Ask the Employment Specialist: Making a Career Change

Dear Joanna,

I was laid off recently from my work as a Lab Technician in a large pharmaceutical company. There is almost no work in this field as a result of the cutbacks in government funding of research and development. I am receiving Employment Insurance for the year and am seriously considering retraining and changing my career. I was considering the field of Nursing which I was told is a ‘recession proof’ choice.

However, I am afraid to go back to school. I belong to the mature worker category and am concerned about the costs, making this change, the commitment it requires and whether or not I should do this.

Am I ready for such a huge transformation in my working life?

Signed: Fearful Career Changer (FCC)

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Dear FCC,

According to JVS Toronto’s Employment Counsellor and Social Media Specialist, Karin Lewis, one is never too old to make a career change or to go back to school. Indeed stresses Lewis, there is a huge commitment involved to changing a career as well as being a huge challenge. It does get more difficult, she adds. In addition to incurring debt, Lewis posits, since you have been out of formal education for a while, your mind might not feel as sharp as it used to be, and being a student will be a very new experience with its own obstacles. Lewis however, does highly recommend that it’s important not to have regrets. Time flies and if you have aspirations for a new career, she advises to go for it.

Regarding possible financial help, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Education offers unemployed eligible residents a program called Second Career. There is an extensive and complicated application process with eligibility criteria and suitability assessments, to name a few. If you do get accepted, you can retrain with some government financial assistance. Once again, this process requires a large commitment of time, energy, efforts and research. JVS Toronto and other Employment Ontario centres have Employment Counsellors who specialize in processing Second Career program applications. They are also able to direct you to other possible financial resources, including the Ontario Student Assistance Program, which offers a loan with very reasonable repayment arrangement.

In the meantime, below are some strategies that you can leverage while checking out the training and education requirements. You are facing similar challenges as those facing new graduates, internationally trained newcomers or someone who is returning to the workforce after a long absence. I’ve written columns on this topic based on my clients’ questions, and I would recommend similar strategies on how to approach your new career path:

1. Set Goals.

“Go to the market” cites Tudor Robins in one of her fantastic 10 Tips for Making a Successful Career Change in Canadian Living magazine. She is adamant that career changers need to get out and make contacts. Develop a project plan for your career change, complete with 30, 60 and 90 day goals to keep your search on track. Focus about 30 percent of your efforts on “public” positions — those posted in want ads or on job boards — and spend the rest of your time exploring opportunities you find through research and your network.

2. Research the labour market in your field.

Identify current nurse-related job postings, read the descriptions and select those which are appealing to you as your dream job. I would analyse the job descriptions to try and identify the types of training, education, skills and experience are required. What are the duties and responsibilities? There should be a pattern of requirements. This could give you an idea of what you will need to learn for your future and new career.

3. Network, using Social Media.

Research other professionals who are employed as nurses in the local market on LinkedIn. Review their resumes, work history, education, training, etc. This information should give you a sense of how these healthcare practitioners built their careers. Everyone has to start somewhere.

4. Conduct Information Interviews or Engage in Job Shadowing.

After you have a clear picture of the job market and what you will need to learn, I recommend that you identify healthcare professionals who are employed through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and hospital or healthcare institutions (or the organizations that you would like to work at one day). This is a great networking and learning tool to gain knowledge in your new field.

5. Volunteer.

While you in the process of checking out financial assistance and information about your future career, try to start building your resume on your own. Contact the volunteer managers or even the executive directors of the organizations that you have identified in your research as potential future employers. Cold call the individual and ask for opportunities to contribute (research the organization and employees on LinkedIn and Google, etc, if possible before you call).

As I suggest to anyone who is struggling with job search and gaining concrete experience and relevant and current references, approach the volunteer coordinators with an idea  that you will do the jobs which no one likes to do. This is no time to be proud. Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door and start by building a reputation that you are a “Go-To” person. Get noticed through volunteering!

You would be surprised how quickly the word spreads quickly. Once you prove yourself to your supervisor and team where you volunteer, you can start asking for more related work in your field. BE FLEXIBLE regarding your volunteer tasks! This is a great strategy to network, secure some concrete and relevant experience on your resume, learn about your field, gain some references and be engaged in your field of choice and start building your career.

