Executives Review – Should You Transition Your Career to Find Work Quicker?
For some, the job market seems to have completely shut its doors. With certain positions becoming obsolete thanks to changing technology and the way business is done, it’s not always going to be a cakewalk getting the exact position you want no matter how qualified you are. While some people resort to looking outside of their location to find job opportunities that are suited to their skills, others look at the job market around them to find holes that they can plug.
Here’s how to tell if it’s time for you to pull a career transition and move from your exact field to a closely related or similar one.
Look Deeper Into Your Passion and Strengths
Are you truly happy with what you are doing? Do you have strengths that aren’t being utilized? Can you see yourself excelling in another industry or in a slightly different position? Look at your ultimate strengths and figure out what types of jobs and positions they are suited for. Do you have skills that aren’t being utilized which might be in demand in a job market that has openings? Talk with your former employers and colleagues and get some feedback. Clients and vendors are another great avenue to explore. If the answer comes up different than what you did at your last job, it might be time for a career transition.
Look for Lateral Skills that are Transferable
While some jobs might seem like they have nothing in common, that’s just from the outside. For instance, a person with menu creation skills might make a good landing page designer simply because they understand the psychology of marketing. They understand that the compromise effect shows that consumers don’t go for the least and most expensive choices as much as they do the middle ground.
These skills are transferable from one career to another. You undoubtedly have skills like that. Jot down some of your skills and then talk to people in the career you’re looking at to see if there are any matches. Search the internet for your skills and see which jobs pop up. This is how you will market your skills during the career transition, but also know if you’re a good fit for the job.
Is There a Bigger Job Market Available that You Can Live With?
Finally, it’s important to ask yourself two things when you find the career you might fit into.
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Is there a better chance that you’ll get hired there? If so, go for it, full steam ahead, but set a limit on how long you’ll try. If there aren’t that many more job openings than your current field, you might consider just going at it tentatively or forgetting it altogether.
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If there’s a pay cut, can you live with that? If so, great! If not, then career transitioning might not be for you. It might be better to relocate to a job market that is in need of your skills and experience, even if that means uprooting the family.