You can have a number of reasons for changing a career. Best case scenario is that you’re simply looking for a new challenge in your life or a bigger paycheck. However, sometimes you’re forced to do that. The job market is getting more and more turbulent and the percentage of precarious workforce is not getting any lower. Today, an average person changes 12 jobs before retirement, with this number probably getting bigger in the future.
Anyway, changing a job or even a career doesn’t necessarily have to be a traumatic experience, especially if you’re doing it willingly. One of the conditions to be fulfilled for a smooth career change is to successfully rebrand yourself. Here are a few tips on how to do that right.
Shift Your Focus
First and foremost, you need to realize that from now on, the way you present yourself to other people, in terms of skills, qualities and experience, has to change. Therefore, try omitting the details from your biography that have nothing to do with your new career path. As for the other qualities you possess, you ought to emphasize those that are transferable and applicable to your new job.
This is the most elementary thing to do in any given environment – at work (if you already got a job in your desired new industry), when applying for a job, on social media or while making new contacts. Naturally, most of us feel more comfortable talking about what we’ve been doing than about a field we’re only about to get into. But this is not taking you anywhere. If you’re not convinced that you have the required abilities for this sort of change, then you can’t make anyone else believe you.
Once you definitely decided you need a change, stick to it and try to remember all the activities you’ve been involved in that can be related to your desired career and write them down. Build a coherent and credible story around it that can explain the shift and always highlight the details from your career that are relevant for your new employer.
Learn New Skills
Obviously, you’ll have to do some learning and get familiar with your new job. We live in an era where you can basically learn everything you want online all by yourself. Nevertheless, attending some courses and workshops, either online or in person, is definitely a good idea, especially if you’re going to get some sort of certificate that can be significant for your employer. Showing that you have the talent, the potential and some transferable skills is not enough – you’ll also have to show you’re knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the industry you’re getting into. If you are in managerial level, Aston University offers an online MBA for Canadians, you can enroll yourself for higher education and show indication of your strong interest about your job.
Social Media Presence
In a way, it’s much easier to brand yourself today than just a few decades ago, thanks to the internet and especially social networks. You have a platform you can use to build your own image by picking the right information you’d like share with others. The moment you decide to change your career, you have to change the way you pick which info you’ll share publicly. This especially goes for your LinkedIn profile, but for other social networks as well. Moreover, if you run a blog or a website, changing the focus in terms of topics you cover and language you use is a must.
If you were really successful in your previous career and gained a lot of followers and admirers on social media, then changing how people perceive you will probably be a bit more complicated. It’ll take a lot of effort to fully rebrand your public image, including your voice and the visual elements – if you employed any in your social media strategy. In this case, getting some help from professional brand consultants or branding and logo design agencies is a reasonable idea.
Make New Contacts
Proper networking is crucial for your rebranding efforts. This means both meeting people in person and connecting with them online. As for the former, you can employ several strategies. For instance, if you’re attending courses to get prepared for the new career, this can be a good place to meet a person or two you could speak to and ask for help. Furthermore, if you’re looking for career-changing opportunities inside your own company, then volunteering for cross-departmental activities is a good start. Connecting to other employees or decision-makers form the relevant departments can be beneficial for you.
When it comes to online networking, reaching out to influencers and getting involved in industry-related discussions is always a good strategy. Just make sure you have enough knowledge on the topic and that you can really add something valuable to the conversation. Otherwise, this tactic can easily backfire.
Set Your Mind
At the end of the day, all the carefully designed branding strategies won’t do much if you can’t wrap your mind around the fact that you’re on a new path now. Once you convince yourself that this is the path you should take and adapt your mindset accordingly, doing proper rebranding will be a much easier task. It’s not something you’ll do once and then sit back and relax, it’s something you’ll be doing every day at every step of your future career.
Bud, it’s great how you mentioned that it’s much easier nowadays to establish a strong brand than 10-20 years ago. You just need to be creative and social media can surely help you engage the target audience and reach your goals.