6. Gain Sector Knowledge and Gather Information.

Associations, clubs, sector-specific groups are great places to network and gain industry knowledge and information regarding your new field. Many of the associations cost a lot of money. Join groups in LinkedIn. Research the ones which are appropriate for your sector and industry. Call the Executive Director or the volunteer coordinator of organizations (research names on LinkedIn).

7. Keep busy.

Keep a structure in your daily life while you look for work. As I mentioned in past columns on motivation, you can do this on an online calendar or in your day-timer. Break the day down into hours. Each hour should be dedicated to a different activity related to achieving your dream career goal.  For example, from 8:30 – 9:30 am, check your emails and 9 – 10 am, respond; between 10 – 11 am, research companies. After lunch, use  the afternoon to cold call for information sessions with professionals in your field. You can work at your desk at home, or you can work at the library. Insert time for a break and meal time. I recommend always getting dressed up as if you were going to work. Don’t hang around in your pajamas. Get out as much as possible from your home. Feel free to attend job search workshops, receive individual employment counselling help (you may wish to explore Second Career) and access to employer information sessions in your field and job opportunities

It’s important to remember that that time flies quickly, says Karin Lewis. Don’t get stuck in the trap of your fears related to returning to school, or changing your career. If you don’t do this now, you will have regrets, which will probably be more painful and difficult than actually pursing your dream job.

All the best with the road ahead,

Joanna

To submit your questions for this column IN CONFIDENCE, please email dearjoanna@jvstoronto.org.

Ask the Employment Specialist: Information interviews for career change

Dear Joanna,

I am currently working as an inside sales representative at an IT company. I’m getting positive feedback on my performance from my manager and team members. I am meeting my monthly sales quotas, and am considered by my manager and peers as an excellent team player. I work hard and long hours.

But this is not my dream job. I would love to someday work as a project manager who helps organizations streamline their business systems and processes to be more effective and productive. On my own time, I enjoy designing flowcharts, researching, data collection and analysis, reporting and presenting the results. All these skills are part of my dream job as a business analyst. But, I also love working with teams, people and influencing others in a sales type way. How can I pursue my dream career while working full-time?

Signed: Do Dream Jobs Come True? (DDJCT)

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Dear DDJCT,

Kudos to you for having a dream and going after it, especially pursing a career path of interest. My first suggestion is to move into a mind-set of a Business Analyst by researching as much as possible about the profession, collecting facts and data on the career and its path required, including experience, education and skills. Take small steps first. Information is power and implementation is even more powerful!

I would recommend setting up information interview sessions with professionals whose job you would like to have one day.

As you already apply as a sales representative, I would follow the sales model of business. Research companies in the sector or industry you are interested in (for example IT) which hire Business Analysts (where you might be interested in working one day). Then, find an employed Business Analyst who you could cold call to ask for about 10-15 minutes of their time to get information about this profession. LinkedIn, BeKnown, Facebook, Twitter are great places to start for online networking and search out the names of people in positions to eventually cold call. Give them a call, write a follow up email and try to secure a meeting.

A good source for tips on how to conduct information sessions and the questions to ask can be found at Canadian Careers.

JVS Toronto’s “Job Search Workshop Manual 2010”, prepared by our Employment Counsellor Jeannette and her team has some fantastic strategies and suggestions on how to conduct information interviews:

“An information interview is a meeting between you and someone who is already working in/hiring for a position similar to the one you are interested in for the purpose of research and networking. Information interviews are a powerful tool when researching an occupation, field, or specific company or agency. Many have used this technique to prepare and target their resumes, determine the skills that employers are looking for and predict which questions are most likely to be asked during an interview.

Some key points to remember about Information Interviews are:

They: ~

• usually take 15-20 minutes
• allow you to ask key questions that are not answered in books or on websites
• get you an inside look at companies/agencies you are interested in
• help to establish contacts in the field you have targeted
• are not a sneaky way to ask for a job!

