Perhaps you’re considering a change of career in 2021? With a brand new year ahead of us it’s the perfect time to set yourself some fresh goals. Approaching a career change is both exciting and challenging. You might have some ideas in mind, or be unsure where to start. To support you to get going, consider trying these seven simple tips.

Determine your motivations

The first step is to determine your motivations, you need to establish the reason why you’re looking for a change of career. Defining your motivations will help you to move in the right direction.

Perhaps you’re looking for a new career because you don’t see enough earning potential in your current field? In this case, you’ll want to focus on career paths with high earning possibilities. Instead, you might be looking for a change because your current career doesn’t feel meaningful? Perhaps then you need to move towards an altruistic career, that gives back to society.

Consider your Strengths and Passions

Take things back to basics and write a list of your strengths and your passions. Once you’ve got this list, consider the industries where you might thrive and increase your job satisfaction. If there are things you do like about your current career, list these ideas also. You might not be happy in your current role, but you’ve likely gained plenty of transferable skills that you can take to a new industry. Once you’ve got a solid idea of your skills, it’s easier to decide out which careers to consider in 2021.

Perform detailed research

When you’re approaching a career change, you’ll need to perform a detailed research. Once you’ve got a list of potential industries and roles, find out the exact path you need to take. Research the leading training opportunities, companies, and so on. 

To support this part of the process you might like to check out the Good&Co app. The app uses personality and psychometric tests, to help match you with the perfect workplace. The idea is to match employers and employees who are a good fit in terms of company culture.

Build your brand

When you’re approaching a career change, it’s helpful to build your brand online. Use sites like LinkedIn to create your work profile, and make professional connections. Consider setting up a professional website, and writing a blog that discusses industry-based topics. With plenty of competition for roles, your personal brand can help to set you apart from the rest.

Get Networking 

Networking is one of the best ways to approach a career change, and several tools can support you to do this:

Bizzabo: Using the Bizzabo app you can connect with new people, whether virtually or in person. You can even host your own professional events, using the Bizzabo platform.

Clubhouse: This application provides audio-conversations on a huge range of topics. You can ‘drop-in’ on these conversations, or you can start convos of your own using the Clubhouse ‘rooms’ feature. With the help of Clubhouse, users can talk to professionals who they may not have otherwise come across.

LunchClub: The Lunchclub app allows you to match with other professionals, and then meet using a 1:1 video chat. Once you’ve input a bit about your industry and goals, the app can match you with people who are a good fit.

Further study or training

Depending on your goals, a change of career might involve further study or training. There are plenty of virtual training opportunities online, whether you’re looking for a degree or a short vocational course. Naturally, some professionals are more suited to in-person training, and as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, these opportunities are becoming a possibility. To learn more about learning a trade-in in your area, take a look at https://tradeschoolsnearyou.com.

Hire a career coach

Feeling a little lost and not sure how to get started? Consider hiring a career coach, to help you set some career goals. With the support of a coach you can:

• Determine potential career paths
• Update your resume and professional online accounts
• Find potential roles to apply for 
• Create a careers roadmap 
• Identify training opportunities in your area

With the right support, it’s easier to create a clear roadmap and start making progress.

While you’re working through the process it might be helpful to start a career journal. A journal can help you to break your long-term goals into shorter steps, and to document your ongoing progress.

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More and more companies want flexible workers. You may be wondering why this is and the easy answer is to conclude that companies just don’t want to take on the risk of a large workforce. To some extent, this can be true for some companies. Taking on employees means more risk of a workplace accident and or injury claim. It will also mean having to pay more healthcare plan fees and not to mention a guaranteed salary.

However, there’s also the issue of not having enough skilled and experienced employees. With the competition to hire the best talent so high, companies will keep places for jobs open, just so they can hire the best workers down the line. This means they’ll need to hire more part-time workers instead. Maybe you’re one of those workers but you believe you should be working, full-time. Here’s how you could make that jump. 

