All the best!
In career-obsessed Singapore, making a career switch is nearly tantamount to changing your identity, especially if you’re talking about completely different industries and life-purposes. Meanwhile, there are lots of ‘follow your passion’ talks and articles on the Internet that just fire your belly and give you that impetus to throw in your resignation letter with a bang.
While there is a lot of truth to how ‘when one door closes, another opens’, the corridor in between can be incredibly hard to navigate. Here are some things that you can do to ease your life-changing transition into a brand new career.
Be Clear About What You Already Have And Identify The Gaps
No matter how different industries can be on the surface, there are bound to be skills and experiences that are transferable. In fact, coming from a completely different background probably gives you unique skills that your dream industry needs, but isn’t quite known for. For example, a salesman who wants to be a programmer could have the people-skills to pull together a team and understand the business-side of things.
Have a proper review about all your skills that you have developed so far that are applicable to your new career, and don’t just think about it, but put it down in writing and do speak about it too. You need all the practice you can get to convince yourself and others that you have what it takes.
Next, consider the competency gaps that you need to close. Is it technical knowledge that you need, or hands-on experiences? Once you know the most crucial gaps, you can figure out how best to close them. Technical skills can be developed with courses or even a return to higher education, while hands-on experiences can be obtained through volunteering or apprenticeships. You can even start to acquire these skills while you are still at your current job. Find out what kinds of resources you require to obtain these skills, be it money or time, as this can give you a rough idea of when you’re able to make a full switch.
Learning About Your New Career
Needless to say, the more drastic the career change, the more prep work you would need to do.
Find out if your intended industry is one that the government is grooming talents, for that usually means that there are subsidised courses that are available, even at a post-graduate level. If you’re looking to have a taste of what you may like, make use of your SkillsFuture credit, which lets you take courses both locally as well as online.
In addition to attending courses, consider the possibility of broadening your existing work role. For example, if you’re planning to move to a people-oriented role from a more desk-bound job, have a chat with your boss to see if you can be involved in future projects as a focal-point. Picking up skills in your existing role not only lets you learn the necessary skills in a very real-world setting, it can also go a long way when it comes to impressing your boss.
Get Out There And Meet Like-Minded People
Put yourself out there and get to know people who are in the industry or in specific roles that you’re interested in. Whether it’s formal networking or otherwise, meeting people in the industry can help to open doors to job opportunities that may not be advertised. Not only that, you can also get some insight from insiders about what it’s really like. Meeting like-minded people also gives you emotional support for a very transformative decision that can sometimes make you feel alone and isolated.
Review Your Resources And Lifestyle
One of the greatest concerns that one may have is the financial risk that a career-switching can entail. Some important questions you need to consider are:
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How much time do you think you’ll need to land your next paycheck? Do you have sufficient resources to tide you through a period of unemployment?
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What are the resources you need to learn whatever you need to prepare for the transition?
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What does your current lifestyle look like now? Are you willing and able to reduce certain expenses if your new career isn’t as financially rewarding?
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Is your dream career worth making non-monetary sacrifices, like a greater salary that comes with a significant reduction in personal time?
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Is your personal life stable enough for you to make the switch and if not, have you thought about how you can cope with another major transition?
Career-switching is certainly no mean feat, especially when the change will significantly impact your lifestyle and personal life direction. However, it would be certainly a lot more manageable with some careful planning and patience.
All the best!
