Should You Shift or Change Your Career?
A career shift is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The path to success is not a straight line, and it requires flexibility and adaptability along the way.
A career shift can be triggered by many factors, including changes in technology and economic conditions, as well as personal motivations such as wanting more control over where you work or your desire for greater fulfillment at work.
A career shift occurs when you want to change direction within your career to take a different job with responsibilities in the same general area of expertise.
Changing careers can be intimidating, but by evaluating your strengths and weaknesses objectively and using them to develop new skills through training programs or self-education, you can successfully make a shift toward your ideal career path!
Table of contents
- What is a Career Cluster?
- What is the difference between a shift and a change?
- Why do people shift their career?
- How you can choose jobs from similar clusters
- How to make a shift or change?
- Is it too late for career shift?
- Tips To Successfully Shift Careers
What is a Career Cluster?
Career clusters are groups of related occupations that require similar skills and responsibilities. For example, the career cluster “business management,” which includes banking and accounting positions, requires people to have strong leadership skills and be able to manage others' time. The job titles in this cluster are very similar in their requirements and responsibilities.
The purpose of using a career cluster is to help you decide what type of work will be most fulfilling for you by looking at what kind of work interests you based on your interests and values, as well as how much money you want to make or how much education or training it takes for specific jobs.
What is the difference between a shift and a change?
A shift is a change in direction, but not necessarily location. It’s the type of career change where you remain at your company or organization and take on new responsibilities that are related but different from your current position.
A change is a change in scope, location and/or focus. This kind of career transition involves leaving your current organization and going somewhere else to work, possibly even starting up your own business or joining an entirely different industry altogether.
For example, a shift would be when an accountant works to become a certified public accountant, whereas a change is when said accountant goes back to school to become a nurse.
The best way to find out whether you should make these kinds of changes is by considering what works for you right now, and what doesn't work so well anymore in both your personal life and professional life.
Why do people shift their career?
The reasons why people change careers vary. Some want more satisfaction from their work, while others are looking for a better fit of their skills and interests. For some, it’s about money. They want to make more or find a job that will bring stability in the long term.
Others need a career change because they aren’t happy with their current work-life balance or simply don’t like their job anymore.
Whatever your reason may be, having an honest conversation with yourself about what you want out of your career is crucial before making any big decisions!
How you can choose jobs from similar clusters
It is important to understand what kind of work you are going to undertake, as it helps you to create a profile that is attractive. For example, if you like working with people and have been a team player in the past, then data analysis jobs may not be suitable for you as they involve working alone at times.
On the other hand, if your strengths include being detail oriented and having an eye for accuracy and precision, then this type of position might suit your skill set better.
The best way to find out what kind of career path suits your personality is by taking a test such as Myers-Briggs Test or DISC assessment, which will give insight into what kind of jobs will suit your strengths and weaknesses.
How to make a shift or change?
The first step is to make a plan. As you may have gathered from the previous section, a shift or change can be daunting, but having a step-by-step strategy will help ease the stress and keep you on track.
The best way to approach this is by making some goals (other than just "I want to make more money") and breaking them down into smaller steps so that they seem more manageable.
For example:
- Set up a meeting with your boss and ask what it would take for your current role to grow into something different over time.
This will give you an opportunity to discuss how they see your future at work and how they feel about changing roles within the company instead of leaving it completely behind.
- Create an action plan for networking both inside and outside of work with people who might support or advise you during this process.
Think professional contacts, friends from college who majored in business administration. Their advice could prove invaluable as well as provide helpful connections when looking for new opportunities down the road, and even maybe lead somewhere exciting!
Is it too late for career shift?
It is never too late, but you need to be willing to put in the work and plan out what you want to do. The great thing about a career shift is that there are many ways it can happen.
For example, if you are unhappy with what you are doing now or if there is something within your current job that has been causing frustration for some time, then consider shifting into another field or area of employment that focuses on this particular skill set.
If this doesn't sound like something that would work for you, then perhaps taking a step back from what it is that makes up your current job might help provide some clarity around why things aren't working and how they could be improved upon so as not only be better for yourself but also those around you.
Tips To Successfully Shift Careers
3 tips on how to successfully shift careers!
- Do your research.
There's no point in making a career shift if you don't know exactly what it is that you want to do, so spend some time researching the industry and the kind of work that is involved.
- Focus on skills.
If you're looking to make a shift from one career path to another, then this may be because there are skills that are currently lacking in your current role that could be useful for entering into another field (for example: accounting experience).
However, this doesn't mean that the only way to enter these fields is by acquiring new skills. Sometimes it just means learning how different industries operate. And sometimes being willing to learn those new operations can be enough!
- Get ready for job application processes.
For many jobs that require specific qualifications and/or experience levels (such as accountants), getting hired will require submitting resumes or applications through online portals like Indeed or SimplyHired where employers can find candidates matching their desired criteria via keyword searches within the text of resumes.
You can also check automated ways to find a new job faster and easier than any other. This could happen through Loopcv.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that there are many different types of career shifts. The process can be challenging, but with the right support and guidance, you can make a successful transition!
Good luck!
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