Making a Career Change

Sounds simple right? Just make a decision and follow your heart...Well it is not easy and your road will go through twists and turns. But where do you get started? Do you call friends? Old business contacts? Go back to school? There is no right answer.

But it starts with building a plan. And it should have contingencies also. It took me almost 4 years to make a career change. I was frustrated many times and thought it wasn't going to happen. I stuck with the plan.

The next thing I did was evaluate my skills for the role I wanted. How did I stack up against the competition. Did I need training. Or in some cases, re-training? Do I have skill gaps? What about my knowledge of the most popular industry software, do I have experience using it?

Next it was designing the approach for the interview. How could I differentiate myself from the competition? What were they looking for? I watched youtube and got ideas about my job role from people already doing the work. I also studied the sector and brought up industry insights. I read the daily e-paper on the industry and studied what direction it was going.

Bottom line is do not give up. Never give up. The fight will teach you valuable lessons and it will humble you.