careers for a while now, or perhaps changes in the world sparked something much more recently. Either way, you’ll have more success making your career transition happen if you let it out into the open.
The most important initial step to a successful career transition is to talk to someone who can provide you with additional information about the job you are interested in pursuing. It’s tempting to do research online, but as a career transition coach, I have seen firsthand that you make more progress when you actually start talking to people about your plans. This conversation obviously won’t be with your current boss.
There are two types of people you should reach out to. One is someone who will be supportive of your efforts. They don’t need to be particularly knowledgeable about the kind of work you are looking for, but they do need to help keep you accountable. This is the person to whom you will mention details of who you plan to speak with and when. You want to get to a point where taking steps toward changing careers feels routine –like any other project you handle – and this person will help you do that.
The second person you want to talk to knows more about the position you are seeking and can offer helpful advice and guidance. This could be someone you found online who does this kind of work already. It could even be someone who has made the same transition you are trying to make.
If, for example, you wanted to get a job within a certain area of the corporate structure, like human resources or IT, you could reach out to the person who runs the local chapter of the corresponding trade association. Similarly, it could be helpful to talk to someone who could tell you what publications people in this field read and what events they attend.
Career transitions are emotional, and the beginning of the process is often accompanied by the anxiety that no one will want to take the time to help an insignificant newbie like you. But that’s not true. People who run meetings want more people to attend them, and folks who write to a certain industry group seek more readers. Just as cities and airports have information booths and tourism offices, most organizations have people or even entire departments devoted to talking to outsiders and newcomers.
Moreover, people looking for jobs forget that it’s flattering to be asked for advice. Sure, some of the people you approach may not respond, or they may tell you information that isn’t very helpful. But regardless of the career transition you want to make, there are enough people out there who will be willing and able to help you get the information and advice you need.
We all started as newbies, so give yourself the goal of reaching out to at least one person, preferably two, in the next two weeks.
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