Thinking of Changing Careers? Follow These 10 Steps to Get Started

1.  Take time to assess your career assets. Look carefully at all areas of your experience (not just paid work) to clarify your skills, interest areas, values, needs, and goals. 

2.  Research new career ideas thoroughly. First read the relevant sources and then talk to people in the new career field.  Don’t rush into action on a new idea AND don’t reject that career dream as impossible or impractical too quickly.

3.  Expect change to take time. Career transitions generally take much more time than you would expect. In general, the further away your new career is from your old in job function and industry, the longer the change will take.

4.  Move toward a goal that fits you. Don’t change careers just to get away from a difficult job situation.

5.  Understand how your transferable skills fit and add value in the new career field. Be certain that you can explain to prospective employers how the skills you have acquired in your current work can make you effective in your new field.

6.  Don’t make assumptions about qualifications needed to jumpstart your new career. Research the field and the training options thoroughly before committing your time and money. 

7.  Look for opportunities to gain experience and exposure in your new career field. Consider all the possibilities for building skills and experience through volunteering, internships, and professional associations.

8.  Go back to the basics. Make sure your networking, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, and negotiating skills are up-to-date. Networking will be especially key in helping you to identify industry trends, test your “value proposition” in the new field, and get job leads. Use LinkedIn and other social media resources to connect with alumni in a wide variety of fields. Join the Tufts Career Networking Group on LinkedIn. 

9. Be flexible. There may be more than one way to satisfy many of your career criteria, and you’ll need to be open to unexpected possibilities.

10.  Seek out strategic and emotional support. Career change can be a challenging process, and will certainly take you out of your comfort zone. Identify people who can support you in your career change process by helping you find new solutions to problems you encounter in your search, offering encouragement, or just helping you laugh on a tough day. Try to find mentors who can offer practical help in entering a new field. 

Looking for some inspiration to help you fuel that big career change? Check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk on creativity.  She says it’s not about being a genius, but about the genius we all have within.   

 Tufts Alumni Career Services offers lots of resources for career changers. Check out our website for more info!