Why Is Career Self-Assessment or Self-Exploration So Important to Career Reinvention?

Many of my clients who are considering a career transition or reinvention have never taken the time to evaluate their skills, values, interests, and other parameters that are important to them in their life and work.

They often have gone directly from college into the working world, taking on role after role, and never really assessing what makes them happy.

It is only when they find themselves miserable, frustrated, and unhappy that they begin to question everything.

It is at this moment that career self-exploration is so important —

To change careers or transition to a new field, you must go back to the basics — knowing who you are, and mapping out a strategy for a transition that fits who you are.

This is where self-assessment fits in. I like to refer to it as “self-exploration” and not “self-assessment,” which frankly sounds too clinical.

What Is Career Self-Assessment or Self-Exploration?

Self-exploration is a period in your life when you step back from your busy, day-to-day activities and look inside to take stock of knowing who you are (a sense of identity) and what is important to you.

Self-assessment is usually one of the first steps (and in my mind, the MOST important one) in career reinvention.

It is a process by which you gather information about yourself (skills, strengths, interests, personal brand, and communication style) in order to make better career decisions, and help you decide how to transition into a new field.

During this phase, it is important to work with a professional who is trained in administering and interpreting career assessments. While working with a career counselor or career coach, you’ll go through a variety of formal (objective) and informal (subjective) assessments to gather information that will be helpful in the career reinvention process.

Objective assessments are typically developed by assessment experts and provide a third-party viewpoint. Usually, a career coach or assessment expert reviews and interprets the results with the client.

Subjective assessments tend to be more informal, such as a homework assignment or an exercise that you would do by yourself (questions, journalism, visualization exercises, meditation, and obtaining feedback from others). This will help you get a clear understanding of what is important to you and to help you envision the future.

Why Is Any of This Important?

When you step out of the day-to-day grind and slow down and look inside, you begin to get in touch with a part of yourself which can’t be tapped during the busy lives we lead.

A period of self-reflection can help you:

• Learn more about yourself – explore your interests, skills and strengths, career and life values, career motivators, behavioral and communication style – so that you can manage your career for maximum fulfillment and balance.
• Learn about yourself to help you pinpoint and brainstorm options for a new career and/or field when you are considering a career transition.
• Become a foundation for making decisions about which fields and work situations are best for you (job function, industry, types of companies).
• Understand how you react and behave in certain situations, and how your behavior can enhance or help derail your success.
• Enhance your self-esteem as you begin to explore and see your unique skills and contributions.
• See patterns and themes, and provide a focus for prioritizing options for moving forward.
• Understand what differentiates yourself from others in the marketplace so that you can more effectively market “your career brand.”

What Are the Different Parameters to Look at During Career Self-exploration?

During the self-exploration phase, you might want to consider evaluating all or some of the following:

• Values
• Interests
• Personality
• Skills Inventory
• Strengths
• Behavioral and Communication Style
• Personal brand – what differentiates you from the competition?
• Entrepreneurial Propensity
• Motivators
• Leadership Profile
• Work-Life Balance and preferred lifestyle

We can’t address all of these in this short article. Let’s look at the three most important parameters that you should consider:

  1. Your Values  

For me, understanding your values is probably one of the most important (and frankly the least concrete) of all the assessment parameters.

Why? Because values touch the core of who we are, why we work, and what we want to get out of our work. And, if there is a mismatch between your values and those of the organization for which you work, this mostly likely will lead to career dissatisfaction and potential illness and undue stress.

Here are some questions to ponder:

• What is important to you in your life and career? This could include achievement, work-life balance, high salary, giving back to the community, time for hobbies, etc.
• Which values are the most important to you?Can you rank this above list? If given a choice between some of your values, which ones would come out on top?
• What motivates you and is important to you?

Susan Whitcomb in Job Search Magic suggests that you also explore “fulfillment” and “identity” by asking yourself the following questions:

• Why do you work? What is your purpose in working? What difference do you want to make?
• What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
• What gifts or strengths do you bring to the workplace?
• Who do you become when you do what you love to do?
• How do you define yourself?
• Who are your role models? What do you admire about the work they do?

  2. Your Interests and Passions  

Finding things you are interested in and passionate about most likely will lead to enjoyment and success.

How can you find what you are passionate about and what interests you the most?

Reflect on your past and the things to which you have been drawn. When you think about your past, which types of activities attract you? What activities do you love to do, and would do even if you were not getting paid, or getting paid very little?

Consider:

• Do you enjoy working with people, data, or things?
• Are you more of a thinker or do you prefer some form of creative expression?
• Do you prefer to build and create organizations? Are you more of a doer?
• Do you like to organize things?
• Are you drawn to helping others?
• Are there any particular job titles, or general job categories that categorize the work you like to do?
• Are there any particular industries that attract you?

  3. Your Favorite Skills  

Skills are important in terms of identifying the right work function – the tasks and position(s) at which you can be successful and be the happiest.

It is important to make a distinction between the skills you are good at and those you are good at AND from which you get the greatest satisfaction.

The skills that give you the greatest satisfaction, called “motivated skills,” typically lead to career satisfaction and should be central to your focus in career transition.

I can speak to this personally from my own experience. I remember my first semester in business school when I discovered that I “can do the numbers.” I also discovered I am painstakingly slow at doing anything with numbers and more importantly, that I hate being in a job where there is a high level of numerical analysis.

Now, had I known that, would I have gone to business school? Probably not!! I might have studied a different field more in line with my skills and interests. Unfortunately, I did not undergo any type of self-exploration myself until my mid-40s when I was considering a career change. And then it was too late as I went to business school when I was 29.

