Changing Careers - New doors

Connecting with people is important for finding new opportunities and getting new career change ideas.

2020 has seen a seemingly endless cascade of disasters. From floods and fires to riots and a mishandled pandemic, the chances that you are now out of a job, or soon to be, are quite likely. With a record-setting second-quarter 2020 U.S. GDP loss of 32.9% and 40 million jobs lost due to coronavirus and counting, things are not looking well.

Growth doesn’t come without pain, however, so these changing times could lead to positive change with proper planning and guidance. If you are looking for a career change, these tips can help guide you in the right direction.

The Wrong Approach to Changing Your Career

It’s a common theme in the corporate world: a new and exciting job soon becomes a drudgery. The glamour and excitement you signed up for turns into a daily list of chores that you reluctantly try to complete. During your lulls in workload, you find yourself browsing job listing sites, updating your resumé and maybe calling your old recruitment agency.

The cycle of browsing job listings can lead to burnout, however, for many reasons:

  • The jobs listed don’t really appeal to you.
  • You don’t fit the experience requirements.
  • Recruiters will usually fit you into the same holes you are already in.
  • You are competing against people already in other fields with a lot more experience.

Your career changing job search ends with you exhausted and depressed. Even if you manage to apply to some positions, receiving eventual rejection letters, or never hearing from the company again, can be disappointing.

The chances of getting your foot through the door via your resumé and a hiring manager are, realistically, slim to none. Unless you just happen to have that ten years experience with a specific programming language that was invented only two years ago, your resumé will probably won’t ever even be seen by a human.

The analysis-paralysis sets in and you find yourself awake at 2 AM, wondering what to do next. It’s an endless cycle that rarely leads to fulfillment.

Don’t Look for Jobs, Seek People

Instead of seeking jobs, you should try to meet people and expand your network. When you meet other people, they can see the real you and experience your talents and abilities first hand. This is something that a C.V. or resumé can never convey.

Some ideas for the places to start and people to meet:

  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Part-time courses
  • Hobbyist groups and meetups
  • Career coaches

When you meet and work with people in different fields, you get a perspective that you can never attain staying inside your head. By talking and working with different people, you may find new appealing career avenues that you would never have considered previously.

More Action, Less Thinking

Avoid being trapped in an endless thinking loop with your career change process. When you take action, this leads to momentum which can lead you down new paths. Staying awake at night wondering what to do next will just burn you out.

Changing Careers - Finding your way

Your journey towards a new career will lead down many different paths. Make sure you are filling your time more with action and less with thought loops.

What To Do Next With Your Career Change?

Whether you are already in a job you want to leave, or are unemployed and getting into a new industry, you’ll want to act to get your career search in motion.

Assess your current or recent job

Look at your most recent or current job and find the positive and negative points.

  • Tasks –  Which tasks do you like the most? The least? Can you pivot your skills to a new industry? Good communication skills, technical skills, etc. can be applied to many different industries. Take your strong points and see where else you can apply them.
  • Management –  How is/was management at your company? What did you like/dislike? This can help you decide whether to approach similar-sized companies, smaller companies or consider self-employment.

Pick up a hobby

If you love doing something, such as photography, design, etc., set aside some time in your day or week to pursue your passion. This will have many benefits:

  • Take a break – Your hobby can help give your mind a break from your career change search.
  • Join groups – Remember to focus on building your network. Joining a club or finding an online forum with other hobbyists could lead to professional development of a new career.

Take some classes

You can find new avenues for changing careers by taking classes. With many in-person classes limited, you can still find many online options where you can also chat with others without leaving your house. You’ll get to meet more people, which can in turn open new possibilities.

Whether by choice or circumstance, changing your career is no easy task. Keep things simple. Focus on building your network and keep taking actions. While they can sometimes be helpful, remember not to spend too much time on job boards spinning your wheels. Don’t overthink things, either. Try new things and connect with more people.

If you are searching for jobs or making a career change, use these tips to help stay focused and productive. For further reading about working from home, check out these other resources:

How To Change Career When You Have No Idea What You’re Doing
Best Distance Learning Platforms in 2020
10 best remote working tools during Covid-19