Yearlong career-change timeline

Editor’s Note: This is the second of 12 columns on making a career change which appear the second Sunday of the month, from September through August. Last month’s column presented questions to consider when changing careers. — Amy Lindgren

Making your careerchange timeline

Have you been considering a change in careers? Perhaps you’re feeling burned out on your current path, or maybe you just want to try something new. It could be that something has been calling to you, but you haven’t known how to go after it.

Whatever the situation, you’re in luck. Career change is the subject of my Second Sunday series this year, with 12 columns devoted to this process. In last month’s column, we looked at the questions you may need to answer before changing careers: Is now the right time? Do you know what you want to do next? Would you retrain or relocate if necessary?

If your anxiety is rising with those queries, that’s pretty normal. While it can be exciting to imagine something new, getting down to the nitty gritty can feel very real. As in, really challenging, really confusing, and at some point, really too late to turn back.

No worries — when you get to that stage, you’ll be ready. That’s because you’ll be following a process that helps ensure you’re getting the result you want.

The process itself can be divided into a handful of steps, or into even smaller parts to keep things manageable. To start, it’s helpful to remember there are three primary stages to a career change: Deciding what to do next, preparing for the new career, and conducting a job search to get started in the new field.

Those are still pretty big categories, so I usually break the whole shebang into 12 steps, using a monthly calendar as the template.

Month 1 – Gather a list of ideas for the new work: Take assessments, meet with a counselor, get recommendations from friends, review past goals, etc.

Month 2 – Conduct internet research, then narrow the list to three or fewer ideas.

Month 3 – Dig deeper on your short list by meeting with people in those fields for informational interviews. When possible, the ideal is three interviews for each of your three ideas. Your objective is real-time, local information about the ups and downs of each career, from people currently holding those jobs. Use this research to select your top option. This is not a “point of no return,” but you should be able to imagine yourself in this work.

Month 4 – Join a professional association and begin attending meetings, while also reviewing related newsletters and podcasts to familiarize yourself with different parts of the field or industry.

Month 5 – Conduct more in-depth informational interviews, which will help you identify potential employers to contact later.

Month 6 – If possible, shadow people in the field, to better understand the work itself. Start acquiring rele- vant experience or education through training, volunteering, or part-time jobs. Otherwise, identify your weaknesses for the new work and strategize ways to compensate, including tasks you can take on in your current workplace to build new skills.

Month 7 – Confirm salaries for different roles in the field, then create a budget based on your likely pay. If the amount would be less than past salaries, experiment by adjusting your living expenses now.

Month 8 – Revise your resume and LinkedIn to reflect your new career goals and the skills you’re gaining.

Month 9 – List 25 companies where you can imagine working, and network to find managers in the departments you would likely work in. Email five managers and express interest in meeting to discuss current or future openings.

Month 10 – Expand your job search by responding to relevant postings.

Month 11 – Review your process so far. Are you getting interviews yet? If not, connect with a mentor or career advisor for ideas.

Month 12 – Accept or negotiate your new position, give notice at your current job(s), and send out the news to everyone you’ve met during the year. Then continue your training and networking to keep growing in your new field.

If you want to complete this project more quickly, simply collapse the timeline to conduct more steps per month. Conversely, if your plan includes training, you may need to delay the job search phase until you’re further into your classes.

It’s your turn: Using this model as a guide, commit at least the first few steps to your calendar. Then come back next month for another round of career change strategy.