As the saying goes, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” … sound familiar? The anxiety sets in when you admit to yourself you don’t love what you do, and you allow yourself to contemplate a change. More and more professionals are asking themselves if their present-day, professional reality meets their long-term goals. A career transition can take on many different forms – the pursuit of a passion project, time-off to focus on raising a family, pursuing a new degree, or an industry change – to name a few. When you decide to go for it and embrace a career transition, where do you begin?

Transitioning to a new career can be daunting, but know that you’re not alone. CNBC reports, “some 53% of employed U.S. adults who quit their job in 2021 changed their occupation or field of work at some point last year.” You can learn from those 53% who successfully pivoted careers. They identified transferable skills, rebranded themselves, researched the industry, gained confidence, and reached out to their networks. Meagan, an advanced degree professional who recently transitioned into a different role, did just that with the help of Wilbanks Consulting Group:

“I really appreciate how Holly approached every aspect of my job search with a positive attitude, despite my tendency towards pessimism! I had been on the job market for about eight months and had not been called back for any interviews. Holly helped me adapt my research-focused CV into a more standard format resume that highlighted skills important for a career transition, including my project management and communication skills. When I started receiving interview invitations, we had a practice session where Holly helped me to gain confidence when conveying my experience in an interview setting. Additionally, we worked on refining my storytelling to select concise anecdotes to best address common interview questions and specific job requirements. After every job interview Holly remained engaged by calling to discuss how things went for me and to give feedback. I would recommend this service!” -Megan, happy WCG Client

5 Tips For A Successful Career Transition 

Don’t let the stress of transitioning to a new career stop you from achieving your goals. Here are 5 tips from career experts for setting yourself up for success when transitioning to a new career.

Identify Transferable Skills

Skills you have honed over the course of your career are typically viewed in two categories: technical and soft. Soft skills are often the most transferable to another career or industry. Take the time to review your resume and experience to identify soft skills that are transferable, such as project management, relationship building, communication, coordination, and teamwork. 

Talk it Out For A New Perspective

Grab a mentor, buddy, or friend and talk through what you do on a day-to-day basis. An outsider’s view may surprise you by helping identify the number of things you do in a day that you don’t realize are transferable skills that can be multi-use, both professionally and personally.For example, I recently had coffee with a friend who has worked in food service at high end restaurants most of her life. She made a comment in passing that she would love to get into an office job with fewer weekend hours, but would never be qualified. Not qualified? I made sure she knew that was not true. She simply needed to shift her perspective and figure out how to market herself and brand the skills she has. As a server she had consistently coordinated training for new servers, multi-tasked between different areas of the restaurant, patiently treated customers with empathy if something didn’t go to plan, etc. She had the skills for an office environment, she just didn’t see it that way. The first step is understanding what these skills are and how to market them from different angles

The YOU Brand

Once you’ve identified your transferable skills, it’s time to learn how to brand them to showcase value. Start to research industries and jobs you’d be interested in. Searching job descriptions to understand the basic responsibilities and requirements will help you to tailor your resume in a way the reader can connect your transferable skills with the skills needed on the job. Resume objective statements found at the top of your resume summarizing your goals for employment as well as cover letters accompanying a job application are great ways to  highlight transferable skills and the reasons behind your decision to pivot.

Network, Network, Network!

Talk to your network about your career change. A recently reported survey on LinkedIn revealed 85% of all jobs are filled via networking. Tell your story and communicate your career goals to as many people as you can. Consider creating a visual, network map – a simple way to think through people in your life and visually map connections who can help you reach your goals. A great place to start is by simply sitting down and writing down all of your social connections from various aspects of your life (i.e. work, school, church, exercise class, etc.).This can help you determine a plan for tapping into all aspects of your network.  

Invest in yourself

Consider taking the time to enroll in a continuing education course or pursue a professional certification to gain more knowledge related to the transition you’re looking to make. Investing the time and energy to develop yourself also highlights your commitment. Pew Research indicates, 13% of employed adults enrolled in a continuing education course as a professional learner were hoping to get a job with a different employer. Your colleagues and peers within the learning environment can also aid in building leads to add to your network.

Need Help With Your Career Transition?

Are you thinking of embarking on a career transition and don’t know where to start? The team at The Wilbanks Consulting Group is happy to help by offering to help craft a Job Search Strategy. Reach out to us today for a free 30-minute consultation.