Here are some questions for you to think about:

• In your past roles, what have you enjoyed the most?
• Which skills gave you the most satisfaction?
• Which skills did you like the least?
• Which activities, when you do them, stress you out or depress you?
• Do you prefer to use a few skill areas and be a specialist in one career option?
• Do you like to use a broad variety of skills and be more of a generalist?

After you have asked yourself these questions, and evaluated your values, interests, and skills, you will be ready to take  the next step toward career transition or reinvention.

The Bottom Line on Career Change Assessment

If you really haven’t gone through this period of self-exploration, you could be jumping into a new career that won’t be an improvement over where you are.. This discovery process can be involved, complex, and even fatiguing, but it also can be illuminating and help guide you to the right career. In part 2 of this series, take a look at how a DISC assessment can help you refine your career options.

More About Successful Career Change:

• 7 Signs It Is Time for a Career Change
• How To Figure Out What Career Is Right for Me
• Making Successful Career Change – Without Losing Ground
• How to Use Your New Degree to Make a Career Change
• 10 Smart and Simple Steps to Start Your Career Transition
• Overcoming Career Change Fears
• Finding Your New Career by Trying It Out
• Research for Your Career Change

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

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So, most of us change jobs twice a decade, and most of those job changes are also involve career changes — new industry or profession.

Changing your career can be very scary to even consider.

Fear, in all its forms, is the single biggest factor standing between where you are and reaching your dreams.

In my work with career reinvention clients, I have noticed that more often than not, fear of changing careers or fear of change at all rears its head early on in the process.

You are not alone, as most career changers feel afraid at some point in the process. But, recognize when your fear turns to self-doubt, inactivity, and paralysis.

Fear Is a Normal Part of the Career Change Process

Understand that fear is normal and acceptable as you go through this process.

Some of the more common fears I have heard explicitly and felt intuitively are:

• Fear of the unknown
• Fear of failure
• Fear of success
• Fear of what others might think
• Fear of not complying with other people’s dreams
• Fear of making a bad career change choice

Here are some tips to help you overcome your fears and to help you move to the next stage in your career and life.

Assess the Risk and Break It Down

Think of a risk you would like to take in this career reinvention.

Then, ask yourself these questions:

• What would you gain from taking it?
• What’s frightening about it?
• What’s the worst thing that could happen if it turned out badly?
• If the worst happened, what would you do?
• What could you do to minimize this?
• What information would make this less risky?
• If you broke the risk into small steps, what would be the first step? When could you take it? Do this for each step.

Examine Your Fears

What exactly are you afraid of in the reinvention process?

Have a good look at this, and decide if your fear is realistic or irrational. Remember that most of the things you fear won’t actually happen.

Reframe your fear by thinking:

• What is the worse that could happen?
• If your fears really came to pass, what would you do?
• Would you survive?

You might find that your worst fears are not really as bad as you thought.

Take Small Steps

This is a great approach for a fear that seems overwhelming. Your initial reaction to a fear might be to avoid what it is you are afraid of (public speaking, hating a new field, etc.).

I have found with clients that if you can break what you are afraid of into small steps, it helps avoid the paralysis and gets you moving.

Identify your fear and then think about some smaller steps you could take to build your confidence, get more information, feel motivated, and move into your comfort zone.

Read my “Testing Options to Find Your New Career” article to see some preliminary steps and other options for testing a new career.

Does Failure Have to Be Negative?

Many clients get blocked in “fear” during the reinvention process because they are afraid of failure or rejection. I help these clients understand and reframe failure.

Failing at something, or not having a new career work out, doesn’t need to be a bad thing.

Instead, a potential failure can be an opportunity to gather more information about what you like or don’t like so you can learn from it and make better decisions in the future.

Think of failure simply as feedback on what you need to improve. Listen to the advice failure gives you, and you will improve. And success will come.

Embrace Your Fear

Many of my clients are not aware that they are afraid as they go through the reinvention process. I try to get them to recognize the fear, feel it, and embrace it. Just observe the feeling in your mind and body without labelling or judging it. If you let it in and embrace it, oftentimes it will lessen in intensity.

Live in the Present

Keep yourself in present time. Don’t let your thoughts and emotions run away to the future or the past.

Being in the present means not dwelling and obsessing on what has gone wrong and what could go wrong.

This runaway thinking will only heighten your fear to the point that you might feel unable to do anything. Instead, make your plans, and move forward one baby step at a time.

Bottom Line

Considering a career reinvention can be an anxious time for anyone. My advice is to understand your fears, address them, and take your career reinvention one step at a time. Life is a learning experience, and so, too, is a career reinvention. Addressing your fears, learning about yourself, and believing in yourself and your career dreams can be a positive and life-changing experience.

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

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Transitions involve three distinct phases: They begin with (1) an ending, develop into (2) a neutral phase, and end with (3) a new beginning. In order to build anew, you need to dismantle and provide space in yourself and your life for the creative act of constructing a new career.