Remember to: ~

• DRESS neatly and conservatively
• ARRIVE 5 or 10 minutes ahead of time
• BRING a folder with:
  •  a list of questions and information
  • writing paper
  • your resume
  • your business or calling card (if you have one)

FOLLOW UP is critical after an information meeting. Send a thank you letter or email as soon as possible, in which you make reference to one point of interest from your discussion. Continue the relationship and keep the person up to date, especially regarding tips or referrals that were given. Ask, but do not expect each contact to share his/her network with you.

Consider this part of the process of building your own professional network.

I hope this helps you with the first major step in figuring out if this is, indeed, a profession for you to pursue where there are actual employment opportunities, clarifying the certification/accreditation required, and figuring out how will you attain the actual experience on your resume, to help you make this transition effectively.

All the best with your new career.

Signed,
Joanna

To submit your questions for this column IN CONFIDENCE, please email dearjoanna@jvstoronto.org.

Thinking About A Career Change? Part 1: Navigating through the maze of options

If you find yourself dreading Mondays and living for the weekends, clock watching, day dreaming and having no passion or interest in your current job, chances are that a career change may be in order.

For some, even a lay-off can become a great opportunity to re-evaluate their situation and consider options.

Before taking any leaps into the unknown, it might be a good idea to ask yourself some questions:

• Are you willing to invest the time, energy and perhaps additional training/schooling necessary to make the change?
• Do you know what it is you want to do and have you researched the new career?

If the answer is “yes” to the first question, but “no” to the second, you might want to spend some time considering potential career paths.   The first steps include identifying personal core values that are essential for you in the workplace.  You bring meaning and purpose to your life and a high level of engagement and energy to your job, if your it is in line with your interests, values and aptitudes.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What am I passionate about?
• What does my perfect work day look like? (e.g. working indoors or out? With a team or alone? at a computer, machine or truck all day or interacting with people? How do I prefer to dress — casually or formally?)

I recommend spending time to explore interests and options. A good way to get started is by getting your hands on the book What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles (which you should find at most libraries). In this book, you’ll find many exercises that will help you identify your skills, values, interests along with exploring your personality type, preferred working environment, etc.  The online service Career Cruising can also be a valuable online tool which you can access at a JVS Employment Source Centre near you.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down you should create an action plan. Identify the steps required to make the career change. Make a list of what you want to achieve, and then use SMART goal setting to ensure that they’re Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Do you need additional skills and training? If so you will need to budget for tuition fees, living expenses etc.

What transferable skills do you already have that will help you in your next career? Enlisting the assistance of a career coach or employment counsellor is helpful with the decision-making process. You will also want to start networking and considering workplaces that suit your values and interests.

A career change requires commitment, action, research, planning and hard work. In my upcoming blog posts I’ll talk about more strategies to make that career change a reality.

Making a successful career change: Q&A with recent career changer, Kim Phelan

Tired of your daily routine, disgruntled with your job? Thinking about a career change? Being a “career changer” myself I am always interested in hearing other’s stories about why the left their occupation, how they found their passion, managed their transition and what advice they may have for others considering a change. I recently had the opportunity to interview Kim Phelan, owner of Down to Earth Décor (interior decorating) about her recent career change.

Q:  Kim, tell me a bit about your background and what you were doing before your career change
A:  I have a degree in Psychology with a Minor in Economics and I took a Post-graduate Diploma in Business. I’ve always wanted to be in business, so I focused my job searching in that area once I graduated.  I started my career in Marketing at a Software Company. I managed trade shows, marketing collateral, sales support etc. After a while I became very involved with the software product itself. I did competitive research, product marketing and over time became a product manager & a director of product management. A product manager is basically a “CEO” of a product — they figure out what customers want, what to build and make sure it all happens.

Q:  What motivated you to change careers, and why did you move from marketing to interior decorating? 
A:  After 15 years in marketing and product management, I found that I was no longer challenged. There were no problems I hadn’t encountered in some way before and it wasn’t very motivating.  What I did find motivating was my home projects, home decor and different refinishing projects. I like using my hands, and seeing my vision come to reality. So when my last job ended, I reflected (with the help of my partner) on what I actually loved to do; software didn’t make the list but interior decorating did.

