Changing career paths just takes courage...

Jack changed jobs, outside his current career area - nothing simpler...

"...and just before lunch, I invite you to the large conference room for a  coffee and cake..." you read in an email from Karol. During the treat, you learn that Karol will soon be working in a completely different department.

"Man, you have no idea how happy I am. I feel that this will be a really interesting challenge. I didn't even know such positions existed - it was a headhunter who recommended it to me."

"Hmm," you think, "Jack is an engineer - there will always be demand for people like him in the market, but times are so dynamic now that probably many people are changing professions. Even that acquaintance, Kate - she started in the finance department, and after a few changes, she is now the head of sales."

"The world belongs to the brave"...

"I'll try too; I have nothing to lose. I'll send my CV to headhunters and see what comes of it, they know the job market better, so maybe they will also offer something interesting.

Now I have a plan..."

The rest of this story will likely unfold in the following quite classic way: our hero sends his general CV to several headhunters (probably with a "cc to all" for faster processing). In a terse message, he will write that ("hooray") he is ready to change his profession or "re-skill," and he may graciously outline some general directions, such as finance, sales, etc., and conclude with "if you have positions that may fit my profile, I encourage you to contact me."

And what next...?

Most likely, not much will happen, and our hero will find the following potential explanations for this situation:

• he is not an engineer like Jack
• headhunters are unprofessional and do not read emails
• probably, people do not change professions after all, and Kate just got lucky
• he is "too old/too young, should have attached a different picture to his CV", etc...

Our hero's further attempts will probably end there.

How to approach a career change?

Career changes* are definitely possible and, according to labor market information (mainly from the US), are becoming increasingly common. This mainly results from permanent market changes - consumer expectations are changing, the business environment is changing, and the pace of change is accelerating. Companies/organizations, to meet these changes and remain competitive, must adapt as quickly as possible. Analyzing the job market, it's safe to say that career changes will likely affect most of us.

We can initiate them wisely ourselves.

Our hero did not do this effectively, although it is a plus for him that he started "looking" for a change while still employed. Our hero, unfortunately, made a lot of mistakes in the meantime.

What should he have done?

First, analyze his career.

He should conduct a detailed analysis of his career path in terms of positions held, goals set on these positions, his achievements, and especially the competencies that helped him achieve these goals. From the analysis of his career, he should get information about so-called transferable skills, i.e., those he could successfully use in a new position.

Second, analyze the job market - in terms of job descriptions he would like to hold or the areas in which he would like to work. This analysis should be carried out on several levels. He should:

• Analyze job descriptions that interest him and list the competencies sought
• Analyze profiles of people who hold such positions - LinkedIn can be helpful here. Similarly, he should analyze: what their career paths look like, what competencies they have, what their education path looked like. He could also arrange an "informal interview" with such a person to inquire about details (e.g., which competencies are important according to that person, what training/courses are worth doing).
• Analyze the salary levels one can expect in such positions (available in salary reports published annually).

Analyze competency gaps - i.e., comparing the competencies sought in the market for positions that interest him with the competencies he currently possesses. This way, he will find out which direction to go - what he is still missing.

Plan/Implementation

How to fill competency gaps and gain initial experience in a new area?

Our hero now knows where he is heading and what competencies he lacks. The simplest way to fill competency gaps is through training or self-education. It's important that he has the opportunity to apply the new knowledge in practice. Theoretical knowledge alone is not enough. The simplest idea for implementing new knowledge is to approach his current employer. In many companies, there are "cross-functional projects" in which one can demonstrate their skills. I know of candidates who dedicated their private time to participate in new projects within organizations to acquire new competencies. It might have looked like "pure madness" to some from the outside, but it was an excellent investment.

If there's no such possibility in the organization, he can also look for projects outside the organization and also perform them as a volunteer.

Of course, I'm not saying all this is very simple, pleasant, and not time-consuming. If you want to change your career, you're a bit like a student looking for their first job. Yes, you already have transferable skills, but compared to people who have been holding positions in the area you're interested in for many years - you're a "rookie," even if you previously held managerial functions.

Communication

A good plan and effective implementation are not enough if you don't communicate it properly. It's easiest to make changes within the organization where we currently work - it will be easier for us to acclimate.

However, if that's not possible, then in the CV, one should describe additional projects done in the new area. In the cover letter or email to headhunters, one should summarize in points what position he is looking for and what he has done towards being able to compete with people who already have such experience.

He should also update his LinkedIn profile to describe the projects he participated in and join groups related to his new professional interests.

And finally...

A career change depends only on you. No one will conduct analyses for you and suggest development directions. A coach/career advisor can accompany you on this exploratory journey, but you will have to do a lot of the work yourself.

A headhunter will not cause your career path to change. There are cases (not very frequent) where a headhunter proposes participation in recruitment processes for positions not aligned with previously held positions. Such situations are dictated only (and I want to emphasize this) by the expectations of the headhunter's client, not by a thorough analysis of the candidate's career, because that's not what headhunters do (more about what headhunters do not do: [link])

If you know where you want to go, it will be easier for you to take the first step. And as we know, the first step is rarely backward...

*When talking about career changes, I mean a complete change of profession/role (it can also be described as horizontal development, where we change, for example, from finance to sales, sales to marketing, procurement to sales, quality to R&D, controlling to procurement, etc.).