Tips for Managing Career Transitions

1. Patience and FortitudeAllow yourself to explore your feelings about your current career. Perhaps you need a slight shift in focus, or you could be in the beginning stages of transitioning to a new career. Share these thoughts with family, friends, and trusted colleagues.
2. Network Join networking groups, including online services that provide career development opportunities and job postings.
3. Cultivate Mentoring Relationships Begin networking with professionals who are successful in the field you wish to enter. These individuals will become your cheering section and potential colleagues.
4. Take Care of Yourself Make sure you build in time to exercise, see friends and family, and relax. This will help you maintain energy and focus during your career transition.
5. Training and Education You might need to update your skills and/or broaden your knowledge to ease your transition. Take a course or two or engage in professional development to round out your skills.
6. Gain Experience Try to gain as much experience as possible in the new field; consider part-time or volunteer work and build experience that you can include on your résumé and in your career marketing documents.
7. Accept Your Need for Time in the Neutral Zone Understand why you are in this situation and why life seems to be stalled. Accept that the neutral zone unfolds in its own sweet time. You cannot hit the fast forward button. Nor, can you hit rewind and go back to where you were, and the old life has come undone in the ending.
8. Find Time Alone When in the neutral zone, find a quiet time and place where you can be alone, usually outside of your normal day-to-day surroundings. This space is crucial so that you can begin to hear inner signals.
9. Journal Your Thoughts During the entire transition, it is a good idea to keep a journal of how you are feeling, what your mood is like and any serendipitous opportunities that come your way. Go back and read your thoughts from time to time.
10. Get Clarity on Your “WANTS”
    Think about what you REALLY WANT – not what you think you should do or what others think you should do. And, reflect on what is holding you back from moving forward on that want. You don’t have to do anything, but just get clarity on these points.
11. Seek Professional Help Career counselors can offer assistance during any phase of your career transition. Think of this as an investment in your future.

Bottom Line

A career transition can be stressful, long and often frightening. It is important during this time to have a great support team, lots of patience, and as much experience as possible to help you get clarity on what might be around the corner for you.

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

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The first is the difference between a career change and a career transition.

The second is the different stages people go through as they step out of an old role and begin anew.

Most people use the terms “transition” and “change” interchangeably, but they are not synonyms.

According to William Bridges, consultant and author on individual and corporate change, it’s important to make a distinction between the two terms because they are profoundly different phenomena.

  Change  

Change is any external variation in your life such as a new job, company reorganization or merger, a new home, or a new relationship.

  Transition  

Transition is an internal shift within you. It means you have reached a point where it is time to let go of an assumption, self-image, or dream.

A transition could be precipitated by an external change. For example, you could be laid off from work (more of a change), which could motivate you to step back from your busy life and assess if it is time to think about pursuing a latent passion/dream or shifting your work focus to have more meaning or balance for you.

This period of self-reflection could result in redefining who you are and what you do for work. It could ultimately result in a career transition to an entirely new field and a new role.

Transitions Are a Process

They begin with an ending, develop into a neutral phase, and end with a new beginning.

In order to build anew, you need to dismantle and provide space in yourself and your life for the creative act of constructing a new career.

  Begin with an Ending  

Transitions begin with a five-phase ending process.

1. Disengagement –

   This is an actual break from the ordinary way of life as you know it — separating yourself from activities, relationships, and settings that have been important, but are no longer working for you. Think of it as externally removing yourself from old systems and contexts.

2. Dismantling –

   This involves the actual taking apart of your life as you used to know it before disengagement occurred. This can mean dismantling the world you operated in as well as the identity you had built in this world.

3. Disidentification –

   If you think of disengagement as the external change that started the transition, you then can think of disidentification as the internal changes that alter the way in which you experience yourself. You begin to lose the old way of defining yourself, and you are no longer sure who you are. Giving up titles and roles are an important part of your identity, and it is important to disidentify from these during this phase.

4. Disenchantment –

   This a true shift in your world view; things just don’t look the same anymore. This can involve emotions such as disappointment and shock. It is a time to look below the surface of what you thought to be so. It is the sign that you are ready to see and understand more now.

5. Disorientation –

   Disorientation is just what it sounds like – you don’t know where you’re going, what you should be doing, or what has meaning for you.

This is a pre-condition for self-renewal, and, oftentimes, people try to avoid this stage or rush it, as it can be very painful. But it is also essential to begin the transition.

  The Neutral Zone  

The neutral zone is the time in between the old life and the new.

In order to build anew, you need to dismantle and provide space within yourself for the creative act of constructing a new life.

For many people, this can be a terrifying stage as you have gone through the phases of the ending zone, but clearly still have no idea where you are heading. You are confused, lack direction, and can be gripped by fear. People have described this phase as a period of emptiness, suffering, and confusion.

However, this phase is absolutely essential to finding a new beginning, and it is important for you to surrender to this phase of emptiness and stop trying to escape it. I often suggest that my clients get away for a few days and take a personal retreat. The solitude associated with a retreat allows you to see and experience the world differently and opens you up for transformation.

Think of it as a period of inner reorientation where realignment begins to take shape.

  A New Beginning  

So, how do you know when you’ve reached the point of a new beginning?

Beginnings are often inauspicious and quiet. When you are ready, the opportunities will begin to appear in front of you. Inner signals will begin to point you in the right direction.

What are these inner signals? They can be subtle, and, oftentimes, hard to notice. They could be some or all of the following: an idea, an impression, an image, a hint, a comment someone makes, a dream, or a fantasy.

An inner signal is NOT a billboard with the word “Answer” on it — it is not an answer in the traditional sense. It tends to be more of an inner realignment, rather than an external opportunity. However, an external opportunity could precipitate this process.

A few key points lead to success in this phase:

• Begin to take action.
• Visualize yourself doing the final result, or in the final state.
• Take things step by step and recognize this is a process.
• Shift your purpose from trying to achieve a “goal” to living in the process, learning what you can, and making contacts where appropriate.

