Do you wake up on a Monday morning filled with dread? Are you finding that you live for the weekend? If so, it may well be time for a career change. Keep reading for our top 5 tips for a successful career change.
All of you sometimes experience periods of dissatisfaction with your jobs. However, when this starts to become a regular occurrence, it is time to act. Here are five steps you can take to start this process. Here are five points we think you need for a successful career change.
Identify the problem - Why do I need a career change?
To better understand what you want from your next career, you will need to acknowledge what it is about your current career that you don't enjoy. If you find that sitting in front of a computer doing similar work each day is causing you to lose motivation, you know that you want more variety from your next job role. Analysing the causes of your dissatisfaction is also a good way to determine if it is the job that you dislike or other factors, such as the environment. If so, a change of employer rather than a change of career may be the answer.
Seek advice
Sometimes, you know we need to make a change, but you are not exactly sure what this needs to be. It can be easy to blame your job for feelings of frustration or lack of motivation. However, it may be the case that there are other underlying factors. Seeking expert advice will allow you to gain an impartial perspective on your situation and inform you about what steps you might need to take to make a change.
Research
The next step will be to carry out your research into how to achieve your career goal. Including finding out about the qualifications or training required and the skills needed. Doing so will allow you to determine if this career matches your abilities and also fits in with other aspects of your life. There may be little point working towards a career that will mean you are travelling six months a year if you have significant caring responsibilities.
Make a career change action plan
Once you feel informed about how to achieve your career goal, you then need to put together an action plan. An action plan should include short-, medium- and longer-term goals and include any qualifications, training or work experience that you will require. Having a plan in place means you can assess which actions need to be a priority. Prioritising your actions will make you feel more in control and less overwhelmed, especially as changing a career can at first be quite a daunting process.
Network for a successful career change
Going along to industry events or connecting with people on LinkedIn will make people aware of your career intentions. Making an effort to reach out to people with links to your prospective new career can also lead to you become aware of relevant development or job opportunities. It is still the case that taking the first steps onto a new career path can be down to the people you know, especially within certain industries, so this involves getting in touch with the right people initially.
If you do need to undertake some further qualifications, consider the courses at Oxbridge. These courses are delivered through distance learning, so they will be perfect if you are working and require flexibility. If the time has come for you to venture down a new path, get the best possible start with Oxbridge.