FIND A NEW JOB WITH US

Think carefully before making the decision to switch career, Corinne Mills tells Gary Flockhart

Most of us consider changing career paths at some stage of our adult lives – but you have to be realistic and practical before making such a big decision.

According to leading career coach Corinne Mills, the first thing to think about is why do you want to change career.

“It’s important to be very, very clear about the reasons why you are changing, because changing career isn’t necessarily very easy,” she says.

Corinne points out that there are all sorts of loops that you will have to go through, and you will have to give “a very convincing narrative to any employer who is going to hire you” about why you are better than the conventional candidate.

“The danger is if people haven’t thought through why they want to change career, sometimes it can inadvertently replicate what they’ve just left,” she says. “They might say something like ‘I want a better work/life balance’, and then they go into something else and find themselves in a similar situation.

Secondly, says Corinne, you’ve got to reality check it.

“Most employers will tell you exactly what they want and you really need to have ticked off most, if not all, of the criteria in the job advert if you are going to get hired.

“It’s no good saying, ‘Well, I’ve got most of it, but this thing I haven’t got’. Sometimes people say ‘I’ve been a manager, so I can be a manager anywhere’. It doesn’t work like that. Yes, you’ve got management capabilities, but often if you’re looking to work in a different sector they will want experience in that sector.”

Another piece of advice is to talk to someone who works in that field.

“Some jobs can sound so interesting and appealing, but the nitty-gritty is: can you earn the money you need doing that job?” says Corinne. “Is it what you think it is? Is the day-to-day experience of working in that role how you envisaged it to be? Often it isn’t.”

The third thing you’ll need to do is sell yourself correctly.

“Never sell yourself as a careerchanger,” advises Corinne. “Quite often people put that they’re ‘looking for a new career challenge’ on their CV. That just screams out: ‘I used to do something completely different’. That’s not going to work most of the time.

“I think what you have to do is really pluck out all of your transferable skills. You have to be able to show that whatever you’re applying for next is like a natural evolution from what you’ve been doing previously rather than a radical shift.

“That’s the way you need to present it on your CV.”

“Most employers will tell you exactly what they want and you really need to have ticked off most, if not all, of the criteria in the job advert if you’re going to get hired”

Corinne Mills Career coach