More About Successful Career Change

• Guide to Career Change
• Finding Your New Career by Trying It Out
• Self-Assessment for Successful Career Change
• Research for Your Career Change
• Retreat and Renewal to Find Clarity for Your Career Transition
• Overcoming Career Change Fears

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Understanding Your Career Transition appeared first on Job-Hunt.

This month, I am going to feature one of my private clients, who recently completed a fairly radical reinvention.

Randi:

What prompted you to consider a career change?

Heather:

My whole life up to this point in time has been in music. I was trained as a classical singer, (I earned my master’s degree from the New England Conservatory in vocal performance.), and then continued my career in music through performances and teaching.

Even though it might seem to be a perfect career to some, it just wasn’t working for me. I have three small children at home, and I was looking for something that was still very creative but with more stability, regular hours, a decent salary, and a lot less uncertainty.

Randi:

Did you try to change careers on your own before working with a career coach?

Heather:

I did do some Web-based assessments, and I read a ton of books, but I was unable to determine suitable career paths. I wanted to have more heavy-duty assessments done and then have them interpreted by a professional, so I sought out a trained career coach. I also was seeking feedback on how I was perceived.

Randi:

What was the biggest challenge for you in this process?

Heather:

The exploration of potential career paths was the biggest challenge for me. I had never worked in the business arena, so I didn’t know a lot about business careers. I also am fairly shy, so approaching people I didn’t know to learn about their careers was a challenge for me.

Randi:

How long did it take before you were able to narrow down your choice to one career path?

Heather:

It took me awhile – two to three months at least. I started out by doing an internship in public relations, only to find out I did not like the work and did not want to pursue this field. So I had to go back to the drawing board a few times.

Randi:

How did you decide to become an image consultant?

Heather:

I was drawn to the field by the ability to help people and to be creative. I also was intrigued about owning my own business, which would give me greater control over my career and the hours I work.

Randi:

What was your biggest fear about reinventing?

Heather:

My biggest fear and challenge was losing my personal identity, which was so tied up in being a singer. (I have been a singer since I was 4.) The biggest irony in this whole process is that even though I suspended my singing for a while to explore new career options, now that I have settled on one option, my singing has taken off again and I am very busy on this front, too.

In reinventing, I also was very worried that I might choose the wrong career for me, or that I might not make enough money.

Randi:

How happy are you with your choice?

Heather:

I am totally thrilled with my career choice and have picked a field that I can blend with my lifestyle and other pursuits. It also is a field where I can continuously learn and be challenged intellectually.

Randi:

What advice would you give to other people interested in reinventing?

Heather:

If you are serious about finding another career path, then you have to put the time in, do the work, and don’t get discouraged if it takes awhile to figure out. Be open to trying different things, because the information and experience you gain will be helpful to you in the long run. And you can make good connections and you never know how and where those connections can be helpful.

Randi:

Now that you are a small business owner, what is your biggest challenge?

Heather:

My biggest challenge is finding the time to do all the work required to launch the business!!!

About Heather Poduska: 

Heather is a member of both AICI (Association of the Image Consultants International) and AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists).

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

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You still have no idea where you are heading. You are confused, you lack direction, and you can be gripped by fear. Many of my clients have described this phase as a period of emptiness, suffering, and confusion.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t fun, but it is an absolutely essential step. It’s important to experience this neutral zone because you first need to dismantle your old career, attitudes, and opinions, and then provide space within yourself for the creative act of constructing a new life and career.

A Personal Retreat to Start the Transformation

Since it is so important to surrender to this phase of emptiness and stop trying to escape it, I often suggest that my clients get away for a few days and take a personal retreat. The solitude associated with a retreat allows you to see and experience the world differently and opens you up for transformation. In this article, I will focus on the importance of a personal retreat and time of renewal in helping you find clarity for yourself and your future career.

So, where do you begin? We already have discussed why a personal retreat is important and when you should go, now we’ll review the how, what, and where of undertaking this time of contemplation.

How you go about a retreat is important.

You need to find a place mentally and physically that will allow you to slow down yourself, your activities, and your thinking. This is not as easy as it sounds. Most of us have tremendously busy and active lives – we’re heavily invested in our work and profession, we have countless responsibilities, both personal and professional, and we have very little time to think deeply about whom we are and what we’re doing.

Often, we’ll have a few minutes here and there to organize our thoughts or plan our activities. And, we’ll often feel as if we’ve done a good job planning out our day, or work week, or weekend. This type of thinking or planning is just scratching the surface on what you need to do for your time of personal retreat and renewal.

What you need to do is to get away from everything – both mentally and physically – for a long-enough period to really get to the bottom of who you are and what you want to do. Think of it as a period of inner reorientation where realignment begins to take shape, and that can’t be done the same way you might plan out the next day when you’re stopped at a traffic light while you’re driving home from work.

A personal retreat is not an uncommon activity for many people.

Traditionally, it was thought of something someone did that was religious based, such as the life of a monk. But, different types of retreats are becoming more popular.

Some people take a retreat that involves a week of silence and contemplation, others go on personal and group retreats involving meditation, yoga, writing, exercise, personal improvement, and even physical activities, such as camping, overnight canoeing, or rock climbing.

Your retreat could encompass some of these activities. But, any activities you use have to work toward your goal of getting away from everything and everyone. Yoga, meditation, or hiking might work for you, but you have to do it alone. You need the solitude to experience your retreat on your own without the accompaniment of any distractions.

First, get rid of your means of communicating. Don’t bring your Blackberry or laptop. Do bring your cell phone, but keep it turned off. Then, pick a place that works for you, one at which you feel comfortable; a place where you can be yourself.

