as possible or maybe you've already decided that a career transition is

right for you you just don't know where to start. In this video, you'll learn five

steps to help you make a smooth and effective career transition and if you

stay around until the end, you'll learn where you can find a free resume

template that you can grab today and use to apply for your next job. If we've

never met before, I'm Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com and #thecareerclub

on Facebook and on this channel I provide simple solutions to help you

launch a career you love so if you're new here consider subscribing and don't

forget to hit that bell notification down below so you don't miss a thing.

Making a career transition can be a scary thing especially if you've been in

one industry for a very long time the good news is that if you're ready for

something new you don't need to start all over again

Before we jump into my five strategies to make a career change remember that a

career switch is different than a job switch what you might find is that all

you need is a job switch so let's jump into a tip number one evaluate your

current situation so you want to think about is a career move really something

you want or are you just unhappy in your current position so if you find that you

enjoy what you do but perhaps you don't enjoy the work environment it might be

best for you to find a position in the same field but just with a different

employer this gives you the chance to put yourself in a positive work

environment with fresh new energy you might also want to consider a partial

career change this is a related position with a similar skill set and knowledge

base an example of this would be moving from a financial analyst position into

an insurance underwriter or even a multimedia artist into a graphic

designer step number two conduct a

self-assessment this will help you narrow in on the types of positions that

fit you best and help you pinpoint what you are good at you'll also gain a

greater insight into you are as a person so take a few

minutes to answer these questions what will get you out of bed in the morning

what do you love to do what are you passionate about what would you do for

free think about what creates that burning

fire inside of you now what if you don't know what you like to do or what you're

passionate about that's okay you can start by listing your life experiences

experiences and life that you've really enjoyed also let's see experiences in

life that you haven't enjoy another thing you can do is ask others that you

trust most what they think you do best and don't underestimate the power of a

personality test one of my favorites is sixteen personalities calm it takes 12

to 15 minutes to answer a couple of questions to give you more input into

who you are as a person and the types of positions that you will excel in so I'll

go ahead and link that up below step number three do your research conduct

informational interviews with others that are in a field you would like to be

in ask them what do you like best about your position what are some of the

unique projects you get to work on or what do you not like about your position

also take a look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics you can find just about

anything you need to know about a specific position such as the pay the

education level required the on-the-job tasks that you would do the training

involved once you've conducted your research you want to evaluate the types

of skills and knowledge you'll need to jump into that position and you'll also

want to decide is it worth your time and money to do the career switch step

number four is to make a plan and start networking you want to start by

revamping your career documents like your resume your cover letter your

LinkedIn profile they all need to be tailored for the specific position you'd

like to be in you also want to focus on transferable skills so these are skills

that you can take from your previous career and apply them to your new career

these are things like teamwork flexibility drive innovation written and

oral communication skills and even a little

skills you want to highlight your superior performance so how did you

succeed in your previous position and how would you add value to your new role

and then of course you want to surround yourself with people that are inspiring

to you there's a famous quote by Jim Rohn that says you are the average of

the five people you spend the most time with step number five is take action do

the impossible you want to start by connecting with people that are doing

what you want to do or that have the job title that you would like to have in the

future an easy way to do this is to send a customized message on LinkedIn your

message could say something like hey there Sally sue we've never met in

person but I noticed that you are currently working at company XYZ I'm

very impressed with your experience and would love the opportunity to find out

how you got to where you are today would you mind if we connect on LinkedIn

now emphasizing your passion for the industry and the position will go a long

way you want to find groups and associations on line and in person of

the field you would like to go into and join them this type of networking is one

of the most powerful forms of job placement in fact it's been reported

that 85% of jobs are filled via networking by referrals companies love

to hire referrals because it costs them less they have lower turnover and it

actually produces a higher quality employee now to make this process a

whole lot easier for you I have a free resume template that you can download

today and customize for your new position I'll go ahead and link it up

below and if you liked this video be sure to hit the like button down below

make sure you share this with anyone you know that might benefit and as always be

sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next video.