Career changes rarely unfold in a predictable or structured manner. A move to a new city, a change in family circumstances, a shift in values or even a job reorganization can all be catalysts that force us into a career change at unexpected times. Career planning at these times is necessarily more pragmatic, adaptive, and present-minded. It’s a time to be grounded in the job market, protective of the gains we have achieved, and aware of the short-term and long-term implications of the choices we make. This is not the time for flights of fancy or the setting of ambitious five-year plans. Today, we’ll cover our favorite career planning strategies that work wonders during periods of transition.
Reassess What Stability Means Right Now
When you are in any kind of life transition, your idea of stability may be very different from what it was before. So, start by defining what stability means to you. Does it mean that you earn a certain amount of money every month? Or that you have more freedom, work fewer hours, are under less pressure? Think about it. Rather than imposing your old idea of what constitutes stability, see what your new experience reveals.
Oftentimes, a change of perspective can keep us from choosing what seems like the perfect situation on paper, but won’t actually work out in real life. Such as a job that pays more money, but has longer hours. When you are in the process of moving and dealing with a multitude of family issues, it may not be the right time to accept a job of this nature. Or perhaps you choose not to accept a less senior role with the promise of a promotion in the future. In this case, a junior role to start may be more appropriate when your life is already chaotic enough.
Keep Your Information Flow Strong
Transitions often disrupt routines, and that includes how people stay informed. When you are moving or changing schedules, it becomes easy to miss all the updates and messages. Under this stage, it is important to think about how to stay informed during your move so you don’t miss anything while relocating. Setting up a few basic systems that work is key. Send all work emails to one place, update the social media profiles on a few websites, and let any important recruiters, managers, or colleagues know that you can be reached via one phone number.
You should only dedicate short spurts of time each day searching for job openings. It doesn’t work to try to dedicate long chunks of time to the search process. Being active in your job search does not mean sitting in front of your computer all day, but rather being active enough.
Focus on Transferable Skills, Not Just Job Titles
Job titles become less relevant to job seekers who are in the process of changing careers. The business and economy of a given industry can change quickly. Job responsibilities can change, and what is titled in one company may not carry the same weight in another company, or can even be titled differently in another geographic location.
Look at the skills you use over and over again in your work. Those are the most important things, more important than titles. So, instead of focusing on the titles, focus on the skills and experiences that can be transferable in a new business area. These are things like stakeholder communication, project coordination, problem solving, and even something like executive presence can make you stand out.
Presenting your skills and experience in a different way can be really helpful when updating your CV or preparing for an interview. Try to change your mindset so that you are presenting your achievements and the tasks you have undertaken. Presenting your skills and experience in this way can make your CV more relevant to a wider range of employers. Moreover, that can help you to present yourself as suitable for roles where you have not necessarily followed a traditional career path.
Set Short Planning Cycles Instead of Long-Term Commitments
Most of us have approached career planning strategies with the assumption that finding a job that matches our long-term goals would be a relatively short-term event. Therefore, the thought of career change is a phenomenon we have not really given a lot of thought to other than under what may be considered remote or highly improbable circumstances. A job change initiated by an employer can come as a huge shock, and this change can arise at any time. There will be a multitude of tasks and matters that need to be addressed in the short term. These are some of the unanticipated changes that need to be taken into account when we start to try to come to terms with our new job change circumstances.
Short-term goals are generally easier to work towards and can range from anything, such as returning to work, retraining, or regaining confidence in the labour market. Using short-term planning horizons has two benefits:
- The more flexible a plan is, the less likely it is to fail. Should the plan fail, it will be less traumatic to have to make the necessary changes to the plan.
- It is easier to assess what progress has been made towards achieving the aims of the plan.
As the plan is implemented, the individual will gain more knowledge and experience. This will be fed back into the planning process to aid the next decision. Therefore, the planning process becomes an iterative process as the plan is amended and changed to accommodate the knowledge gained from previous decisions.
Stay Connected, Even If You Feel Out of Sync
Transitions can feel isolating. Once you are in transition, you are no longer in sync with colleagues or friends. You are no longer the same person, at least not right away. You may feel uncertain or unstable and may find yourself wanting to retreat when you need to be reaching out.
Networking does not have to mean that you are socially active or promoting anything. Catching up, communicating, or just talking can be very casual and help to build and sustain your networks over time. Keep people informed of your activities. Many opportunities will arise through your network of acquaintances. This is because people will know that you are active in a particular field and therefore available for new challenges.
Allow Your Career to Be Flexible Without Losing Direction
Being flexible does not mean drifting. You can be flexible and move your career in a direction that is meaningful to you. Direction is a personal interpretation of values, working conditions or skills that are important to you, rather than a job title or organisation. During periods of change for the business, career planning strategies are less about dealing with the change. They’re more about where your career can develop within that new business environment. It is crucial that you are well thought through, up to date, and that you have realistic expectations, to ensure you make wise career choices.