Climbing the corporate ladder to advance your career is taxing – long nights, tight deadlines and more can take a toll on you and your pursuit to succeed. The millennial generation loves switching jobs on the regular, and it is crucial that you’re able to make these transitions smoothly. How you make these transitions forms the basis of your overall happiness and well-being, so make sure it is done efficiently.
By planning your career transition well, not only will you be able to make the process streamlined, but you could also get rewarded handsomely for the same. According to a University of Hamburg study, the key to a good transition is obtaining closure from your previous job to the next. Make sure you smash all the goals you have in your current job before you move on to the next best thing. If there are still unattended to, then a lot of us move with regret.
Leaving your old job in a bit of a mess sets a precedent for the next job. This makes it harder for them to start their new career well, forming a vicious cycle. Find a good careers coach to help you with the process.
Don’t make an unexpected change:
Many career transitions generally aren’t planned properly, and redundancies come out of nowhere, giving you no time to prepare. Transitioning from one career means you need to understand that it is a new beginning. People need to realize that there’s nothing wrong in leaving a job for whatever reason and having trust in yourself always works out in the end.
With that in mind, professionals have moved on from jobs that were great and found the process devastating. You need to understand that a career transition can do wonders for you, and you’ve to keep the faith in order to move.
Better opportunities:
When you make a career transition, you’re moving onto a better opportunity, if you look at it that way. What you’ve learned in a job sets you up for not just your next but the rest of your career as a professional. Learning how to make use of these opportunities is the true skill with which you can excel.
If you’ve always felt that you have a skill which can be tapped into, make sure you use this opportunity to go out there and hone it. Career counseling advise you to take time and work on yourself, so make sure you have that in mind before you consider the other factors that come along with it.
Better opportunities allow you to become a better professional and prepare better for any future job that you might take up. As long as your transition is smooth, you’ll understand that everything happens for the better and making the job change, in fact, a smart decision.
Supporting hands:
Employers nowadays have started creating alumni groups and networks to provide support to previous employees. Some of them also offer valuable career coaching services for a certain period. This allows you to assess the kind of skills you possess and help you put into perspective the kind of professional that you are. If you’re able to get something out of it, make sure you’ve planned well enough.
By having a helping hand, your career transition will help you get to the next level because you’ll be able to brush up on any previous skill. This allows you to understand your new employers much better and give them a better understanding of where you stand. If you’re able to provide them with a skill which can be invaluable over the long term, convincing them, in the beginning, will allow you to earn a figure that you seek.
Just make sure you’re sincere in the process if you want to make a difference to the job that you’re applying for. The method of transition is uneasy and can be uncertain and frightening. With excellent support, it can be one of the best journeys you take up in life. It will help you gain an essential perspective on you and your abilities. Majority of people would transition if given a chance, so here it is – makes sure you grab it with both hands!
Tag: career counseling
10 Myths About Career Transitions That Stifle Your Professional Growth
Ever wondered what keeps you stuck in the job you are at, and avoiding transitioning your career? Some myths are just easy to relate to and accept. Like, it’s not my mistake. So, what can I do? Take a Big-Leap and don’t worry about small steps; Reason, plan and act and many more. That’s exactly why we need to debunk them and get cracking. Here are the most widely heard excuses we hide behind.
Myth 1:
Transitioning my career is too hard and I need this job:
A job is definitely essential, and dealing with responsibilities and earning money part of everyone’s career. Why make this excuse then? Failure and the fear it evokes, lack of planning and saving, and the missing vision for your career could be probable causes. Remember that in any career there’s plenty of hard work, new learning, change, and courage needed to accept faults, rework plans and move onwards.
Myth 2:
The times are not right:
Life is and will get busier with added responsibilities. There is just one right time and that is when you start. Do a search for job opportunities, ask and act for promotion and accept the challenges of a career change. If you haven’t saved or planned, then, do so now and make it a part of your daily plans.
Myth 3:
Career changes involve money:
This essential commodity called money is quintessential to all career changes. One needs to be able to sustain the period of transitioning, re-skilling costs and also be gainfully employed. Yes, it needs money. So plan and save for it. You are never going to fail when you invest in yourself.
Career changes depend on who you know!
This myth is not about looking to Steve Jobs for mentorship. All you need is to look around you and network well. Use social media and let the list inspire your choices and planning. Use your time in thinking about career options, re-juggling of your skill sets, hone the right ones, apply for jobs, intern if required and start planning early if you have plans to change careers.
Myth 5:
What will people think?
Their opinion doesn’t matter and you have no control over it. However, your career transition does depend on your opinion and how you think about yourself. You can never please people so don’t try and waste time here. They will sing your praise when you succeed.
