10 Steps to Changing your Career Path
Trying to change your career path can be a daunting prospect. You may have spent many years in a particular role or on a certain path, and the idea that everything must now change may seem rather insurmountable. In order to focus on the task in hand, it is always useful to break things down into steps, as it is much easier to focus on the overall objective in that way
Here are ten steps that can help you more effectively change your career path.
Self-assessment
Reviewing where you are is always a great place to start. What is good about your current career and what needs to change? Focus on your achievements and those areas where you feel that you can progress. Be realistic about what you want to achieve but also don’t ignore your likes and dislikes. It can be useful to draw up a list of the pros and cons of your current role to help you establish in which direction your career needs to change.
Conduct research
You may need to do some research to find out what it is that you should be aiming for next. This could include talking to peers and friends or using the host of online resources that exist to help people plan and shape their career goals. Remember that the bigger the change, the more research you are likely to need to undertake to be able to establish the right career for you.
Training and education
Many roles will require you to undertake additional training or education. This could take many forms. Some training could be completed on-the-job. More formal qualifications may require study and you will therefore need to plan how to cope with this around your existing role. Establish what is essential for your chosen career and what is desirable, focusing on the former first.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a great way to develop your commercial knowledge and can give you insight into personal development areas that you may need to consider. A mentor often has a wealth of business experience and insight that can greatly improve your career prospects and, if chosen correctly, can also have business contacts that can prove very useful in your new career.
Networking
Networking opens up new opportunities. It can enable you to talk to people in the industry or business that you hope to work in. Networking broadens your thinking and exposes you to a host of people whose insight and experience can prove invaluable. It’s widely recognized that networking introduces opportunities that are not otherwise accessible.
Set the right goals
In order to change your career path, you need to have a plan. You need to be working to tangible goals or objectives that can easily be measured and which will contribute to a desired outcome. You may need to enlist the help of your peers, your mentor, your network and more in establishing the right goals.
Ask for the right help
It is very difficult to change your career without help. Establish who you need to ask for help and when you need them to help you. Agree this from the outset and ensure that you are very clear about what help you need and why. Be honest when you don’t get what you need and be prepared to be flexible about how people can help you. Remember that everyone is busy. You can’t expect them to drop everything for you.
Expand your experience
Experience counts for an awful lot in any role and you may need to think innovatively about how to gain that experience. You may need to do some voluntary work, take on a secondment or volunteer for a project. Experience isn’t solely gained through a paid full-time role. Be creative about finding the right opportunities.
Review and refine your plan
Setting career goals is seldom a one-off exercise. Once you have established the first set of objectives, you need to spend time reviewing and refining those goals as necessary. This may be to accelerate timescales if you achieve things more quickly than you expect. It could be to add new tasks that were originally overlooked.
Be thirsty for feedback
You should always be on the look out for feedback and you should welcome what people have to say, even if you disagree. Feedback helps you adapt and learn from others and can influence how you approach the next step in your plan. You will normally have to go out and ask for feedback. It won’t just come to you.
Changing your career path takes time and energy. How much of each of those things you need will depend entirely on the career path that you want to tread, but never overlook the importance of planning your approach.
