5 Mistakes to Avoid Along the Career Change Journey
Dream about making big changes in your career journey? Don’t fall short, here are some best practices you can implement along your journey. Learn to sail. Not drift… in every decision you make.
If you’re reading this, you’re possibly considering a career change for a while now. Desiring the new experiences, the taste of new industries, and soaking in all the growth.
Changing careers is another adventure in itself; challenging and rewarding. It’s difficult but not impossible. Making the decision to change careers is not easy. And it takes bravery to commit.
Sometimes it can feel like sailing in the rough seas, crashing against the waves. But it doesn’t have to feel like that.
Don’t forget, we are the captain of the ship we are in. We get to adjust our sails in any direction against the wind.
With that, I’d like to share a handful of best practices and things to catch yourself on as you embark on your journey.
1. Letting prior experience define your WORTH.
We all come from multiple walks of life, carrying unique stories and skillsets.
As common as it sounds, not one of us holds identical experiences when it comes to the working industry.
And that is completely normal.
Forget the days where we had to possess particular experience in order to proceed with our job. These days, it is highly dependent on various transferable skills such as your ability to think on your feet, problem solve, and take action where it is expected or more. This leads me to the next point.
2. Placing too much importance on aptitude and not the attitude
Just read the job ad? Don’t have any prior experience? APPLY anyway! It doesn't hurt to give it a go.
In fact, it is all about your confidence and attitude to DO the job.
The cliche rings true, where it is not about where you came from, but what you can do and who you want to be.
Pivoting into technology, I have witnessed individuals from the most unexpected backgrounds, become self-taught technologist, excel at their role, and making waves in their journey.
What’s the difference with these folks?
They simply direct their focus on themselves, sharpen their skillset and continue building their character.
Nothing else matters.
Not how much experience they have or don’t have, or where they came from — it simply doesn’t matter.
The choice is yours.
What do you choose to focus on?
3. Believing you need to have it all
The Mind Is Your Strongest Storyteller.
Let’s take a moment to let that sink in.
Your mind is pretty much your closest friend. It embodies your thought process, habit lifestyle and choices you make. It can also tell you many stories.
It can tell you many things about yourself, it can tell you what you can do and what you can’t do. It can even tell you what you should be doing. Sadly, most of the stories we tell ourselves can come off negative and naysaying.
In fact, it’s discouraging to observe others feel they are incapable because they feel they are not at a particular destination yet in order to do well or move on to the next thing.
We all start somewhere and your biggest competition is yourself. Careers are a work in progress. We are all learning every day and growing every day. Priming your mind with such stories to believing you aren’t ‘there’ yet is counterproductive.
It’s like saying you won’t ever reach the top of the mountain because you haven’t taken the first step yet.
Sometimes it takes a little shift in perspective. In fact, after working with multiple clients along with their journey, I have curated a set of techniques for you to try that can ultimately shape your perspective to work in your favor.
- Fact check your story and correct the errors. Did you pull a thought out of proportion? Are you acknowledging your achievements before you criticise yourself?
- Open a journal or grab a piece of paper, and REWRITE the story from a different perspective. When you’re writing, you’re coming from a different emotional and mental standpoint. Write down your story and observe the way you are. You never know, you will find out, you have so much to offer!
- Normalise thoughts. Thoughts are, at the end of the day, thoughts. Nothing more, nothing less. Remember, we give value and meaning to our thoughts. Be careful where you place your cards.
The idea is to reframe that focus back to your current self and where YOU are at. What can YOU do to help yourself and your journey? It is productive to focus on thoughts that help you, rather than put you backward and don’t serve you.
Remember to start small. The most incredible monuments were not crafted in one day or one hour.
Reiterating my second point, the experience is secondary. It is your attitude that is your greatest advantage in the long run.
4. Neglecting your cover letter and CV
You MUST give 110% or dare I say 200% effort into your resume.
Think about it. Your resume is your ticket.
Tailor it to each job application to which you are applying for. Use buzz words, craft a story, what did you achieve, how can you add value?
Show extra love to your resume and CV when applying for a job. I’m serious when I say this. Give it some extra TLC.
But why can’t I just submit the same one I have?
It may sound tedious and excruciating to sit there to try and edit one document, but making these changes makes a BIG difference.
Study the job ad for a good few minutes and picture yourself in the shoe of the HR, recruiter, or hiring manager. If you were the hiring manager what qualities in an applicant’s resume would strike out to you?
In the responsibilities section, analyze what sort of skill set a person would portray to carry out the task.
The information you are gathering are all hidden gems for your application.
Finally your cover letter.
A cover letter is highly significant and additionally speaks volumes about you.
Cover letters aren’t the most glamourous of tasks. It can feel easy to copy and paste from your previous one and throw in some buzz words in each paragraph.
However, that can only get you so far.
True efforts reflect true results.
Putting the effort into crafting an excellent cover letter can definitely work in your favour.
The hiring managers will recognize this and acknowledge your story, giving them an insight into your career journey and the type of person you are.
Not only are they looking for an employee who can provide value and help the company achieve business goals, but they are looking for a cultural fit, which can often play a role in the final decision.
Will you be a good fit?
That is something for you to decide and to make out how you want to be.
5. Forgetting your PRIORITIES
Yes, a career is a significant part of our lives. But it does not really make sense to neglect every other aspect of your life.
I come across many career pivots who play the card of neglect and not checking in on THEMSELVES.
Please. Check in on YOURSELF.
You are the most important person in your life. A career is an aspect of our lives and not our whole lives.
To live life fully, we need to ensure our health: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual is at its optimum.
Here are my tips on ensuring your career change experience is at its optimum:
- Eat all good and nourishing foods
- Exercise regularly and exercise well
- Slow down: meditate daily and journal
- Spend time with friends and family
- Pick up recreational activities to break up your routine and to build on other creative competencies
- Prioritize yourself EVERY DAY by engaging in activities that literally spark joy. ‘Marie Kondo’ your mindset, your life and your surroundings. It will make a huge positive difference.
Most importantly, taking it day by day and enjoying the process.
The classic saying will always remain classic: it’s the journey that matters the most.
Go forth and conquer the mighty seas filled with endless possibilities.
