
5 BIG Career Change Mistakes

After months (maybe even years) of careful thought, you have decided that the time is finally right to make a career change. This is one of the biggest decisions of your professional life and it will have a significant impact on your quality of life moving forward.
Buckle up! This change won't happen overnight and it's going to be a roller coaster of a process.
As you navigate your way through the career change process, here are five mistakes to avoid:
Mistake #1: Believing That A Career Change Will Be Easy
As alluded to in the opening paragraphs, the career change process is a roller coaster ride of emotions and there's nothing easy about it! Some people go into the process, think they'll apply for a few jobs, and just hope something will come together. Then, after the setbacks mount, they lose confidence and become frustrated.
You need to take a step back and taper your expectations.
The job market is as competitive as ever and, depending on how long you were at your previous job, the job search process has changed significantly. From the way you find jobs, apply for jobs, and interview for jobs, the process is not the same as it used to be.
Mistake #2: Not Doing Enough ResearchYou've decided you don't want to continue with your current career path and have narrowed in on another career to pursue.
Guess what? That's not enough!
You need to research the industry you're going into to see how many of your professional skills will transfer over to the new career field. You also need to take a serious inventory of the skills that you're lacking and investigate your options for upskilling to gain those valuable skills. This may be the most difficult of all the career change challenges. However, addressing it early in the job search process will only benefit you more in the long run.
In addition to all of that, you need to have a strong understanding of the state of the industry you're targeting. Some industries, such as journalism, are struggling and seeing significant reductions in the workforce while other professions are in danger of being automated. It's important to make sure that the profession you're going into is better than the one you're leaving behind.
It's also important to research salaries for the profession, so there are no surprises as you go along in the process (more on that in a bit).
Mistake #3: Attacking The Career Change Process AloneBigstock
If you've neglected your professional network or don't have one, you may want to make that your first priority before starting your job search.
A career change is hard enough as it is, but very few people are able to accomplish it without a little help. This is where your professional network comes in handy. Talking to former colleagues, professional acquaintances, and mentors can not only help shape your career path, but they may also be able to recommend companies that may be a good fit for you and make some initial introductions.
If your professional network needs some work, try to reach out to colleagues to see if they're willing to introduce you to some professionals in their networks. In addition, you may want to look into attending some local networking events to meet new people.
Online networking tools such as LinkedIn also give job seekers an opportunity to run their own proactive job searches. If you've identified some companies that you're interested in, you can use LinkedIn to connect with people at those companies. You can also contact the recruiter for those companies.
Your networking efforts should run concurrently with your job search.
Mistake #4: Neglecting Your ResumeBigstock
There may have been a time a long time ago when a one-size-fits-all resume was fine but it's not like that now. Every resume needs to be tailored to the specific job you're targeting. The modern-day recruiter handles so many resumes that they only have time to skim them.
You basically have six seconds to get that recruiter's attention, so all the relevant skills that you possess for that job need to be at the top of your resume.
There are still some people that fall into the trap of spending most of their time writing a good cover letter but using the same resume over and over again. Both documents deserve an equal amount of attention. It may take a little extra time but it beats being repeatedly passed over for job interviews.
Mistake #5: Expecting To Make More MoneyBigstock
If you're making a career change just to make more money, you may be in for a surprise.
Sure, depending on your industry and professional experience, there are some career changes that lead to instant raises.
But in many cases, any financial gain that comes from career change happens in the long term, not the short term. It's very possible that you'll have to take a pay cut initially until you prove yourself in your new position. This is especially true if a company takes a chance and hires you with little experience. The company wants to make sure you can do the job before it makes a significant investment.
That's why it's important to do salary research early in the process and plan accordingly.
The job search process isn't easy, but if you take the proper steps, it doesn't have to be miserable. Hopefully by avoiding these five mistakes, making a career change will be a little less daunting and intimidating. And (even though it didn't make the list) make sure you don't prematurely quit your current job before you've secured a new one (unless you have the resources) because even the smoothest career changes take a little time.
Need more help with your career change?
We'd love it if you signed up for Work It Daily's Event Subscription! Get your career questions answered in our next live event!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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Do you have a LinkedIn account just for the sake of having a LinkedIn account? If so, you're not alone. Many people create a LinkedIn profile, fill out the basic information, and never touch their profile again. That's a BAD strategy!
The problem with this approach is that you don't take the time to learn how to navigate or leverage LinkedIn to your advantage.
LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for those looking for new career opportunities. There's an option in the platform's security settings that allows the user to let recruiters know they are open to new opportunities.
Even if you're happy in your career, you never want to close yourself off to new and exciting possibilities. In addition to career opportunities, LinkedIn is beneficial for networking and meeting new contacts to exchange ideas, which will help you build your personal brand and stay relevant in your industry.
Here are a few ways to make better use of your LinkedIn profile:
Use Content To Your AdvantageIt's hard to get noticed on LinkedIn if you don't stand out, and one easy way to stand out is by using content to your advantage. Content is king!
Remain active on LinkedIn by consistently posting content about your industry and company. You can do this by creating your own content (if you're an authority on a subject) or by sharing relevant and engaging articles. Posting relevant information about your profession helps to reinforce who you are as a professional and shows that you are engaged in your career.
