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HowToSwitchCareersWithoutStartingOver

Mar17,2015 72,791 1,025 237

It'snearlyinevitablethatyou'regoingtoswitchcareersnotjustjobsatsomepoint.Itdidn'tusedtobethatway,butnoweverybodyswitchescareers.Youroldcareermightfadeawayoryoumightgetburnedoutonit.

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Youcandecideatanyagethatyou'rereadyforachange,orcircumstancesmightpushyouintoacareerchangewhetheryourereadyforitornot.

You'regoingtogothroughemotionalchangeswhenyoustepintoanewcareer.Ifyourelikemostpeople,youllvacillatebetweenexcitementandterror.

Eventuallyyoullsettleintoyournewskinandrealizethatyoualwayshadthequalificationsyouneededtoswitchcareersyoujustdidntrealizeitatthetime.

WehadaclientnamedAndywhosaid"I'msodonewithmycareer.IknowwhatIwanttodonext,butI'mnotsurepeoplewillacceptmeinmychosennewcareer.Idon'thavecredibilityinthatfieldyet."

"Whatfieldisit?"weaskedhim.

"I'malawyernow,"saidAndy."I'vebeenalawyerforsixteenyears.I'mtiredofit."

"Whatdoyouwanttodonext?"wewondered.

"Iwanttobeacorporatetrainer,"saidAndy."Iwanttodeveloptraininganddeliverit."

"Interestingchoice,"wesaid."Haveyoudonetrainingbefore?"

"Idoiteveryday!"saidAndy,excitedforthefirstsincetheconversationbegan."IdevelopedatrainingprogramforparalegalswhenIfirstjoinedmyfirmfirstsixteenyearsago.Itwasafantasticexperience.Ilovetraining.

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"I'vetaughtthatparalegalclassdozensoftimessincethen.Iteachourpartnershowtousenewtechnology.Iteachourclientsaboutchangesinthelawandallsortsofthings.

"Ispendatleastathirdofmytimedesigningordeliveringtraining,butmymanagingpartnersaysthefirmcan'tcreateafulltimetrainingpositionforme,soI'mgoingtostartlookingforanewjob."

"Whydoyoufearthatyouwon'tbeacceptedasacorporatetrainer,sinceyou'vedonesomuchtrainingalready?"weaskedAndy."Haveyouappliedforanytrainingjobsyet?"

"Justafew,"saidAndy."Ihaven'tgottenoneresponse."Helookeddowncast.

"Whatdoesyourresumesayaboutyourcareerchange?"askedMolly.

"IwroteaSummaryformyresume,"saidAndy."Itsays'Experiencedattorneywithsixteenyearsofcontractandbusinesslegalexperiencelookingtomoveintocorporatetraining."

"Andy!"Isaid."You'vebeendoingtrainingforsixteenyears.Youcanclaimthat.Whyareyouaskingpermissiontodowhatyou'vealreadybeendoingforever?"

"Whatdoyoumean,I'maskingpermission?"askedAndy.

"Yourresumesaysthatyou'retryingtomoveintocorporatetraining,"saidMolly."You'rehesitant.Youhavetostepoverthelineintoyournewrole.Youdon'tneed

anyone'spermissiontodothat."

"Ihavelittleboys,"Isaid."Ihaveafoamswordinmycar.Icangogetitandyoucangetdownononeknee.IcanknightyouanddubyouSirCorporateTraining!"

"Let'srewritethatSummary,"saidMolly.WerewroteAndy'sSummarysothatitsaid"I'vebeencreatinganddeliveringtrainingprogramsforsixteenyears.Ilovetotranslatedensetechnicalorlegalsubjectmatterintosimplehumanlanguageanddelivertrainingthatgetsaudiencesexcitedaboutapplyingwhattheyknow."

Andygavehimselfpermissiontochangecareers.Hestoppedwaitingforsomeoneelsetogiveittohim!Andysmojosoaredwhenherealizedthathewashisownbiggestroadblock.

AllhehadtodowastosaytohimselfImacorporatetrainer.Hehadbeenwaitingforsomeoneelsetogivehimthatdesignation.

Youdon'thavetostartoveratthebottomoftheladderinanewcareer,notunlessyou'relearningawholenewtradelikemedicineorcabinetmaking.Mostknowledgeeconomyworkerscanglidefromonefunctionorindustryintoanotherwithlittletrouble.

TheyworrythatHRpeoplewon'tacceptthem,becausetheyseejobadsfullofjargonandcredentialstheydon'thave.That'sokay!It'sanewday.

Hiringmanagerswillseeyourabilitytosolvetheirpainbasedontheworkyou'vedoneinyouroldprofession,butyouhavetoseeitfirst.Youcan'tgotothejobmarketwiththemessage"Pleaseletmeintoyourprofession."Youhavetoletyourselfin!

TheHumanWorkplaceapproachthatignoresautomatedrecruitingsystemsandapplicanttrackingsoftwareinfavorofPainLetterssentdirectlytohiringmanagerscomesinhandyforcareerchangers.

Akeywordsearchingalgorithmwillmissacareerchanger'sbrilliance,butahiringmanagerinpainwillseeitifyoupointoutyourrelevantexperienceinyourHumanVoicedResumeandPainLetter.

Youhavetoseetherelevancebetweenwhatyou'vedonealreadyandwhatyouplantodonext.

Youcan'twaitforyournextbosstomaketheconnectionbetweenyouroldcareerandyournewoneyou'vegottomakethatconnectionclear,andyou'vegottobelieveintherelevanceyourself.

Whenyoustartyournewjobinyournewcareerpath,you'llbeamazedhowmuchofthe"oldyou"comesintoplayeverydayonthejob.Thetruthisthatwhitecollarjobsarenotallthatdifferentfromoneanother.

Thejargonisdifferent,butthebasicbuildingblocksarethesame.Giveyourselfpermissiontostepintoyournewfield,andthenuseyourresumetomakethebridgebetweenyouroldcareerandyournewoneplainasday.Keepthisinmind:

whetheryou'rechangingcareersorstickingwithyouroldone,onlythepeoplewhogetyoudeserveyou!

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