Transferable skills are the currency of the new world of work. This truth has been borne out by my own research, and that of respected researchers and futurists. Starting now, having the right skills can mean the difference between making yourself invaluable with your employer and rescuing your career from outsourcing and obsolescence. Once you’ve gained and honed the skills, you’ll need to be able to sell them to potential employers and referral sources.
My research, surveys, interviews and just plain nosey-ness led me to these eight steps for yourself into a new career.
8 STEPS TO SELLING YOURSELF INTO A NEW CAREER
1. Prepare for the sale
- Zero in on one or two career fields in which you’d like to work
- Research the skills, experience and education required by employers in those fields (What they require)
- Inventory and honestly assess your knowledge, skills and abilities (What you have to offer)
- Connect the dots between what you have and what the jobs you want require
- Reformat your resume to shift the focus away from your work experience chronology and previous job titles and toward the knowledge, skills and abilities on which you need them to focus
- Network–a lot! Win fans and supporters willing to refer you. Referrals are the most reliable way to land interviews and job offers.
2. Develop your own knowledge base about a topic related to the career you want. If you are considering leaving your finance job for a job in human resources, learn what you can about trends, challenges and practices in the field. (You’ll need to be able to speak knowledgeably about your new career field when presented with an opportunity to talk to someone who can help you make career contacts or refer you for a job)
3. Join and become actively involved in professional associations and networking groups (i.e. Careersthatdontsuck Career Changers Group), or any other organizations that afford you access to information and contacts in the field in which you want to work
4. Use networking groups, associations and organizations as a way of establishing yourself in the field, especially among locals in your job market (It wouldn’t hurt to get published in the groups’ publications, hold an office, make presentations or volunteer to coordinate events)
5. Tell everyone you meet what you are trying to do. Inevitably someone will ask what you do for a living, tell them about your current job (briefly), then tell them about the change you want to make, why and what you bring to the table.
6. Spend your downtime taking classes or gaining other credentials to prove you are serious about the change, and to meet others in the field (I’ve taken extension classes with dozens of people who were working for companies for which I wanted to work. After a few study sessions and group projects, they felt comfortable referring me for jobs with their employers.)
7. Send letters of introduction to employers. Tell them about your transferable skills and experience, your recent activities and training in the new field and your interest in an informational interview. Don’t send your resume to every employer; write “resume upon request”.
8. Land an in-person interview. Sales pitches are most persuasive in-person. Ask for an informational interview, offer to buy lunch, do whatever you can to get an audience with a recruiter, hiring manager or referral source.
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