To get better organized with posting content, create a content calendar for your page that reminds you to post so you don't fall behind.
Another way to stand out is by creating graphics for your content to make it more visual. Free online tools like Canva can assist you with graphics and images for your posts.
Update Your Profile RegularlyBigstock
As your career goes on, your job responsibilities will change, and you may even get promoted. It's important to put these changes on your LinkedIn profile because it shows a pattern of career growth. In addition, as your job responsibilities change, it may impact the skill sets and keywords that you want to feature in your headline and "About" section.
It's also important to highlight accomplishments when the opportunity presents itself. If you or your company win an award or recognition for work in the field, that information should be shared on your LinkedIn profile for personal branding purposes.
Build Your Professional NetworkLinkedIn is a good way to stay in touch with former colleagues, mentors, and other significant professionals in your industry. Having a large network that you're in contact with is important because these connections could potentially vouch for you when you're looking for a new career opportunity, or even refer you for a job.
Networking via LinkedIn is also a good way to get past the applicant tracking system (ATS). You can track down and potentially connect with a recruiter on LinkedIn to get your information directly into their hands.
Recruiters use platforms like LinkedIn to find top talent. It's not uncommon for those who are successful in their careers to get job offers before even knowing that a job is available. That's why it's important to put your LinkedIn profile to use.
By remaining active, you can easily make your LinkedIn profile work to your advantage. It shouldn't sit idly by wasting away!
Need more help with your LinkedIn profile?
Sign up for our FREE Resume & LinkedIn Bootcamp today to learn how to update your resume and LinkedIn profile the way recruiters want!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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Some people say that stirrups took the skill out of horse riding. Stirrups made it too easy for riders to stay on their horses.
PowerPoint is thought to have done the same for presentations. By organizing your ideas, thoughts, and information in a series of slides, meetings start to look the same.
PowerPoint is so ubiquitous that a meeting is almost not a meeting without some slides. Is there another way to communicate, or are we all doomed to experience “death by PowerPoint”?
There Are AlternativesBigstock
PowerPoint was invented less than a hundred years ago. Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Martin Luther, and Einstein didn’t let their lack of PowerPoint stop them! Perhaps it’s worth looking at some alternatives.
“Live & unplugged”
If your message is straightforward and doesn’t involve too many facts and figures, why not just stand up and say it?
This was how Cicero, Demosthenes, and Churchill spoke most of the time.
To make it work, you will need to prepare your message carefully. It will force you to boil it down to the basics and concentrate on what really matters.
If you’re going to answer questions, you’ll need to know your subject well enough to be able to think on your feet. You may want to “red team” possible questions and prepare your answers to them. See “further reading” for more details!
If someone asks you to share your content electronically, you can either have a document ready with speaker’s notes or get someone to film your conversation and share the recording.
Flipcharts
Flipcharts are an effective way to share “low-density” information visually.
They are also very useful for “co-creation,” where your presentation is more of a discussion and the output is something that you have created with your audience.
Paul Ardern, the Saatchi and Saatchi advertising legend, recommended making pitches for advertising campaign stories in this way. It allows customers to get involved in the creation process right from the start. It also demonstrates how willing you are to listen to your customers.
Sharing the results electronically is fairly easy. Simply take pictures of each completed page by phone and share them by email.
Word documents
Many people present PowerPoint slides with densely written text and diagrams.
Data projectors display whatever is on the screen, so if you have already written a Word document and you know which pages you want to show, why duplicate effort by copying text onto a PowerPoint file?
If the document is a draft, it’s also possible to get peoples’ input and edit it on the fly.
It adds a touch of authenticity to the meeting. You are showing the actual document. It makes sharing the information easier and more credible since what your audience sees during the presentation is what they get.
Spreadsheets
If you’re presenting numbers, such as an ROI or a set of cost estimates or accounts, you could just show your audience the spreadsheet with the calculations on it.
The advantage of this is, once again, you can discuss with the customer how accurate your estimations are and then make adjustments on the fly. This involves the customer in the creative process which will build trust.
Some salespeople have been known to deliberately make estimated costs that might be saved, such as salaries, lower than they really are. They then let their customers correct their figures, and so the final ROI figure goes up, and it looks like the customer discovered this for themselves.
Make a video
You may expect your audience to passively consume your message, or to ask questions later.
Why not just make a video, share it electronically, and give your audience a deadline by which they must submit questions?
Video editing software is readily available and not too difficult to learn. You can use it to mix media of different formats including audio, written text, and moving images.
Once the video is complete, it’s not too difficult to share it electronically.
Do you need a presentation at all?
If you are planning to read what is on the PowerPoint to your audience and then follow up with a question-and-answer session, why not just send them the text to read before the meeting?
This will give your audience more time to “digest” the information and they can prepare questions independently without worrying about the social aspect of asking questions in front of the group.
Let’s get in touch!
Are you planning a presentation? Would you like to brainstorm alternative delivery methods? Let’s talk and see what we can put together!
Further reading...
Here are some more articles on the topic of presentations:
Red Teaming – Defining Objection Handling Strategies & More
Sell The Hole, Not The Drill! How To Make A Successful Sales Presentation
How To Run A Brainstorming Session
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Originally posted on: https://www.workitdaily.com/career-change-mistakes