You have decided to change your profession — where to start

What should you do if you want to change your profession? Practical guide. But before reading, subscribe to our Telegram channel. We often publish such valuable articles! 

In our time, some professions are dying, and others are emerging. Typically, a person changes his profession several times in his life. Look around you. You are not alone.

Think again

Think about why you decided to change your profession. Ask yourself: "What do I expect from these changes? Why is this important to me? How will I know that I have achieved what I wanted?" Here are all the questions you need to ask yourself. Speak aloud answers to these questions, and write down thoughts on paper. Find out 5 myths that prevent people from changing their profession. Try job crafting to restart your career without changing jobs.

Get ready to work. Choosing a new profession is also work. Nobody will do it for you. The good news is that this is not exhausting work but fascinating research.

Prepare yourself financially or mentally. Create an airbag for the time until you join a new profession. The employer will likely offer you, as a young specialist, a lower salary than an employee with experience.

Choosing a direction of activity

To do this:

Use personality tests — for example, personality test. The test will show what is closer to your character and in what roles or positions it will be uncomfortable for you to work.

Think about what you enjoy doing. Get a notebook for two weeks to note your emotions during activities. Why are you ready to get up at 5 am? Try to do something atypical: walk a new path, meet people, and start unusual hobbies.

Read reviews of new professions. They are moving towards automation, developing online and digital products. They will be in demand in the next 5-10 years.

Think about the skills you could use in a new profession. Maybe you can change the department and not the company? Is it possible to upgrade your profession? For example, an HR manager tired of the routine turns into a digital product specialist and creates a chatbot with a team of programmers that will eliminate the routine.

Look for stories of people around you, and ask how they changed their profession. It does not mean that you need to copy someone else’s experience. But at the research stage, any opportunity will not be excessive.

Write down the resulting options for possible professions.

Testing hypotheses

Now, let’s check which of the selected ones can suit you. To do this, you can use the technique of career prototypes. A prototype is a minimal version of professional transformation. In short, you don’t need to invest in starting your restaurant to see if the restaurant business is right for you. It is enough to get a job as a manager in a cafe to test this hypothesis.

Such a prototype could be:

  • Internship in another department of the home company. Discuss with your manager the possibility of working a few hours weekly in another department.
  • Communication with experts from a new field. It can be face-to-face communication at a conference or in a professional community on Facebook or collecting information about how these people entered the profession, what they do and how they develop.
  • Educational course. For example, free or paid courses in digital professions: new skills, practice, communication with professionals from a new industry, and a company of like-minded people. It is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the profession quickly and, as part of the course and internship, after trying your hand at a new business. With this approach, immediately after training, you can find a job.

The prototype means you do not immediately invest time and money in something global but in short intervals. Happened? Great, let’s move on. Realized it’s not yours? It doesn’t matter. You at least have new skills and a list of hypotheses. Let’s move on to the next one.

Life hacks

Do not give in no matter how much you want to quit your tedious job this minute. An unconscious mind will save you from ill-conceived jerks. Practice shows that it is possible to change a profession gradually, without interruption from the main job:

  • You can complete the course without leaving your job. 
  • Be aware of the possibility of transition within the company. 
  • You can try freelancing or go part-time.

Conclusions

  • If you understand that you need to change something, change it thoughtfully.
  • Study yourself and your characteristics. No one will do this for you. See what opportunities are on the market.
  • Choose the most exciting areas, start testing hypotheses, and work on prototypes.
  • Learn and try new skills in action.

Take the Menteora career guidance test; artificial intelligence will name your most suitable professions. The accuracy of the test is 70-80% because we use a mathematical-statistical algorithm (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).