Show Your Worth

If you’re a part-time worker, you will be under the impression that your relationship with the employer will inherently be short-lived. This is simply not true. Understand that employers don’t want to settle for part-time workers. The rotation is hectic and hard to keep up with. They will also be wary of the employees not giving it their all because there’s no loyalty either way; since there’s no contract. In a way, you’re in the same boat. The employer wants to hire a full-time employee instead and you wish for the same. Your plan must be to show your worth. Volunteer for more hours if the opportunity presents itself. Take on more responsibilities and offer to help wherever it is needed. Speak to your manager, tell them you would like to be considered as one of the first people to work overtime. Employers will notice this and make a note of your willingness to work on a more full-time basis.

Taking Professional Responsibility

Showing up for work at a full-time role is not without its own challenges. However, you must never think that the employer isn’t watching your every move. It’s true that companies are obliged to provide equipment and uniforms for their employees no matter what their contract says. However, if you were to show up for work dressed the part, you would be taking responsibility for yourself; which the employer will notice. For example, if you’re a nurse wearing your own Barco Grey’s Anatomy Scrubs will make you look the part. When the employer is handing out scrubs, they will be impressed looking at you, showing up for work already ready to go and looking professional. This immediately says, you take your profession seriously and come equipped with what you need. 

Go For It

Ask and you shall receive. Never be afraid to ask your employer to be considered for a full-time role. Working hard and hoping to be noticed is one thing, but you should also be confident enough to plainly ask to have your name be put forward when a full-time job opens up to availability. 

It’s never easy to jump from a part-time role to being a full-time employee. But rest assured that hard work does pay off and turning up for work with your own equipment and or clothes is highly recommended. 

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Suddenly, you’re questioning everything you’ve decided yourself for the past decade or so. A few months ago, your life goals made perfect sense to you, but now, everything feels shallow and unrecognizable. Every day fills you with dread at the simple thought that you’re heading towards a wall. But you’re not sure you have the strength and the energy to consider a new option. However, you still surprise yourself with spontaneous and impulsive decisions that push you in completely unexplored territories. Congratulations, you’ve got yourself your very own mid-life crisis.

Typically, the transition of identity and self-confidence that marks the crisis can happen at any point between your late 20s and your mid-60s. In other words, a mid-life crisis doesn’t mean that you need to have reached your silver years. Some Millennials are already going through a similar turmoil! 

But, thankfully, being still young when you hit that point of your life means that you can rely on your job to help you out. Instead, as a professional, you spend most of your waking hours at work. Therefore, the best way to tackle the crisis is to consider what changes you could make to your day-to-day activities. 

Why should you stay in a job that isn’t you anymore?

When your priorities change, it’s always a good idea to consider how it affects your job. When you’re not sure about your career choice anymore, you need to take the time to come up with a better option. Don’t just sign up to a job portal to browse the different offers available. Start by taking a career test to figure out what would be best suited to your strengths and weaknesses as well as your personality. Admittedly, a career quiz is unlikely to give you the solution to your problem. But it can highlight paths you would never have considered otherwise. 

You want to matter 

More often than not, people who want to change careers are trying to make a change to the world. It doesn’t matter what tips the balance over, whether it was a crying child in the doctor’s waiting room or coping with a traumatic experience, you might wake up one morning wishing to find out more about caring careers. How can you help others to live a better life? Counseling can be a rewarding option to help people deal with emotional issues, for instance – and only requires a couple of years of training. 

It’s time to have fun at work!

You’ve spent enough hours in a dull working environment. You want a business that fills people with joy. You want to excite, amuse, and entertain. While it might take years to become a professional and successful comedian, other entertainment alternatives can prove profitable as a business venture. Indeed, opening an escape room company is hitting the trend at the right time. Great rooms generate a decent ROI, and, more importantly, they put a smile on your customers’ faces. More and more professionals give up their office job to create fun puzzles and rooms. 

Changing jobs isn’t always the best solution to your mid-life crisis. However, it can help you to channel the changes you need to follow your new goals. Whether you want to make a difference, to entertain people, or to enjoy your activities, finding a career that defines you puts an end to your crisis.

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