I love the mountains for the beauty, the isolation, and the quiet, contemplative setting that they provide. Others might like the ocean, such as the isolation that South Beach provides in Chatham, MA, or a cabin in the woods. It could even be an urban setting where no one knows you. It just has to be a place where you can isolate yourself with your thoughts.

These settings provide the opportunity for activities such as a hike up a mountain trail, a walk along an isolated beach, or sitting on a park bench where you can be more open to a transformation and finding clarity for yourself. In addition to physical activities, writing out your thoughts, listening to classical music, and fasting can kick off the contemplative thinking process that you need.

But, finding clarity can’t be forced. You can’t make yourself find clarity, you can’t force yourself to think, “I’m going to be this or do that with my life.” You must let that process come naturally. It must evolve from your activities (or lack of activity), your isolation, and your involuntary thought processes.

Finding clarity will come to you. You can’t go to it. You have to create the proper environment for this to happen. And, that’s why I recommend planning a personal retreat that will work for you.

Your goal is to provide space within yourself for the creative act of constructing a new life and career. By isolating yourself and clearing your mind of deliberate thinking, you will loosen up your inhibitions and open up possibilities you might not have thought about previously. You will come to this point naturally after experiencing an inner calmness. And, you are most likely to find a new direction when you least expect it.

Bottom Line

This is not the end of your journey, rather it is a new beginning. So, there will be much more work to do. But, this process of retreat and renewal can start you on the path to a new career and new life.

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Retreat and Renewal to Find Clarity for Your Career Transition appeared first on Job-Hunt.

After you figure out what you want to do, the next big challenge is presenting and marketing yourself for this new role.

Think about it. The hiring manager needs to believe you can do the job.

If you spent 25 years in the real estate industry doing asset management work, and now want to work in software sales for a company that markets software to the real estate industry, how are you going to present yourself so the new industry and potential hiring manager find you appealing?

5 Steps to Your Career Change Resume

When I decided to research this topic of career change marketing and branding, I sought out and interviewed Wendy Enelow, one of the top industry experts on resumes and, career change resumes in particular.

Wendy and I discussed this topic at great length and came up with some concrete tips and resume examples to demonstrate our points.

1. Clarify Your Goals

Prior to writing and branding a resume for a career change (change in job function, change in industry, or both a change in function and industry) a career changer needs to think about and answer the following questions before writing their resume:

• What position(s) are you seeking?
• Do you have any industry preferences?
• Do you have any geographic limitations?
• How do you want to be perceived by prospective employers?

First, know what you want.

Before you begin writing your career change resume, you must know the position/industry you are going after. This gives your resume a focus and theme around which you can create the entre document. This theme will dictate what you include in the document and how and where you include it. Start by knowing what you want next, so you can find it.

Second, know how you want to be perceived.

Writing a career change resume is all about creating a picture of how you want to be perceived by a prospective employer. For example, if you are currently a corporate lawyer and wanting to switch to a role in legal publishing sales (career reinvention), your resume is going to look very differently than if you are a lawyer seeking another role as a corporate lawyer. These are two different career targets and for each one, the brand perception you are trying to create is different.

Specifically, when reinventing your career (lawyer to legal publishing sales), you must “reweigh” the information you include on your resume to be more relevant to your new objective.

You have to translate what you have done in your past roles in such a way that a potential hiring manager immediately understands its relevancy to the position for which you are applying.

2. Do Your Research

Continuing on with the above example, if you are a lawyer seeking to reinvent yourself and transition into the legal publishing field do your homework – your due diligence – before you write your resume.

What do I mean by doing your “due diligence”?

Do your research, both in the online and offline worlds, to know what your target industry and potential hiring manager might be seeking for skills and competencies. In addition, you need to know the “lingo” (keywords) of your new field.

Here are some examples of how you can do your homework:

• During your informational meetings, ask the individuals with whom you are meeting what are the key skills and competencies they consider to be the most important for the role/industry?
• Find several job descriptions online for roles in your new industry or job function. Review them and make a list of what the companies and/or hiring managers are seeking.
• Read industry publications and/or blogs to get a better feel for the industry, understand industry jargon, and become familiar with some of the challenges faced by the industry.

3. Include the Right Keywords

Keywords are very important in resume writing since they are the foundation for how hiring managers search for and identify candidates in resume databases.

When writing a resume for a career reinvention, you want to be sure that your resume is includes the keywords that are relevant to your career goals and how you want to be perceived in the employment market.

These keywords can be identified in the same resources used in tip # 2 above.

Include these keywords in the Summary or Profile section at the top of the resume. You also can include them in a bulleted format in a separate section titled “Core Competencies,” “Core Strengths and Capabilities,” or “Professional Qualifications.”

If we continue with the above example of the lawyer moving to legal publishing sales, he might want to include the following in his summary section at the top of his resume:

Over ten years’ experience in the field of law, combined with innately strong presentation, negotiation, and client management skills. Proven ability to communicate and deliver high-impact presentations that communicate the value and benefit of services to key decision makers.

Depending on the terms used in job descriptions by the target employers, possible keywords for this job seeker include:

Client relationship management
Public speaking and presentations
Listening and negotiation skills
Rapport and relationship building
Customer needs assessment
Cross-functional team collaboration
Effective time management
Rapid learning of new products and services

[Read Optimize Your Resume to Be Found by Recruiters for more details on the words to choose and where to put them.]

4. Showcase Relevant Achievements

The key to resume writing, whether for a career reinvention or not, is to be sure that your resume is populated with strong achievements and success stories that demonstrate the skills and attributes you can bring to a prospective employer for a new job or industry.

