Most of the interns, fresh grads and entry level executives often find their job boring. Well, that’s not it; many times, the mid-level professionals and even people who have spent tens of years in the industry feel the same level of frustration. That’s the time, when a right career change can prove to be a game changer.

An intern who hates 9 to 5 desk job may become a successful travel blogger or a senior accountant who is overheating himself in a big corporate may turn out to be a millionaire stock trader!

All it needs is the right career change at right time!

This article will discuss a step by step guide to a successful career change.

Step 1- Identify the situation. Are you dissatisfied because of the people you work with or the company culture or the nature of your work? Well, that can be frustrating, but consider it as an opportunity.

Step 2- Establish your skills, values and interests. Look back at successful jobs, projects, volunteer work and roles to identify specific skills and activities you are good in. Determine whether your core skills and values are relevant in the career you are currently in. You can make use of numerous online resources and tools to help you find career alternatives.

Step 3- Think about alternatives. Brainstorm ideas for alternative careers by doing research. It’s easy to go online to find out how to become a fashion designer, a nurse, or you can learn how to become a CSI here. It’s also good to talk about your core skills and values with family, friends and close associates. You may find yourself most suitable for starting up your own business.

Step 4- Evaluate the available options. Do a preliminary comparison of various fields in order to narrow down your search to a few career options for further research. The internet can come in really handy when it comes to getting information on various careers and jobs that may interest you. If you’re the kind of person who loves coding and got a lot of bills to pay, you might find the job description and salary for a software engineer appealing

Step 5- Get personal. Get as much information as possible on the careers you have shortlisted and also try to find personal contacts who can shed more light through informational interviews. A good place to get contacts for informational interviews is your former school’s alumni network. LinkedIn is also a great platform to get contacts of professionals in various fields of specialization.

LinkedIn is also a great platform to get contacts of professionals in various fields of specialization. Also, take a look at your CV and rewrite it so it matches your new career preference – use a cv writing service if you need help with your career change CV.

Step 6- Get a Job Shadow.  A job shadow is basically a professional in a particular field of interest who you can go to work with and see what kind of work they do and how they do it. You can spend a few hours every day job shadowing one or two professionals who are in careers that you are interested in. Your school’s career office is a good place to find professionals who are willing to take up your offer on job shadowing.

In case, if you are considering starting your own business, better is to get in touch with someone who is already running a business.

Step 7- Try it out. Identify freelance and volunteer activities related to your preferred career and test your interest. For instance if you want to pursue a career in publishing, you can try editing the school newsletter. If you want to pursue a career in wildlife conservation, you can volunteer at the local shelter.

If you really find it difficult to come up with ideas, you can seek guidance from a professional or a career counselor as well.

Step 8- Take a class. Look for learning opportunities that would connect your previous line of work to your new one. You can take an evening class or an online course and also attend seminars every now and then. Ask professionals in your new career for learning opportunity suggestions. You can take advantage of higher education institutions offering up degrees such as an msn mba dual degree online and be better equipped in the respective field you’re looking into pursuing.

If you’re looking for career ops, then clinical research is an interesting one with lots of potential – look at this post from ICON for details.

Step 9– Up your skills. Find ways to improve your existing skills so that you can be good at your new job. If your new employer offers training, enroll into as many sessions as possible.

Step 10- Consider getting a different job in the same field. You can consider other roles in the current industry you are in and use the knowledge you already have. For instance, if you are an inventory manager who works on evenings and weekends, you can consider shifting to business recruiting in the same industry you are in.

The Bottom Line:

If you are someone who is not comfortable with the current job situation; this is probably the right time for a career change. Take note of how you react to your current job every day and look for patterns, what do you like or don’t you like about the current job you are in and get help from the right people!