Reinventing Your Career

Is your career at a dead end? Have you exhausted your options?

Or, are you just tired of working in a certain field? Do you just want to erase everything and start over?

If you have asked yourself any of the above, you just might be ready for a career change. In fact, you may be ready to completely reinvent yourself professionally. But, can you make that leap?…

Here are some initial steps you need to take to begin a career reinvention process:

You need to reassess.

Switching careers is never easy. In fact, it’s an uphill battle. It takes time and requires substantial effort, beginning with soul searching and serious self-evaluation to understand what’s driving your need for change. Once you clearly know why you want to switch your career, you can start thinking about how to make it happen.

You need to repackage your skills

The more years you spend in a field, the more “pigeon-holed” you become.

You’ve become that “round peg that fits in that round hole.” This is both “good” and “bad”:  the “bad” is that pigeon holes are devilishly hard to climb out of, making reinvention “tricky”; the “good” is that, while in your “pigeon hole,” you have honed specific skills that may well prove to be your ticket to flying high again.

The beauty is that your well honed skills – slightly repackaged and often freshened/upgraded — can be your springboard to a different career track because they are often applicable in different contexts.

As an example, your managerial skills or project management skills may help you effectively manage a new team of workers in a completely unrelated field. For skill areas that are seriously outdated or non-existent, you will need to figure out ways to update them/foster them with classes, or through volunteer opportunities.

You need to refurbish and rebuild your professional image

Switching careers is also about rebuilding and refurbishing your professional persona – your personal brand, your professional network, your resume.

If you can afford it, get professional help with your resume. It’s worth every penny. Think of it as an investment in your future. Actively take advantage of social media and reconnect with your Alma Mater’s alumni groups for networking purposes.

And reach out to mentors and managers from the past for advice and guidance, as well as for references.

The career economy is rapidly changing given new and rapidly evolving technologies for connecting, engaging and collaborating with people around the globe.

With the career landscape in such flux, the timing is better than ever for reinventing yourself and rediscovering your passion for your work. You can rediscover the passion!