15 Best Hacks to Switching Careers

15 Best Hacks to Switching Careers

This post provides valuable ideas you can apply to prepare for a career change, to ensure that you come out successful in your new career.

Please read on:

When choosing a career, a lot of people tend to make mistakes that end up making them harbor the desire to switch later.

These mistakes could be traced to some misjudgments and assumptions, hence the need for change of career.

It is important to note that you don’t just dive into switching careers if you have not truly understood what it takes and the possible outcomes of career change.

So, before doing that, you have to look at the 15 things to consider before you embark on changing your career.

15 Hacks to Switching your Career

1. Discover your strength

Your strengths or your skills should be the first things to be factored in your choice of career, nothing else.

Your skills are a direct pointer to what you should consider to be your career.

Anything other than that could be the wrong choice of career.

In a situation where you find yourself doing what is against your strength, you have to make a U-turn because you may not get satisfaction in that job for long.

So, your strength and skills should be the first thing to check when you want to switch career.

Money and other benefits you might get from a job should not overshadow the consideration of your skills and strengths in any way when deciding your career.

Allow your skills to determine the type of job you should take and how long you should stay on that job.

Forcing yourself to remain in a job that does not harness your strengths and skills is not worth it.

2. Meet a career counselor

This should even be what to do before you choose a career.

A career counselor is one who is well trained in helping people make the right choice of a career for themselves.

They also help you in switching careers if need be.

If you need a career change meeting a counselor is not a bad idea.

They will counsel you and give you detailed information on what to expect when you switch careers, and that will help you prepare well for the journey ahead.

When it comes to matters that have to do with your career, not everybody is qualified to counsel or advise you because many will look at the monetary aspect as the basis for their advice but a career counselor will always go beyond that.

3. Take a professional course

Having a little idea about a particular field is not enough to make you switch your career to that area.

Before you consider changing your career, do ensure that you have enough skills and certification to compete at t to ensure you make the best in it.

Taking a professional course could be a good move to acquiring the necessary knowledge and certification in your new career.

When you take a professional course and pass, you will be certified as a professional in the new career you have chosen.

Again, taking a professional course gives you the desired license or certificate, which will help you to qualify for a job in the new industry.

So, taking a professional course is definitely a good move to make if you are considering switching your career.

4. Consider going back to school

This is another option that is always open to you. School remains one of the most authentic issuer of certificates all around the world because they have the license to train professionals in a particular field of endeavor.

So going back to school is still a valid option for you.

Your potential employer may doubt some certificates you have from professional courses, but they cannot doubt the certificate you have acquired from a higher institution of learning.

Schools are official while professional course trainers may not be recognized.

Again, the edge school has is that it exposes you to similar fields to give you a wholesome knowledge while most professional courses may just focus on the particular field you have applied for and that alone may not be enough to get your career going.

5. Change your plans and your goals

Don’t change or switch careers if you have not made adequate plans to accommodate the changes.

Switching careers demands a lot of changes, of which some could be temporal while some could be permanent.

You have to be ready for the changes.

So, before you switch career, ensure that you have set out goals and plans that will help you succeed in your new career.

You don’t switch careers before making your plans, rather your make your plans and set out your goals before you go ahead to change your career.

This in itself will help you be better prepared for any obstacle you might face along the way.

6. Make some adjustments

Part of your preparation in switching career is to make adjustments.

Definitely, you will need to adjust your lifestyle and other things to accommodate your new career else there will be a lot of mismatch between your new found career and your lifestyle.

The lifestyle of a medical doctor and a contractor are not the same. It is not possible to maintain the same status quo in a new found career.

You have to change certain things, remove certain things and add certain things to enjoy your new career.

When you want to switch career, be ready to adjust your routines.

In fact, this is one dimension of your preparation you should take seriously.

You should not switch career when you have not being able to adjust your timetable to accommodate the new career.

7. Apply to another organization

The organization you are working for presently may not be the right place to start a new career hence you have to make a move and take up another challenge elsewhere.

It’s in your own interest to pick up another challenge elsewhere. It will be easier to start a new challenge elsewhere than switching career in the same organization.

So, this is another thing you should be ready to do.

Before you switch career, ask yourself this question, “Where is the best place to start a new career?”

That should be a settled matter before you proceed to switching career, very important.

Also, you should be sure that the next organization where you are going to work can afford you the opportunity to explore your new found career.

You shouldn’t look at the pay check as the only factor to consider.

Remember, when you get it wrong at the beginning, every other thing can go wrong.

8. Listen to suggestions

Before switching career, listen to suggestions. It is not ideal to work with just what you know; someone else out there could have a more proven solution than what you have thought about.

