Take these steps if you’re looking to make a career change
Time and money can get in the way of a career move, but by taking some
small actions, you can make it happen.
While the popular adage is true, sometimes
the time spend and money send can get in the way of truly following a new path.
With technology, making a career change (within reason) has never been easier.
Using tools like LinkedIn, Udemy, and, yes, even YouTube, you can learn the skills of a trade and connect with
the masters within it.
Use these steps to learn how to gather the
skills, resources, and connections to
make a meaningful career move within months(without
incurring another wave of student debt!).
ASSESS YOUR CURRENT JOB AND YOUR SKILL
Maybe you hate your current job. Maybe you’re
simply nonplussed with the day-to-day work and you want something more. Maybe
you actually like the function of your job, but dislike your current company.
Whatever it is, make sure to identify the why of your desired career move
before you take action.
From there, asses your best skills along with
your passions. Perhaps you’ve been drafting press releases or doing ad hoc
social media work for your current company. Maybe you’ve done a little graphic
work as needed outside of your otherwise administrative roles. Assess your
interests and relative experience in order to determine your desired career
direction.
ACTIVATE YOUR CONNECTIONS
So you want to be a graphic designer?
Awesome! You know those LinkedIn connections you made in college; the friend of
a friend of a former coworker?
Rifle through these connections. You might be
surprised what you find hiding in your own LinkedIn connections or Facebook
friends. Speaking of friends, speak to them, too. More often than not, someone
will know someone who is open to talk to you. Reach out to see if they’d
be willing to meet
with you. While they might not have a job hot and
ready, it’s a perfect opportunity to ask a few
questions over a coffee.
TAKE A CLASS
Unless you’re looking to become an
anesthesiologist or a trial attorney, you can likely build your skill set
without applying to graduate school.
There are boundless opportunities to learn
things on the internet. Resources like Udemy, Coursera, and Alison offer hundreds of free classes–you can learn
anything from project management to web design.
Even if you’re not looking to change your
career (why are you reading this?) you should take advantage of these free
classes. Heck, we all should learn about probabilistic
graphical models because, why not?
SEND SOME COLD EMAILS
This is my personal favorite thing to do, so
approach with wary pessimism if you must. Once you have a clear idea of the
position you want and type of company you’d like to work for, considering
reaching out to the employees there. A personalized, well-researched
cold emailcan be the perfect way to garner a new
relationship.
You don’t have to come in too hot, revealing
that you went 80 weeks deep into a CEO’s Instagram, but you can express a
knowledgeable, thoughtful sentence or two. In addition, lay out your interest
in the company and inquire as to whether they will be hiring for *your role* in
the near future. If you see a gap in the team roster, you might even suggest
the need for *your role* and why.
Consider sending out a few cold emails to
your dream companies that might hold your dream future job. You can even reach
out to employees at your dream company using LinkedIn. At best, you will manifest a
miraculous job opening in your field. At worst, you will receive no reply.
BY CAILEEN KEHAYAS—CAREER CONTESSA FASTCOMPANY.COM
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