Throughout the current pandemic, things may seem uncertain. Some people are losing their jobs due to restructuring, and some people are losing their jobs due to the current pandemic. Due to lack of uncertainty, this has many people considering a career in a different field or in the scope of the field they are currently working in. Given the uncertainty, some people may choose to work in a different field that provides more stability such as healthcare and essential services. Before making the transition into another field there are a few things you should consider and cultivate regarding your skillset and experience. Like many things, a career transition should be planned out and assessed before making any big changes.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can navigate your career transition during a pandemic, or during any other critical time in your life.
- Research the industry you are thinking about moving to.
Before switching industries, it is important to think about what you want to do, along with what you have done, and what skills you have. Start by listing the career areas you are interested in. Do some research on those fields you are interested in what see what the overall field comprises of, such as the day to day tasks, what other people are saying about the industry, and what the outlook for the industry is like. Get an idea of the scope of the industry will help you determine if it is something that you can see yourself doing in the long term. Also, research companies that you are interested in to see what kind of opportunities they have available to get an idea of the actual job responsibilities of the position you are researching.
If given the opportunity conduct informational interviews with professionals in the industry to see how they transitioned and trained for the industry. Other people’s journeys into where they are now can be surprising. Next look like the skills needed for the field. Do a skills inventory and see what skills you have that match up with the industry, followed by seeing where you have skills that you can improve on, need, and where you have skills that you already have. Once you know where you stand skills-wise, whether it comes from actual work, volunteer, or academic experience. From this, you will be able to gauge where you need to work on and where you can begin to add the skills to your resume.
- Make a plan for your job path
Once you have a better idea of the jobs that you are interested in you can now begin the narrow down your list of what you want to do but determining if you need more training and where you have the set skills needed to move into the new area you want to move into or the possibility that you might want to move ahead to the next stage in your career.
When planning for your career move it is important to set your steps into small stages that can help you determine when you need what and when. For example, make categories of what you need to complete then make subcategories of what you need to do to achieve each step. These subcategories will serve as your steppingstones to achieve each category in your plan. Be sure to choose dates where you want to achieve each task. The key thing to remember when conducting your schedule is that you need to be flexible and allow yourself extra time to complete the steps. Be sure to allow ample time to achieve each goal when making your plan. Being flexible and able to adapt to change is very important, especially in a world where things are changing rapidly and can change from day-to-day.
- Discovery and Experimenting
When moving to another career it is important to think long term. Thinking long term and discovering what your next move will look and feel like will require some actual in-person experience. You will want to determine what your interests are then work to determine where you can experience these interests. These interests could be explored through volunteering, job shadowing, or informational interviews. Getting to know what the experience is actually like in your choices for your future career will help you put your ideas into perspective and will help to determine if you can see yourself working long term in a new field.
Overall, getting to know your next move and determining what it will feel and look like is paramount when determining your next steps. Taking time out to set goals after you have chosen your new field will help you make the right choice. Having a set-out plan and planning out goals for your next move is important so that you have a set idea of what you need to move forward.
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