Changing Jobs, Changing Careers, Changing Industries

Change is something we tend to avoid like the plague (or perhaps more timely, Swine Flu). Yet job seekers right now will have to investigate something different.

The job you had before doesn't exist any longer. There were unique sets of circumstances that led to the evolution of your last job and in many cases the employer worked around your strengths and weaknesses to allow the job to suit you. This time, you will want to position your skills into a job defined by the employer.

So my advice, stop looking for what you used to do and focus on what you want to do. There are millions of opportunities out there, really. The likelihood of your finding the right one for you or even just a job, requires that you fit your skills into their round hole. If you focus on the skills you most like using, you will be far more successful in finding someone who can use them. Think outside your previous job title, career and industry.

Thinking outside the box can be difficult. You will most likely need some help. Enlist the advice of those you trust. There was a great posting on Life at work about change. In it was a listing of examples of changes her clients had made. Here is the list:

From mechanical engineeer to attorney to manager at a start-up specialty beverage company
From college athletic coach to self-employed personal trainer
From journalist to law school student
From full-time instructional designer to contract instructional designer
From laid off administrative employee to self employed retailer
From technical writer to TV production
From hi-tech manager to at-home parent
From corporate training manager to self-employed consultant and professional speaker
From working for corporations to working in two-person partnerships in law, management consultancy and architecture
From full-time high school teacher to part-time curriculum designer
From biotech marketing to self-employed chef-for-hire
From community college dean to e-learning consultant and retiree
How did they make these transitions? Each story is most likely different, however, they all started the same way, Once upon a time... no, no, no. They assessed their core strengths. They focused on what they really enjoyed doing and from that discovery became energized and passionate about making the change.

What was your transition and how did you get there?