Your Career Change Guide

Check out our career change guide to learn if a career change is right for you. The reasons for changing jobs are as varied as every worker. Sometimes you're forced to make a career change; other times, it's a personal decision. Either way, changing jobs marks a dramatic life shift, often for the better. 

You May Be Ready to Change Careers If. . .
You hate what you do. Most people spend more time at work than they do any other place. If you hate it, it's not only a physical drain, but it can also lead to severe health problems: stress, depression and weight gain, for example. Eventually, these can lead to more severe problems like heart disease and diabetes, according to sciencedaily.com. Indeed, changing careers can literally save your life.

Your field is becoming obsolete. Technological advances make some fields disappear over time. Are you in a growing field, or one that is shrinking due to a new way of doing things? Hence, changing careers is not only necessary, but it's also imperative for your professional growth.

Lifestyle changes. If your job no longer fits your lifestyle, then changing careers may be an option. Common causes for this are starting a family, an illness or craving a new way of living. No matter the reason, sometimes life is at odds with our career choice. Then, a decision has to be made.

Strategies for Breaking Into a New Career
Changing careers can be a bumpy ride. As it's a decision that impacts every other aspect of your life, getting as much information as you can before making the final transition is vital.

Request informational interviews. There's nothing like talking to someone who is actually doing what you are thinking about doing to shed some light on the situation. This type of firsthand information will give you all the nuances of a career choice you won't find in a job description. If you have a specific career possibility in mind, find a professional in the field, take them to lunch and ask them about their career decision. Pay attention to their unspoken words, as well as the spoken ones, so you know how they really feel about the job.

Start moonlighting. If the informational interview makes your new career choice sound promising, look into part-time work. Moonlight for a while, and see if you really like the job.

Investigate internships. Internships are another form of moonlighting. Where possible, look for paid internships, and try to stick it out for the length of the internship. Sometimes at first blush a job isn't what it seems, particularly if you're trying out a career that doesn't reveal its full range of duties in a few days or a week. It takes time to see all the facets of some jobs, and you owe it to yourself to get the complete picture before making a final decision.

How to Change Careers Successfully
Give it time. You may be feeling a range of emotions, among them sadness at opportunities lost, excitement at opportunities to come, fear because of a decrease in income and happiness at your new career. Wherever you are on this emotional wheel, give it all time to gel. Go easy on yourself, and give yourself time to adjust.

Put in the effort. Although fear and uncertainty may be constant companions during this time of job change, give it all you've got. To make a good impression to colleagues, and indeed to prove something to yourself, put 100-percent effort into your new career. You will make mistakes, but a learning curve comes with changing careers, so don't let that discourage you.

Educate yourself. New field, new challenges, new lessons: This is what changing careers is all about. To speed up your learning curve, take advantage of educational opportunities to get a handle on your new field. Whether it's a weekend seminar or a semester-long university program, your initiative will stand out to your new peers.

Changing careers is all about what you make it. If you have the right attitude and gather enough information about the new job, you can be confident with any decision you make.