Making A New Start:
Career Transitions at Any Age
Sacha Cohen
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There are a lot of dissatisfied workers out there:
an October 2000 survey by the Conference Board
indicates that less than 51% of Americans are
happy with their jobs, down from 59% five years
earlier. And of those, baby boomers are the least
content professionally; their job satisfaction
declined the most in the past five years, from
57% down to less than 47%.
It's no wonder that Americans are changing jobs
more frequently than ever and for a whole variety
of reasons. Some feel that their careers are stalled
or want to be able to spend more time with their
families. But no matter when you decide to make
a career move, there are some important considerations
to take into account before changing direction.
The first step is to do some thorough soul-searching.
Career professionals often refer to this as a
"self-assessment." Ask yourself a few
basic questions first. It helps to write down
your thoughts as you go through this process.
Why do you want to make a transition in the first
place? How will your quality of life change? What
are the financial ramifications? Emotional ramifications?
Brad Agry of Career
Team Partners recommends the book, What
Color is Your Parachute. Says Agry, "It's
a pretty direct means of basically looking at
the past and what you have done vocationally and
have enjoyed and using it as a barometer for charting
a future course." Another great resource
is the self-assessment information found on JobSpectrum.
Dorothy Rodmann, who runs her own career consulting
practice, says that the most successful career
changers share certain characteristics. For example,
career changers are risk takers, willing to deal
with change, willing to take chances and go outside
of their comfort zones. "You should also
recognize that most transitions are unique and
unplanned," says Rodmann, and that they don't
follow specific rules or plans.
One person who embodies all of those characteristics
is Mark Greenberg, assistant director and COO
at Suburban Medical Lab in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
He's been back and forth from the private sector
to academia several times and says that two things
drove him to make substantial life moves are his
family and the desire for challenge and to learn
new things. People who are considering a career
change must feel passionate about why they are
making a change in the first place, he says. For
Greenberg, at different times, it was the need
to re-connect with students and the desire to
be close with his family. He also discovered that
keeping a record of his expectations and accomplishments
helped tremendously at each stage of his career.
"I wrote down my expectations and found this
very energizing and great for measuring my success
.
It's great to be able to look back over what you've
accomplished and important to look back and celebrate
successes."
Once you know what your motivation is and have
examined your purpose, passion, and pride, you
can move ahead to these practical steps for making
a successful career transition:
Research Your New Field.
It's important to be well informed when you are
deciding to make a career transition. Learn as
much as you can about your new industry or field.
Read industry directories and vertical publications
to get an overview of the major "players"
and news suggests Agry. A great place to start
is the library where you'll find publications
such as Chemical and Engineering News,
and discipline-specific journals such as "The
Journal of Physical Chemistry." Joining one
of the 33 technical
divisions of the American
Chemical Society (ACS) is another good way
to learn about other fields; all have Web sites
and offer useful member benefits.
Network. One of
the best ways to find out about new opportunities
and to learn what's hot and what's not in a certain
field is to talk to as many people as possible.
Agry recommends that you conduct informational
interviews with people who functionally do what
you want to do in the kind of company you would
like to eventually work in.
One great source for networking opportunities
is associations and organizations such as ACS.
Most offer seminars, social events, and workshops.
You can learn 12
tipsfor networking, courtesy of Ronald Krannich.
For example, "Set a goal. Try to meet at
least five new people. Try to find one person
with whom you can set an appointment."
Re-Tool Your Skills.
Once you know that you definitely want to change
careers, how can you make it happen? Obviously,
you'll need to take a close look at the skills
you currently have and the ones you'll need in
order to move forward. That could mean anything
from taking a quick workshop to signing up for
continuing education to going back for another
degree. "Chemical scientists tend to be very
linear in their thinking," says Rodmann.
"They don't necessarily think about how to
use their skills in different ways. It's seeing
the possibilities in those skills and different
ways to use those skills. For example, an analytical
chemist might have certain skills such as being
good at probing for information, good at interacting
with people, good at evaluating and decision making.
That person might consider going into forensics
or handling court cases if they are quick on their
feet. Or that person might be able to sell instruments
or could go to work at a museum as a conservation
chemist. They must understand their major chemical
strengths as well as other "soft" skills
such as communication and the ability to lead
others. For example, if they are good at writing
and editing explains Rodmann, that person could
work on scientific books or journals.
Resume Makeover.
Barbara
Reinhold, a career counselor, says that career
changers are probably better off with a functional
resume. "A functional resume offers you the
best opportunity to showcase skills rather than
job experience -- it's a forward-looking kind
of resume." Information on resume writing
and sample resumes can be found in the ACS publication,
Tips
on Resume Preparation.
Sue Romanos, President of Florida-based CareerXchange
offers these tips for a resume makeover:
- Evaluate which skills or aspects of past positions
are applicable to the new position.
- Emphasize those aspects in particular when
describing past job experiences.
- If you are going into a completely different
field, focus on your past aptitude for learning
new skills. For example, someone who has shown
they can learn any new computer program quickly
is even more desirable than someone who is proficient
at the company's current program.
- Emphasize continuing education as it shows
a past willingness to enhance your sphere of
knowledge and acquire new skill sets on your
own time.
Test the Waters.
What if you're still not sure in what direction
to head? A good way to find out is to do part-time
or volunteer work that relates to your new career
path. For example, you could sign up with a temporary
agency and try out different types of projects.
On the National
Technical Services Association Web site, you
can search for companies that place contractors
in science-related projects. Randstad's
Technical Practice group places science professionals
in contract positions. (See Life
as a Perma-Temp for more information.)
Related Reading:
Resouces for Career
Changes
Sacha Cohen is a Washington-based business and
technology writer. Her work has appeared in The
Washington Post, Kiplinger.com, Fast Company,
Oxygen's ka-Ching and other print and online publications.
Cohen has been covering Internet trends and culture
since 1996.
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