So it’s time for a career change. Your old career just isn’t doing it for you anymore. You’re in a rut or you might be about to fall in one. You need to break free and start over again but….where do you start?
There isn’t one way to start your search. Before you get going make a list of what you do know you want in the next phase of your career. If you were a sales representative in systems architecture and you didn’t like travelling 90% of the time because you have a young family, eliminate those international concerns that would require extensive travel. Its common sense but so often we get seduced by salary and bonuses we forget what made us unhappy in the first place.
Take it slow. Trying to land an IT Security Specialist post in KPMG’s Cyber Risk Management division might be out of reach at first. Don’t focus on finding an ideal starting point or perfect road. Start small and build your skill set and your resume before you aim high, even if you were a Dux!
Finally, don’t beat yourself up. It’s easy to pick up a bloke’s negative karma. If you catch yourself thinking I’m too old tor too young for that job”, write that thought down in a notebook and then go back and turn the negative into a positive “I have the specific skills needed to succeed in this position” You need to get rid of your those self-deprecating thoughts to move forward.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. A successful career-change starts with knowing what you want before you contact a firm.