Time for a change of profession
First of all, it is important to explain what changing careers means. Usually people who decide to take that step acquire additional or new qualifications related to their job. What's important, changing careers doesn't always mean changing the professional branch. It can often be an opportunity to expand a person's qualifications, which makes the worker more attractive on the job market.
However, changing careers is not just about learning a profession desired by employers at present. One of the tasks of changing a person's professional profile is also adjusting the type of work done to the worker's character: If a worker is tired of their duties, it probably isn't their natural 'flow' - claims Tomasz Wiśniewski, the founder of the online service Rzucam-Prace.pl - Personality tests can help discover what a person is naturally best suited to do. If an extrovert is expected to do analyses and to be stuck behind the desk for hours without human contact, getting up every morning to go to work will be a real struggle for that person. Similarly, if an analyst or an IT specialist was told to perform on stage, establish contacts with clients or to lead a team, they most definitely won't feel comfortable nor reach spectacular goals.
Changing careers can be a way of altering a person's professional routine. Boredom in a person's current job may be seen as the first sign that a change in the current job may be necessary.
The reasons for a career change may, however, be much more serious. Considering such a change often starts in a situation, when the worker is not sure about their current employment. An extreme situation is losing a job and having problems with finding a new one. A long period of unemployment may mean a lack of qualifications required by employers at present. According to Manpower's research, as much as 46 per cent of employers in Poland struggle to find workers due to the lack of appropriate qualifications. Changing careers may be the only solution to the stalemate and an opportunity to acquire new skills.
Flexibility with common sense
It is worth remembering that a career change can refer to two platforms - branch modification or qualifications expansion. In the first case, the changes relate only to the branch of work - for example, a change from a building trade sales representative to a motor trade sales representative. A person going through this type of a career change possesses solid foundations connecting both branches (experience in sales and customer services as a sales representative) and only has to expand their branch-related knowledge.
The situation is a little bit more complicated in the case of a career change relating to the qualifications - for instance, a change from being a sales representative to a financial analyst. This kind of change requires more commitment and work. Apart from that, a change in qualification is a long term educational process (as well as a new academic course, a post graduate course). The early days of working in a new profession are also connected to a lower salary (due to the lack of professional experience or suitable knowledge).
How to make the right decision on the level of a career change? Which path to follow to make sure that the changes made in one's life will not be fruitless? What is the easiest way to get a new job? Learning a new profession will be easiest, when it's connected to a person's natural predispositions. If preparing for the new position is difficult and time-consuming, then it probably isn't the right direction to follow - says Tomasz Wiśniewski - A profession compatible with one's own 'flow' is one that is enjoyable and not tiring. Knowing one's own personality profile will make it easier to decide what job a person is looking for and to eliminate those, in which the person could turn out to be inefficient. For example, my main profile is a Supporter and I know that I should work in a team, I can promote new ideas and products, and I am also good at customer service. However, I definitely should not be designing new products or services, analyze numeral data, create nor improve systems, nor look after financial resources. It does not mean that I cannot learn these things, but other people will do them better, faster and with more pleasure. If we have to learn something and spend an adequate amount of time on that, we could even learn to write with our foot. But on today's competitive job market there is no time for that. We have to deliver results quickly for our employer or clients, and sometimes give something extra, more than is expected of us. It is only possible if we work with a passion, because we do what we love - he adds.
While considering a career change it is also important, to remember to retain a work stability in one's professional career. Making key changes in a person's job may appeal to the employer. But a CV that is too chaotic, full of positions incompatible with the direction of one's career will not prompt employers to hire professionally unstable workers. Therefore it is important to use common sense and make only those changes, which will be partly coherent with the current career.
- 1
- 2