Career Change

Once you've decided which field you'd like to enter after making your career change, the tips below will help you get started. If you don't yet know which field you'd like to enter, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Handbook might help.

Evaluate Career Change Skills

Natch, one of the best ways to pull off a career change is to already have at least some of the skills your desired field requires. So, among the first things to do when considering a career change, is to evaluate the skills you have. Write down all the skills you needed to do each of the jobs in your career. Don't get stuck on your job titles or descriptions. You've likely had many more duties and the skills required to do them, than indicated in industry-standard job titles and descriptions.

Then figure out which skills you need in your new career and which of your current skills are transferable, and write them down. A simulated job search will help you with this. (For links to job banks, click the appropriate Subject to your left.) Study several job descriptions to see what employers are currently requiring. The Occupational Handbook might help here too. But again, don't get stuck on industry standards. Also network with experienced people working in your desired field, and ask them about their duties and skills. One way to do that, is to schedule informational interviews. Other ways are listed under Network below.

Go Back to School

If few to none of your skills are transferable to your career change, consider going back to school. Start with a few courses to see if you enjoy the subject. If you don't have time to attend classroom courses, consider online training.

Write a Career Change Resume

Among all the resume formats, employers typically prefer the chronological. But the chronological format doesn't always work well for a career change. The solution is a hybrid resume, better known as a combination resume. It merges the best features of functional and chronological resumes. It highlights your transferable, career-change skills upfront, while still conforming to the preferred format.

It's a good idea to make your combination resume scannable. If you don't know how or don't want to write your own resume, have a professional writing service do it for you. It's worth it.

Make a Lateral Career Change Move

When trying to make a career change, your best chance of landing a job in your new field might be to make a lateral move.

For example, let's say you're a medical lab technician with 15 years of experience, who tacks on a few computer certifications to make a career change to information technology (IT). Healthcare facilities need IT people too. So, you might try to make a lateral move within healthcare to an IT job, by relying on your background to get your foot in the door. Alternately, it might be easier to make a lateral move to an IT job at your current healthcare employer. Employers typically want to keep good employees and are willing to allow them to move around within the company. In fact, many encourage it by posting internal job lists, to help keep attrition low.

Network into a Career Change

Networking is probably the single-most important thing to do when trying to make a career change. In fact, if you can find the right people with whom to hobnob, you might be able to schmooze your way into a career change without doing much of the above. Some of the most common ways to network are listed below.

• Socialize during happy hour at restaurants and bars near companies, especially those for which you'd like to work.
• Join professional organizations and associations, and attend their local events.
• Join networking clubs. Your state's One-Stop Center (unemployment service) might maintain lists of such. (The One-Stop Center might also offer other resources for making a career change. You don't have to be unemployed to tap this free service.) The Riley Guide lists several networking clubs, while CareerJournal lists some of their events.
• If you attended college, join alumni groups. To find them, start by contacting your alma mater's career office. The career office might also offer other resources for making a career change.
• Attend the same professional development classes that your future bosses and peers are attending.
• Contact people working in your desired career. One way to do that, is to call the HR departments of companies in your area, and ask to speak to someone in a department for which you'd like to work. An easier way is to talk to people who are doing what you want to do, where you already work. Monster.com offers another way.

For related advice, browse the Web links in Career Change.