Change your Career With our Ten Step Career Change Plan!

By Jonathan Lewis

So, you think it is time for a career change? Follow our nine step career change plan and you'll be well on the way to a more enriching life!

Many people are unhappy in their jobs, but you have made the big decision to change your career. So let's examine some of the reasons you might have decided that a career change is for you.

Perhaps you are looking for a career with a higher salary? Or looking for a career that allows for a better work life balance? You might have become bored with your current responsibilities, and be looking for a more exciting career? Perhaps a career with more travel? Or more opportunities to make a difference? Or you wish to combine your career with broader interests you have in life? Make sure, however, that it is a career change you are seeking, and not just a different employer in the same career.

Whatever the reason, you have made the biggest step of all, which is to decide to make your career change a reality!
So now what? Let's look at a nine point career change action plan for how you might attack your career change!

1) Choosing your new career

Assuming that you would like to use your career change, at least partly, to increase the enjoyment you get from the time you spend working, the first thing to do is to assess what you actually like doing!

2) Skills and experience for your career change

So now you know what you want to get out of your career change. Now you must assess whether you have the right skills and experience to get into your new career.

3) Training for your new career

If completing a career change we easy, all of us would be in our dream careers right now! So what is stopping us? Perhaps it is the additional skills which we need to build to be credible in our new career. Don't think that training, however, is restricted to job-related or academic courses. You can get the skills and experience you need for your career change in many other ways! 

4) Accepting a pay cut for your career change

Perhaps the main reason for your career change is to earn more money? If so, then that's great, but it's always wise to get as much information on your new career to ensure that you will actually earn more money doing it. If, however, your career change is not driven by wanting to achieve more money, you may need to accept a pay cut.

5) Financing your career change

Completing your career change may require a spell without paid employment. As well as tightening your belt, you should also do a thorough review of your financial position, including loans, mortgages and credit cards. By switching credit cards, you may find you can save money and get other benefits!

6) Relocating

Perhaps your main reason for your career change is to relocate to an area with a lower cost of living, or better schooling or a better climate. Even if it isn't, your career change might require a relocation - you won't find many opportunities to be a ski instructor in San Diego, for example!

7) Changing career without changing employer

Before you assume that you will need to leave your current employer to achieve your career change, have a look around and see if your career change goals can be satisfied where you are currently working.

8) Finding a new employer

There are a number of ways to find an employer which every job searcher knows - classified adverts, internet job-boards, employer directories etc. Many jobs, however, are never listed in classified adverts and on job-boards because they are filled as soon as they are announced!
To make sure that you are in with a chance, you must develop a strong network in the career you wish to change to.

9) Refreshing your job-hunting skills

The chances are, if you've been in your current position for a while, that your job-hunting skills could be quite rusty! So take the opportunity to brush up on these skills - you might only get one chance to make your career change successful!

10) Staying flexible to achieve your career change dreams

Finally, now that you've made the biggest step and chosen to pursue a career change, don't rush it! It may take a month or even a year to work out exactly what you want from your career change and to develop the skills, experience and network to get you into the right place within that career. Don't settle for something which is 'almost right' or you'll be going through the whole career change process again!

Jonathan Lewis is the founder and CEO of Careerfriend, a company committed to helping people succeed in their dream careers. His extensive experience of attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing exceptional people in management consulting and investment banking allows him to offer clear, actionable advice which has a great impact on people either looking for new jobs or looking to succeed further in their existing jobs.

The Careerfriend website (http://www.careerfriend.com) contains free career advice articles to help people succeed in securing dream careers, from career and employer selection, through resume and cover letter writing, to interviewing, salary negotiation and ongoing career development.

Jonathan was educated at Cambridge University, UK and has advised major national and international corporations, both in the public and private sectors, on issues of corporate strategy, corporate organization, labor relations, personnel development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jonathan_Lewis/6566

Midlife Career Change - Success in 7 Simple Steps!

By John Groth 

Midlife career change, find career change success in 7 simple steps.

A mid-life career change can be a challenging project. Think about the possible results after you make the career change. The rewards should bring you new job satisfaction and fulfill a range of personal and financial needs.

Midlife career changes occur for a variety of reasons. One reason not to stay in your current career is that you've achieved some success and you then rationalize staying in a job as you are becoming more and more disillusioned and miserable. Another thing you might hear is that you shouldn't be changing careers because at your age it either can't be done and you should be satisfied "you do have a job don't you."

Leaving one career for another for the wrong reasons will not fix the problems; it will just transport them to a new location.

As you develop your midlife career change plan here are 7 steps to consider:

1. Where are you now? Carefully consider you current career. Is there anything you can do to make the situation better? Can you transfer to another career with the same employer? Is it the employer or the career that's the problem? If it's your current employer that's the problem, should you consider staying in the current career with another employer?

2. Self-Assessment and Research: Review your skills and knowledge. What do you enjoy doing? What do you not want to do? Why? Do you have any interests that translate into a new career? Are there parts of your current career you really enjoy? Do not enjoy? What skills and knowledge are required in prospective careers? What possible gaps do you have to fill to qualify for the new career?

Gather information about prospective careers by talking to those currently working in the field, reading job descriptions and other internet resources. After you've analyzed your situation, looked carefully at your likes and dislikes and sketch out a possible direction building a new career plan. As you research possible new careers you should write out new career goals. Stay flexible and be willing to move in another direction if you reach a dead end.

3. What are the skills you bring to your new career? Your new proposed career may require different or additional skills and knowledge. However, with your previous experience you will find a whole family of transferable skills to your new career.

Skills and accomplishments in leadership, project management, problem solving, communications and others will cross over into the new career. How you list achievements in these skills on your resume and cover letter will help get you noticed and scheduled for the job interview.

4. Adding Qualifications and Education: Once you've identified a possible career look carefully at the normal qualifications and skill sets required. Do you have a possible gap in any area? 

If the career requires specific training or education can you cover it with self-study, internet learning, or seminars and workshops? Perhaps a night course in a local junior college would be sufficient. Or a mentor could put you on a path toward completing the required qualification.

Sometimes the requirement is career related experience. This can be solved by doing work for a non-profit, or helping on a committee in a career related association, or part-time, temp or working as a contractor.

5. Networking your way to Success: Find others working in your planned career. You can locate them through friends, relatives, co-workers, or area or national career related associations, or LinkedIn and other social networking sites.

You can learn a great deal about your proposed career by speaking to those currently working in the career. There are many good articles about making maximum use of this resource. Study the information available to turn networking into a valuable source of career information. 

6. Financial Planning is a Must: You must integrate financial planning into your midlife career change plan. Your prospective new career may not pay you what you earned in your old career. How you cover the shortfall is important. It can be a combination of savings or reduction in expenses.

Be realistic in you planning on promotions and pay increases in your new career. With proper financial planning you can reduce your money concerns in the job change. In your career planning you may find you need to make several jobs change to qualify for your proposed career. This also must be factored into your career and financial planning.

7. Plan for Success in your New Career: You've now gotten a job on the first rung of your new career ladder. It is absolutely not the time to coast or put you career plan in the closet.

Continue your course of study and reading in the new career field and business and leadership in general. If your new employer offers help in added education take advantage of his offer.

Work carefully with you new boss on what is expected in the job; under promise and over deliver. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to excel. Build up your network of like-minded individuals. Help others find their dream careers, you'll feel great and be building a productive network

Keep working and building your career plan. If you do your midlife career change will be nothing but successful.

For more information about career planning and career development go to http://careersafter50.com. You'll also find ideas about changing careers and the stories of individuals just like you who successfully made midlife career changes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Groth/124598