The Career Change Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like a career change, you are never alone.  Countless men and women have faced the exact same moment in their lives and have survived and thrived.  The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped others when they faced the same challenge. 

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best career change resources: articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional and other challenges that you face.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Career Change Guide even more helpful to survivors like you.   

JUST FOUND OUT 

Survivors Say: Best Resources for a Career Change

• Career Builder
• Monster.com
• Craigslist

The Big Picture

With the economy doing its own version of a free-wheeling roller-coaster ride, a lot of working folks suddenly find themselves being tossed around the employment market.  This can often mean being the victim of lay-offs, plant closings and overseas job out-sourcing.  Instead of being mired in the problem, it could be helpful to take a proactive approach and consider a career change. 

There are many reasons why a person might decide to make a career change.  Perhaps a move to a new community means that commuting to your old job isn’t feasible.  Maybe you’ve grown to dislike your current position and feel a growing sense of becoming unproductive.  Or in the worst case scenario, you’ve been caught in the upheaval of the recession and have been laid off.  Without the possibility of finding work in your chosen profession, you’ll have to consider a change.  Fortunately, there is plenty of help out there. 

As intimidating as that might sound, scores of people across the country are going through this exact kind of transition.  Even though every person who decides to make a career change faces a unique employment challenge, you are not alone.  Countless men and women have survived and thrived through a career change.  The following guide is designed to help you navigate through your journey with the best information and resources that helped others when they faced the same challenge. 

Your Career Change

The first step you should take is to build your resume.  Every job you’ve ever held presented its own batch of skill sets that you can now apply to your new career search.  Whether your previous job was in customer service, manufacturing or administration you have a lot to offer a new employer.   Your first course of action should be to get your resume in order. No matter what job you will be applying for your first introduction to a potential new boss will be your resume.  Explore the different resume template options to find the one that best suits your intentions.

Job Star Resume Guide: Sample Resumes & Cover Letter Templates

Once you have settled on a format and template, it will be time to bring together all of your employment history and education.  Even if you’ve been in one job for the last fifteen years you surely haven’t done just one thing on that job. 

Rockport Institute: How to Write a Masterpiece of a Resume

There are also other jobs you may have performed which might not have been a career but afforded you the opportunity to acquire job skills.  If you helped organize a charity drive for your local church or school then you have leadership and management skills.  The bottom line is don’t sell yourself short!  There are professional services can’t guarantee a job but for a price they can certainly help you write out a professional looking resume.

Resume Service: Resume Service Plus

Once you have your resume in great shape, you’ll need to create a cover letter to send out with your resume.  The cover letter is a more personal, albeit still professional, introduction of yourself to a potential employer.  In your cover letter, you can expand on your work history and discuss other attributes which will be of benefit to your new employer. 

Scribd: Cover Letter Career Change

You need to make your cover letter specific to the job you are applying for.  If an employer gets what they think is a “form” cover letter then you are essentially telling them you don’t really care about the job and are just going through the motions.  That’s not a strong first impression.  Think of it this way: how do you react to junk mail that is sent to “resident?”  You probably toss it away.  But a personalized piece of mail meant just for you will garner you special attention.  That’s the same approach you should take for a cover letter. 

Collegegrad.com: Your Cover Letter Plays a Critical Role

Your World

Just because you are ready to change careers doesn’t necessarily mean you are ready for any career.  A successful office manager won’t be able to jump into the space shuttle and become an astronaut.  There are obvious limitations with regard to where you are living and the jobs available to your specific skills.  It’s important that you make an honest assessment of your possibilities so that you can approach the job market with an informed plan. 

Quintcareers: The 10-Step Plan to Career Change

It might be helpful for you to take a career test.  This doesn’t mean that the results of any of these tests should determine your new career path but they might be lead you into areas you might not have considered before.

Career Tests Guide: Midlife Career Change Test and Advice

Career Change Myths

• "There is no new career that I am qualified for"
• "I can’t find a steady government career"
• "Entering the military isn’t a career option"

Information and Recommended Links for Career Change

• Job Web: Career Change and The Art of Flexible Thinking
• Career Change: Find a New Executive Job and Manage Your Career
• Yahoo: Hotjobs - How to Change Careers

The Emotional Roller-coaster

As mentioned above, you’re not in this alone.  If you begin to feel the stress of your new environment or even the stress of the job search itself, don’t keep it bottled up.  Share it with the people who are going through the exact same situations.   This is a faith based initiative to help people navigate through the employment market:

Work Ministry: A Community of Job Support Groups for Career Management

Job networking sites can help you get in touch with people on the same career path as you or retirees who can help point you in the right direction.  If you find folks on these sites it means they are there because they want to help.  Don’t be afraid to open yourself up and ask for guidance.