This can be easier when doing a straightforward resume, moving from one position into another that is very similar.

When writing a resume for a career reinvention, you have twice as much work to do. Your job entails:

• Coming up with career achievements or career success stories, in general,AND THEN
• Translating these success stories into a language that a hiring manager in a new field can understand.

When thinking about your past achievements and writing success stories, I suggest that you follow the Problem, Action, Result (PAR) format and construct your stories as follows:

Problem: What was the problem or challenge that was going on at the time?
Action: What actions did you take to solve the problem?
Result: What was the result of your efforts?
Your Challenge: How can you translate this into something that will work for a reinvention target?

If we continue with the above example, I might have the lawyer write some success stories from his current role as a corporate lawyer and also from his roles as a partner in the law firms where he worked. I would want him to demonstrate his ability to perform the following competencies, all of which are critical for a role on sales or business development:

• Client relationship management skills
• New client acquisition and retention
• Contract negotiations with clients

Here is an example of how these might be written up as achievements on the resume:

• Delivered proposal presentations to clients that outlined the full scope of XYZ firm’s capabilities and cost justified proposals to clients.

5. Incorporate Relevant Skills and Experience

When writing a resume for a career reinvention, do not discount older experience, community service, and volunteer roles.

Look at everything in your life and professional experience to demonstrate the skills and experience that you want to showcase to create the perception of yourself that you want a prospective employer to see.

For example, let’s say our corporate lawyer is on the board of a nonprofit and is doing fund raising and development work. I would definitely recommend including this information on his resume. Fund raising is sales and by including this experience, you could demonstrate that the lawyer has good client relationship and negotiation skills.

The write-up on the resume might look something like this:

• Demonstrated outstanding sales, negotiations, and client relationship management skills while orchestrating annual fund raising and corporate giving campaigns. Increased volume each year for five consecutive years.

In addition, let’s assume this lawyer has just taken a sales training class to supplement his legal background with more concrete skills to support his career reinvention. That information should be highlighted in the Summary or Profile at the beginning of the resume and then again showcased in the Education section. In fact, change the heading to Education and Professional Development.

This is how this information might be included on the resume:

• In the Summary or Profile section:

More than 10 years of experience in the field of law, combined with innately strong presentation, negotiation, and client management skills…

Bachelor of Science in Business and recent training in Sales Leadership from Sandler Sales Institute.

• In the Educational and Professional Development Section:

Bachelor of Science – 2006
Bentley University, Waltham, MA
Major: Business Administration

Highlights of Continuing Professional Development:
Sandler Sales Leadership Training, Winning Incorporated, 2017

Update Your Social Media Visibility

Understand that the vast majority of recruiters will Google you and your online visibility (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) will need to by “in sync” with the content of your resume.

Continuing the example above, don’t let your LinkedIn Profile present you as an attorney without any mention of your sales training and other experience and accomplishments relevant to your career change goal.

Use your research and the content you have developed to update your LinkedIn Profile. If you are currently employed, be very cautious about what you make public. Nearly half of all USA employers frequently research their current employees online, so your job search could cost you your current paycheck. Read Job-Hunt’s Guide to a Stealth Job Search for more details.

The Bottom Line on Career Change Resumes

As you can see from the example and tips provided throughout this article, writing resumes for a career reinvention can be tricky and requires a strong strategy and execution. There are no hard and fast rules and each resume must be tailored to the position that you are seeking, how you want to be perceived, and what you have in past and present positions that are relevant to their current career goals. Don’t forget to use the right keywords for you!

For More Information:

• Resume for an Executive Making a Career Change
• 10 Smart and Simple Steps to Start Your Career Transition
• Finding Your New Career by Trying It Out
• Research for Your Career Change
• Job-Hunt’s Guide to LinkedIn for Job Search
• Job-Hunt’s Guide to a Stealth Job Search
• Job-Hunt’s Guide to Personal SEO

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Creating Your Career Change Resume in 5 Steps appeared first on Job-Hunt.

A period of self-reflection, followed by a career brainstorming, can help you get clear on potential career paths for further exploration.

So, when you have a list of potential careers you would like to explore, how do you find information about these fields?

This article addresses five key sources for online career research plus two excellent offline resources, helping you make an informed decision for your new career.

5 Key Online Research Resources

These 5 sources provide a wealth of information without ever leaving your keyboard:

1. Government Resources

The US Department of Labor provides two very good resources for gathering information.

The first resourc is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), which can be found at: Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)

Check out the Occupation Groups listed in the left column, choose an occupation from the options in the center, or type your target job title in the search bar. Then, explore the information that is provided.

For example, I typed in Advertising Manager, and what came back was a wealth of information on advertising, promotions, and marketing careers. The OOH will provide information for you on:

• Median pay, usually per year and per hour, from a year ago — be sure to check out the data for your location (also provided on this page) before using the salary displayed as the reason to do this job.
• Typical entry-level education needed.
• Work experience in a related occupation.
• On-the-job training.
• Job outlook through 2026.
• Employment change through 2026.
• What people with this job do (typical duties for people doing this job).
• The work environment (classes of employers who hire people to do this job).
• Related occupations (NOTE: This can be very helpful. If you read the description of the field you researched and find it is not that interesting, this will allow you to explore other options that might be more appealing to you.)
• How to become [job title] provides the minimal qualifications usually required.
• Pay for the past year.
• Job outlook through 2026 — average, faster than average, slower than average — as forecasted by DOL.
• State and area data — enables you to look for the data for your current or target location.
• Similar occupations — comparing the job duties, education, growth, and pay with similar occupations.