Myth 6:
Be and follow your passions:
That’s great lip service especially when you have no clue about yourself or your passions. A Google search, blogs on topics that interest you, meeting successful people and great planning is required to cultivate a passion for anything. It is not a ready-made solution that you pursue.
Myth 7:
Find the right job:
Does it even exist? There are no rights, wrongs or mistakes. There are only job opportunities. What you do will count in your favor to find the most suitable and paying job. Personality development and skill attainment should be woven into the mix and are crucial for mentoring and watching your back.
Myth 8:
All will be right when I get this job:
No. The problems will start with you hitting the bottom of the new career ladder. This also means you may not get paid more and that you will have to slog and work your way to the top of the ladder. Everyone starts at the bottom. So don’t get discouraged.
Myth 9:
What can happen when I fail?
Don’t worry. If you succeed very few will complain. If you don’t, then spend some more time to see why you failed. Either way, you stand to gain if you open your mind to the possibilities of a job change.
Myth 10:
I don’t possess the job skills for a career change:
Okay! I haven’t heard of a swimmer who had the skills to swim before he entered the water. If you don’t possess the skills for new career options, then zero in on what is lacking and get onto honing your skill set.
In parting, let’s reiterate that you’ll get plenty of career tips. The ones that matter needs to be worked on. And if you need to clear the clutter about such myths research your choices and get some professional training at a reputed institution like Imarticus. Besides a wide variety of career-oriented courses, they do have assured placement services, a soft-skill development module and plenty of latest learning techniques to make learning skills easy.
How to change career when you have no idea what you’re doing?
Career changes are a part of life, and almost everyone will face this crossroad at one time or another. Have no clue how to go about it or where you’re headed? Guess what? You are not alone! Most people who made pivotal career changes did not do it by accident. They prepared themselves with career advice, and you can do it too.
Believe it or not, the key areas you need to work on are simple, enlightening, and not so difficult to do. So let’s get on with it.
1. Learn about yourself: Most of us have no inkling as to where our career is headed or which career counseling path to take because we don’t think from a bigger perspective. Many of us fail to learn from the past and do not want to see what we did wrong. So list out all the jobs you have done, why you disliked them, what made you take them, and what you loved about them. This analysis will help distill your preferences, problem areas, career choices, and your awesome strengths and talents. Yes, let go of the past. There can be no progress unless you break with the past. Yesterday is gone.
2. Find your dream and act on it: Most of us dream and do nothing about it. If you want to learn to swim, get into the water. This means finding at least three career paths which you would like to take. Try the roles out and diligently plan how you would go about achieving those distant dreams. To be an Olympic champion is a lot of hard work, practice, and dedication. Its 99% perspiration and just a mere 1% inspiration. So, make your SWOT list and ensure your goal is in line with your ambitions!
- Specific and actionable.
- Measurable and actable.
- Achievable and learnable.
- Realistic and part of your interests.
- Time-bound and in line with your career thoughts.
3. Put your support pillars in place: If you can’t handle it alone, look for someone from your network who has made such a decision before. Avail training, mentorship, and counseling. Most people who wish to make a career change have no expectations from themselves. Hence they have no idea when they take the wrong route. Build yourself up with an emphatic yes to change, and the fear of venturing into the unknown will disappear. Everybody has a first time, and that’s when it really gets tough. Keep at it, succeed, and you have yourself as a good role model for the future. Fail and learn from it, so there are just obvious career opportunities and no doubts in your mind.
4. Apply and make attempts to check out jobs: A job search of available career paths that you find interesting will help you narrow your choices down. Apply and accept that it is okay if you get rejected. Treat it as an opportunity to learn and move on. Challenge your beliefs and self. Don’t get complacent and lead the life you have been dealt with. Do something beyond a job search like networking with industry leaders via LinkedIn, so you stay in the game.
5. Don’t react emotionally: Chances are that your vision of the future is blurry, and you will commit some mistakes. Well, everyone does, but the trick is to stay motivated amongst your failures. Career refurbishing is a step-by-step journey that has no shortcuts. So don’t expect immediate results. With these practical pointers to help you get started, the next obvious step is to act and avail training or garner and polish your skill set.
Join a practical-oriented course like the ones at Imarticus Learning, where you learn how to apply your skills to an industry-ready environment. Their ample assignments, live simulations of the ecosystem, convenient learning modes, career counseling, and reasonable fees are a huge plus when re-skilling. It’s especially helpful when the learning partner helps you deal with your career change fears through soft-skills enhancement. And yes, check if they have an assured placement program. It is a huge relief to get able professional support and trained mentorship in the very many choices of courses.
So, don’t wait any longer. The Imarticus Learning philosophy is a must-try to hone your skills, focus on your choices, and make the crucial positive changes to your career.