Listen to advice and ideas about what can work for you.

Sometimes some people are tempted to make choices solely based on what they think or the challenges they are facing at the moment but that is not a good idea at all.

You could talk to somebody and know what two or three people have to say about the same matter.

From their assertions and your findings, you can then make up your mind on what you think is the best thing for you to do.

Avoid the temptation of working with what you know only. It may not turn out the way you have planned it, so get suggestions from people especially professionals in that field.

9. Broaden your search

Broadening your network means expanding your search. Before switching career, it is advisable to get a list of all the careers that interest you and consider the pros and cons of each of them.

This will give you a hint as to what to expect for anyone you choose.

Most people are always attracted to a particular career because of the potential income it can generate without first of all checking all that are involved in the career, only to start the career and discover that they have made a huge mistake.

Therefore, careful deliberation and consideration should be made by you before embarking on the journey of switching your career.

You have to study and understand all the possibilities, opportunities, and difficulties in the career.

10. Rewrite your resume or cover letter

When applying for a job, you are expected to submit your resume/cover letter.

This contains lots of information about you and your educational qualifications and background.

All these are written in a way to align with what is needed in the organization you are applying to.

So, if you are switching career, consider rewriting your resume or cover letter.

It is important as your new resume should be written to meet up with the standard needed for your new career.

Submitting an old resume may not be appropriate for the new job.

When writing a new resume, ensure that you take cognizance of what is needed in the new organization where you want to work, and get your resume/cover letter up to standard.

Ignoring this could make your resume not up to standard for the new job.

11. Focus on what you want

Before you considered switching your career, you may have something in mind to achieve.

That is what you need to keep in mind during all the processes involved in changing your.

Ensure to keep your focus intact.

It is possible to lose sight of what you want to achieve in the course of switching career, however, your ambition should be the reason behind every action you take.

You should use your target or ambition as a yardstick to evaluate your actions.

So, in whatever you do, ensure that you keep your focus.

Know that in your decisions, sometimes you might be tempted to get into something else different from what you have in mind, avoid the temptation and keep your focus.

12. Organize yourself

This is in getting yourself ready for the switch. Career switch is not as easy as one might think.

It demands a lot of adjustments and life changing decisions.

So, in all instances, one thing you must do during the time of changing your career is to organize yourself.

Organizing yourself is a way of saying you should get yourself prepared for any change that emanates from the career switch; meaning that you must have calculated the demands of your new career and have repositioned yourself for it.

You might need a lot of adjustments as a way of preparing for your new career.

If you have not organized yourself, then you should not go ahead with the idea of switching career.

You should consider self-organization first before you think about this idea.

13. Get ready to answer questions on why you want to change career

What would you give as your answer if anyone asks you about your choice of switching career? Or don’t you think that questions will come?

Certainly, questions about your motive for changing career will definitely pop up in an interview whether you are prepared for it or not.

One of the persons that will likely ask you that question will be the manager of the organization where you intend working.

You will have to present convincing reasons why you have to tread the path of career switch.

So, as you are thinking of the processes involved in choosing another career, also think of the possible answer to give when you are asked why you are choosing a new career.

Your answers could attract the necessary help you might need to ease the difficulties of starting a new career.

14. Keep your expectations in check

Expectations could kill if not well checked. When you are switching careers, watch or manage your expectations.

If you have high and lofty expectations then you could be on the brink of disappointment because things may not meet your expectations.

So, to minimize or keep your expectations realistic, prepare for the worst even as you are preparing for the best.

This is the most effective way you keep your expectations in check. You ask yourself, “What if this thing doesn’t work out the way I planned it, what do I do?”

Again, have your plan B if what you planned did not work out. Keep your expectations realistic and achievable.

15. Develop new skills

Every career has the basic required skills needed to succeed in it. It is important you know this and work towards developing new skills for your new career.

You should not jump into a new career if you have not developed the necessary skills to succeed in it.

Before you get into a new career, you need to find out what skills are needed and know if you have them or not.

If you have the skills needed, then you are good to go otherwise ensure that you go for training in order to acquire the new skills.

Even if you have the skills already, it is still not a bad idea to add more skills to the ones you have already.

This will make you more balanced and prepared to take on new challenges.

So, get down to work and develop more and more skills as much as you can.

Conclusion

Sometimes, we get to a point in our life when it appears we are no longer happy with our career and want a switch.

There is nothing wrong with changing your career, but there are certain things you need to know to prepare for the change to make a success in the new career.

This page provides valuable tips you can use to prepare effectively for the career switch you need to make.