Q:Did the change require going back to school? How did you manage the transition and how did you know that this occupation would be suited to you?
A: To become an Interior Decorator, I needed to go back to school.  I researched my options for length of program, the qualifications I’d have when I graduated and the reputations of the schools. In the end, I decided to take a diploma in Interior Decorating from George Brown. Because I wanted to do residential design only, I didn’t need to become an Interior Designer; a Decorator was enough. I decided to do the part-time program in a full-time manner, so I was done the program in 10 months compared to the 3 years part-time it usually takes. I knew that the program was for me because of what I did in my spare time: I loved tracking style trends, and doing home renovation projects. When I reviewed the Diploma curriculum, I was very excited by each course that was listed. I knew that this was the path for me. It allowed me to capitalize on my past experience running a business, marketing and managing technical people, while still allowing me to be creative. Creativity was something that I had relegated to my home life, not my work life up until that point; the ability to combine the two seemed  too good to be true.

Q: Did you do information interviews beforehand, have mentors or have some kind of exposure to the world of interior decorating?
A: I read a lot of information about the industry and how the jobs worked, from blogs and other publications. I spoke to some seasoned Interior Designers about my plans and incorporated their advice. I also spoke to potential customers. As a Product Manager, my old job was to understand what the customer needed and what problems they had, so I used that skill in a new area.  By interviewing people who I knew I was able to understand the type of business that I wanted to run and how I could become successful.

Q:  What advice can you give to a potential entrepreneur interested in building a business?
A: Understand what you will offer, what makes you different.  Talk to the people you think would be your ideal client.  Understand the problems they want solved. If you can position yourself in a way that speaks to the pains your customer has, that’s half the battle.

Q:What challenges did you face (ie: loss of income/financial, back to school stress/anxiety, loss of former identity?) and how did you manage?
A: I definitely had a loss of income, but I was able to overcome that with a supportive partner and funding from Employment Insurance for retraining. Because I had been an expert in my former career, I often had to battle the idea that I don’t know it all yet.  Although that seems logical, after years of knowing what to do in most situations, most of my stress comes from not knowing the answer and having to figure it out on the fly. Because I am a home based business I was able to avoid much of the upfront costs that a lot of companies have. I decided I wanted to keep my costs low initially to reduce my stress level.

Q:  What advice would you give to someone considering a career change?
A: You are only limited by your imagination. By sitting down and figuring out what you love, you may discover a totally new career for yourself.

Q: How do you define success?
A: I define success in a few ways:
The first is happiness: Am I happy every day? Do I feel inspired by what I do?
The second is reputation: Are my clients happy? do they give me referrals? am I running a business that is fair and ethical?
The third is monetary: Am I running a business that is making money? Am I running it effectively? This doesn’t mean being a millionaire, but it does mean having enough.
So for me success is running a business that makes me happy, allows me to sleep at night and provides me with a comfortable living.

Kim, many thanks for the interview! Kim’s website is Down to Earth Décor

 

If you are thinking of making a career change, but not sure about your direction, start with some self exploration. Brainstorm possible options with friends, family and Career/Employment Counsellors, and target fields of interest with in-depth research.  Labour market analysis, information interviews, job shadowing, networking, connecting with associations should all be part of your information gathering (have a look at our blog post on this topic).  Kim assessed why she was unhappy and took time to discover what motivated her.  She spoke to seasoned professionals in the field (and potential clients) in order to gain valuable advice about her career change and that along with researching, returning to school and her background in business all laid the path for a successful career change.

You can assess your interests, values and skills through the exercises in the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles (10 Speed Press)

Other recommended books include:

• I Don’t know What I Want But I Know It’s Not This: A Set By Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work by Julie Jansen (Penguin Books, 2003)
• I Want Something Else, But I’m Not Sure What It Is by Ron and Caryn Krannich (Impact Publications, 2005)
• 12 Steps to a New Career: What to Do When You Want to Make a Change Now! By Carl J. Wellenstein (Career Press, 2009)
• How to Start a Home-Based Business by Bert Holtje and Susan Shelly (Morris Book Publishing 2010)
• 50 Best Jobs for Your Personality by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin (Jist Publishing, 2005)

 

At JVS Toronto we offer services to assist individuals to explore careers:

• Career Exploration Workshops at our Employment Source Centres
• In depth one-on-one  Career Counselling services