A second useful resource is O*NET, which was developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor. The link to researching occupations is: ONET OnLine.

Searching in this database is similar to the OOH. Type the career or job title in the box located in the upper right corner (Advertising), and see what results come back. In this case, O*NET offers similar data to the OOH, but does delve further in certain areas. It provides additional information on:

• Tasks
• Technology Skills
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Abilities
• Work activities

Plus many more important elements of a job or career so you can get a better idea of what the job is really like.

2. Professional Association Websites

Let’s say you were interested in the field of Fundraising. You could go the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) website and look in the following areas to find information on this field:

• Association Career Center
• Association Local Chapters
• Association Conferences
• Association Members

With those results, you could see job posting, potentially local meetings, and national or international conferences. Then, you could explore typical jobs and the job requirements, potential employers, local (and national) topics and speakers, plus opportunities to network.

For more options, Google “association of X professionals” or “X professional association” (using the quotation marks in your query) where X is the career field you are trying to research.

Read Google Search Ground Rules for more tips on effective Google queries.

3. Google Search

If we continue with the advertising example, a simple Google search brings up some sites and resources not listed above. Oftentimes, a specific website is available with career information related to just that industry. For example, Googling “careers in advertising” (with the quotation marks) brings many useful results.

[See Job-Hunt’s Guide to Using Google for help understanding how to leverage all of Google’s talents. Check out 50 Google Searches to Avoid Bad Employers and Layoffs for examples in how to structure queries to get exactly the information you want.]

4. Professional Publications

Sometimes professional magazines and newspapers do interviews of seasoned professionals in a particular field, providing information for newcomers seeking to enter the field. By searching through the publication’s archives, you might find some useful information. In the case of advertising, looking at Advertising Age, might be a useful way to spend some time.

Often publications are available online or via email, sometimes free, sometimes for a fee. You can also search through a professional organization’s website for their publications, and perhaps subscribe if you can’t read the publications on the organization’s website.

5. Social Media

Many professional associations have Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook resources available for members and, often, for non-members. Search your favorite social networks to see what you can find. LinkedIn and Facebook can be excellent ways to identify people to meet, or even people you already know, who work in the field you are considering.

2 Offline Research Resources

Often, leaving your keyboard and talking to real people can provide the best information. These two resources are very useful:

1. Attend Local Professionals Meetings

You may discover these through your online research into professional organizations. Often, an organization’s website provides information about local meetings. See if you can find any in your area.

Also check the local news sources, like your local newspapers, your local library, and even local schools, colleges, and universities. You may find this information online, but the meetings should be “live and in-person.”

2. Conduct Informational Interviews

Informational interviews are often a wonderful source of information as well as great opportunities to re-connect with people from your past and meet new people, too. Re-energizing and expanding your professional network is always a good thing to do.

In the interviews, be focused on the questions you need answered and also be respectful of the other person’s time since they are doing you a favor. For more information, read Job-Hunt’s Guide to Informational Interviews.

Bottom Line

These are just some useful sources you can access for to research a career. If you find that you can not find the information you need, do not hesitate to go to your local library and discuss your needs with a reference librarian. Librarians often have access to proprietary resources not available to the general public.

More About Successful Career Change

• Guide to Career Change
• Understanding Career Transition
• Finding Your New Career by Trying It Out
• Self-Assessment for Successful Career Change
• Research for Your Career Change
• Retreat and Renewal to Find Clarity for Your Career Transition
• Overcoming Career Change Fears

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Research for Your Career Change appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Research is key to making a successful career change. In the first article in this series, I discussed how to explore career paths for a potential career reinvention and the 5 key resources for researching your career online. While this is always a productive use of your time, this type of secondary research will only provide you with one side of the equation.

Now, you need to find appropriate people you can meet with to discuss potential career paths – your primary research.

In order to illustrate this concept more effectively, I am going to use a fictitious character. Tom, a lawyer in a Boston law firm, has decided he wants a career change, possibly changing to the field of professional fundraising.

Here are five sources Tom can use to find people for information meetings:

1. School(s)
   Reach out to alumni career advisors, mentors, or any alumni from your undergraduate or graduate school.   In our example, Tom, could login into his alumni database of his undergraduate school or law school and search alumni by fields. He could search for all alumni in Boston in fundraising, or he could broaden his search for all alumni in fundraising, regardless of geography. If he is able to get their email address from the alumni database, he can reach out to them directly.
2. Professional Associations
   Tap into Professional Association contacts. Tom, who is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, could ask his bar association contacts if they know any lawyers who have nonprofit or universities as clients. If he is able to find such people, he might then be able to ask them if they know of anyone who works directly in fundraising roles. However, a more fruitful approach might be for Tom to go to an event at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Boston, and see if he might be able to meet some contacts there that he could contact after the event to explore the possibility of an informational meeting.
3. Personal Network
   Ask your first degree network who they know. Tom could make a list of 20-25 people he knows and then send them an email to ask them if they know anyone in their network who works in fundraising that he could meet with on an informational basis.
4. LinkedIn Advanced People Search
   Do an advanced people search on LinkedIn. Tom could tap into his LinkedIn network to see who in his network might be connected to a fundraising professional. The advanced people search is on the upper right hand corner of the LinkedIn home page. Once he is on the advanced search page, he can use the field entitled “Keywords” or “Title” and input the word “fundraising.” Then he could further refine his search by using the “location” field and then input his Zip Code and search within 10-100 miles of his Zip Code. He would then look at the search results to see how many first degree or second degree contacts he could find.
5. LinkedIn Groups
   Join groups on LinkedIn. In addition, Tom could go to the LinkedIn “Groups Directory” under the “Groups” tab at the top of his LinkedIn home page to search for groups with the word “fundraising” in them. I just did this search and found over 1,000 results. He could look through the groups to find those of interest, or continue his search by narrowing it down to Massachusetts. He could then see who belongs to those groups and if he has any close connections to the group members. By joining a particular group, he would also be able to email the group members directly, even if he is not connected or linked to them directly.

