If you are at the point in your career where you are ready for a change in your role, industry, or both, consider the following:
To determine if you need to make a small or large change for greater satisfaction, identify how you currently spend most of your time in and outside of work. What is your level of engagement and energy in the various tasks and activities? The Good Time Journal activity worksheet can help you determine what you may want to do more or less in your current job or new career field.
If you know you are ready to change careers but aren’t sure what you would like to do next, use the Skills Matcher to find out how your skills translate from your current field into other career options.
If you have a new career in mind, do a 5 Step Skills Gap Analysis to identify what skills you need to make a successful transition:
- Find 5 or more job postings for your target job using a job search engine, such as Indeed
- Identify the required skill listed under qualifications in the job postings
- List the required skills that are common among multiple job postings
- Ask yourself, “what am I missing from the list?” - this is your skill gap
- Develop a plan for how you can fill your skill gap, which may include continuing education
Use Jobscan to tailor your cover letters, resumes, and LinkedIn profile to your newly chosen role or industry. Scan your resume against 5 or more job descriptions for the type of role you want next. Use the feedback you get to revise your resume to better align with the requirements of your new job target.
For more tips for career changers, visit Career Change Tools and Advice
A career change may mean a pay increase or decrease. Be prepared to save money or work a side hustle to make the transition to a new career. It's important to learn as much as you can about typical salaries for the new career path you are considering.
Some salary resources include:
Considering starting a business? The Small Business Development Center provides no-cost business counseling and training services to small businesses.
Want to talk through the decision and process of changing careers?
Our career advisors will help you work through questions and concerns you might have about changing careers. Call us at 703-993-2370 to schedule an appointment.