How Do I Make A Career Change?

Years ago, there were not many job changes much less many "career changes." Most people got a job, and they worked at that company for 35 years until they retired with their gold watch.

Nowadays, it is not odd for people to have several different careers in their lifetime. Recruiting directors are becoming more attuned and aware of this trend, so it is not as difficult to make a career change if you go about it the right way.

There are a few secrets of making a successful career change:

1. Gain relevant experiences. You want to get experiences outside of your current line of work that directly relate to the job you want. If you know you want to leave your banking job to write for your favorite travel magazine, start writing on the side and building your portfolio. If you want to switch from teaching to event planning, plan your class's graduation event to gain relevant experience. And if you want to leave journalism for marketing, check out your newspaper's marketing department before heading out.

You can also take classes, pick up new hobbies, or join industry organizations to acquire relevant skills and get in tune with the environment of your new field.

2. Create a summary section on your resume or highlight transferable skills. A summary can be a great way to show relevant skills when you don't have the exact background a company is seeking. Again, if a Recruiting director is looking for a marketing professional, the most recent job may throw him or her off. By starting with a summary, you can actually match what you have done with the job description.

You also want to pinpoint the skills you gained in your past experiences that directly parlay to the job you want. Paint a clear picture for the recruiting director. You want them to see the skills and assets you have that transfer smoothly to their industry.

3. Make the best out of the experiences. Even if you don't have perfectly relevant experience, you want to sound as good as possible. In addition to hard skills, employers are also looking for soft skills, such as a strong work ethic, accomplishment, communication skills, management skills, etc. By showing you have done well in your past jobs, a potential employer will see you can be an asset to the organization.

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