Job Hunt: Networking and Job Search Support Resources by State

Professional Career Counselors

When embarking on a new career path, it is sometimes helpful to turn to professional services for guidance. For various fees you’ll be able to work directly with career counselors who can help get your job search on track and provide you with the necessary tools.

Career Crafter: A Great Career and a Great Life are Not Just a Dream

Rockport Institute: Career Change Counseling, Career Coaching & Aptitude Test Services

Books Recommended for Career Change and Job Hunting

•  Career Building: Your Total Handbook For Finding a Job and Making It Work 
•  Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters: 400 Unconventional Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job
•  Life’s a Bitch Then You Change Career: 9 Steps to Get Out of Your Funk and On to Your Future
•  What Color is Your Parachute?: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Caree-Changers

What Other People Who Changed Careers Wish They’d Known


• Be prepared in a new job interview. Make sure you dress professionally, you’re on time and your resume is neat and clean.
• Understand the history for the company you’re applying for.  Research their business and marketing plans so that you’ll be able to discuss them freely and with intelligence.
• Be flexible with regard to learning new skills and taking on different responsibilities then in your previous career.
• Write down any questions you may have ahead of time regarding salary, work hours and benefits. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything

Dealing with Career Change: Information and Recommended Links for Family Member       

How you can help

• Assist your family member with their career change by offering positive support at home with their day-to-day duties or chores, but be sure to find a good balance so as not to throw off their pattern of living, which may increase their stress as they may feel they are becoming a burden.
• Preserve your family member's daily activities. It's normal to feel protective but excluding the member going through a career change from activities or decisions you don't see them as fit enough to do or make contributes to feelings of helplessness.
• Involve your friend or family member with others. Don't focus exclusively on their career change and job interviews. Talk to them about yourself or make plans to visit friends and loved ones.

What to say   

• "I will support your decision in whichever career option you choose."
• "Do you want to talk about your progress?"
• Tell them how much you care about them

What not to say

• "Don't worry, you’ll find a new job tomorrow."
• "You’ll be making twice what you made before."
•  "You won't any problem changing careers."

How to build a support network

• Set up your TSC Co-Survivor Profile
• Create a support group for your friend or family member.
• Interact and provide updates

How to help a Survivor deal with day-to-day challenges

• Discussing the stress  and anxiety of a career change is essential to making the transition. Self Growth: Coping with Career Change
• Tips on coping with career change. Career Scope: Coping With a Career Change (PDF)
  

Things you can do for every day

Offering day-to-day support is a great gift to give a family member going through a career change. If the person going through the change isn’t a family member, help out their family by making meals, visiting and researching job possibilities.

After making a career change, assess and share with others how you feel emotionally, mentally and spiritually. By telling your story, you can not only put into perspective your thoughts and feelings but you can provide hope to others who are going through a similar journey themselves.

Thriving

Deciding on a career change takes more than the practicality of a resume and cover letter.  There is a level of upheaval that you’ll need to brace yourself for.  You are going into unchartered territory.  As exciting and thrilling as that might be, it can also lead to a certain amount of anxiety.  Think back to the first day of school: new classes, new friends, new schedules, new routines.  It was a lot to deal with but you made it through.  The same can be said for your new career change. 

Microsoft.com: Thrive

Career changes sometimes happen as a surprise. This doesn’t mean you were completely at fault but there are tips to make sure you don’t get caught up in the same downward spiral in your new career:

Scribd: 10 Traits Required for Surviving and Thriving in The Career Jungle

Give back


What helped you while you were dealing with your career change? Take a look back at your journey and share with other what helped you and what you wished you would have known/done during your career change experience. Check out how to build your career by helping others. Alberta Government: Volunteering [PDF]

What can you do when you can’t find a new career that suits your needs? If your job search becomes too stressful don’t bottle it up.  It's important to understand how to deal with job rejection

Ezine Articles: Seven Keys for Reducing Job Search Stress

For advice on overcoming challenges related to career change whether they be emotional, physical, spiritual or legal, read through.

Exec Searches: How to Deal with Job Search Anxiety: Career Stress Management 101