Understanding four factors will enable you to be:
- Strategic – Know yourself,
- Informed – Know your job market,
- Resourceful – Gather all resources that you can,
- Organized – Execute your plan.
Ravi Dugh, May 2, 2020
If you are in career transition, there are 4 key factors that determine the success of your transition.
1. Internal Factors: Your strengths, weaknesses, and goals
The next opportunity should align with your strengths and long-term goals. Continue to develop your strengths and prepare for your dream career. Don’t worry too much about your weaknesses but take action. Remember everybody has weaknesses, accept them, and take steps to mitigate them. Be clear about your goals. Often there is not a clear straight path to your goal or the goal may change as you learn more about yourself in life. It is all right, just keep marching towards your intermediate goals that are aligned with your long term goals.
2. External Factors: Target industries, companies, and the job market.
Understanding the opportunities that are available to you and the challenges that you will face is important. Knowing the companies that are aligned with your values is important to get the right career fit. Familiarizing yourself with the job market as it also determines a lot of things including how much salary you can make, etc.
3. Resource Factors: Professional & social network, technology & tools, and savings
Your resources can help you find a great career opportunity. So, use them. Connect with your network to gather information, advice, and if possible, referrals. Actively network in your area of interest, keep your LinkedIn profile updated and keep an eye on your career-specific job boards to apply for suitable opportunities, and finally understand & manage your finances to smoothly transition.
4. Execution Factors: Transition plan, search process, and learning
We do not plan to fail, we fail to plan. Nothing happens without a plan and blindly applying for any job is not a plan. Follow a daily schedule to search for opportunities and network. Finally, keep learning to stay current in your skills.
To have a successful career transition, you need to have confidence in all the four factors above. Good luck to all those who are thinking about or in the midst of a career transition!
I hope this article is of some help and motivation to those who are going through a career transition because of COVID19 or otherwise. I hope you found this article useful. Stay focused, and let’s help each other. Best of luck in your search!
If you know anyone who is in career transition, share this article to support them.
Works Cited
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Estee Janssens on Unsplash
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