Finding people to meet with on an informational basis is actually quite easy if you have a few connections to start with and you do some good Internet and LinkedIn research.

In the next article of this series, I’ll offer specific questions you can ask these people to really understand the realities of working in a new field and how to get prepared for a reinvention into that field.

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Expanding Your Network to Research Your Career Change appeared first on Job-Hunt.

And, the same can be said about its complexity, as defining the term nonprofit sector can mean many things.

What is a Nonprofit Organization? Definition & Meaning

Nonprofit organizations also can be categorized by those that serve members, such as professional associations or labor unions, and those that serve the public, such as religious, charitable, business leagues, social and recreational clubs, fraternal societies, and social welfare organizations.

The nonprofit sector includes essentially any type of public, private, or government organization that provides a service without the expectation of financial return or profit.

Nonprofit organizations range from the local Chambers of Commerce, United Way, Salvation Army, churches, synagogs, and other places of worship to very large national and international organizations like the National Rifle Association, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Nonprofits also play multiple roles in society, and address a variety issues. For example, the nonprofit can provide a service to the community, such as a school or a shelter for battered women. It could provide a service to other nonprofits — such as a nonprofit that offers consulting and/or IT services to other nonprofits. It also could be an organization, such as a foundation, that funds nonprofits.

For more information about the different kinds of nonprofits, see CharityNavigator.org.

Working for a Nonprofit vs. Corporation: 7 Major Differences

If you are contemplating transitioning from the corporate world to the nonprofit sector, understanding the cultural differences between these two spheres is essential before you can tackle the potential transition challenges.

Switching from a career in the business sector to the nonprofit sector is usually a leap in culture and organizational dynamics.

Even though nonprofits have been hiring more business individuals, there is a fundamental difference in culture between the two environments. Any individual wishing to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector should try to understand some of the differences before making the transition.

1. Profit Is Not a Measure of Success

In a nonprofit organization, the “mission” — not the profit — is the driving force behind the organization. And, the quarterly focus on revenues and profits, which characterize the business sector, doesn’t necessarily define success.

So, for someone who has continually succeeded based on profit margin, there would need to be an adjustment as to how to measure success.

2. Resources May Be Limited

Nonprofits are typically resource constrained. This phenomenon can have an impact on management’s ability to implement programs (like adding new technology), make changes, and actually accomplish the nonprofit’s mission.

3. Potentially Slower Decision-Making Process

Unlike corporate enterprises, the nonprofit sector tends to be process oriented and consensus driven, both of which can slow decision making. This can be frustrating for someone who is used to more well-defined structure. In the corporate world, the pyramid-like organization can quicken decision making and implementation.

4. Wider Sphere of Influence and Interaction

The nonprofit sector can offer the opportunity to interact with individuals from all types of organizations, such as government, corporate, and the community at large as well as other nonprofits.

5. More Flexible Working Conditions

Nonprofits also can offer flexible working conditions and environments, which can be favorable to career changers. Although the corporate world is starting to look at alternative options for its workers, the nonprofit world is leaps and bounds ahead of corporate America on such issues as flexible scheduling, job sharing, telecommuting, leaves of absence, and health benefits.

6. Employees Tend to Be Committed to the Organization’s Purpose

The nonprofit sector also can differ from the corporate world in the type of employee. This sector tends to attract bright individuals who are passionate and committed to their cause. They are working for their nonprofit organization because they believe they are making a difference in the world, or because they believe in the direction of their organization, or that they have a lifelong passion for the work that their group does.

Often, this is not the case in the corporate world, where money always is the bottom line, and many co-workers can be unhappy with their salaries, work conditions, and upward movement (or lack of) within the company.

7. Salaries May Be Lower 

Not all positions in a nonprofit are paid. For some nonprofits, the majority of people doing the work are volunteers. In theory, this should leave more money in the budget for the paid employees, but that is not always true. With fewer income sources, and no margin of profitability, the trickle-down effect on your pay might not be as frequent nor be as lucrative.

Bottom Line on Working for a Nonprofit vs a For-Profit

As usual, making an informed decision is your best strategy. The differences between the corporate world and the nonprofit sector can be vast, and taking all of these factors into consideration is important before making a decision on whether transitioning is an option for you.

More About Successful Career Change

• Finding Your New Career by Trying It Out
• Self-Assessment for Successful Career Change
• Research for Your Career Change
• Retreat and Renewal to Find Clarity for Your Career Transition
• Overcoming Career Change Fears

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Career Change Expert, Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire!, is a career coach and counselor with more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, including DISC assessments. Randi has experienced several major career transitions (from corporate to small business owner to career counselor to coach) and personally understands the effort and commitment involved. She has appeared on public television’s “Job Doctor,” and is a frequent contributor to Bridgestar’s Leadership Matters newsletter, The Ladders job-search Web site (www.theladders.com) and her own blog, which offers advice on career transition, job search, and labor market trends. Follow Randi on Twitter @Aspire4Success.
More about this author…

The post Which Is Best for You? Nonprofit vs. Corporate appeared first on Job-Hunt.