Social Business Success

Next week many colleges will be crazed with students and parents, as freshmen will be moving into their dorms to start a new chapter in their lives.  What about you?  Are you starting a new chapter in your life?

Just like college freshmen are starting a new chapter in their life, many professionals are starting a new chapter in their lives.  More specifically they have changed careers.  Changing careers takes a lot of energy, time, heart and courage.  While some people land positions in the field they’ve been in for years, for the career changer it takes time.

Cal State Fresno Freshmen move in.

People change careers for a number of reasons.  One reason is that people are not happy with their previous position.  Why people change careers is not the focus of this blog.  The actual process of the career change is.

When changing careers, it’s a good idea to choose a profession in which you’re passionate about doing.  Once you’ve decided on what your new profession will, now you’ll need to chart a plan.  Do you need retraining?  If so, what does your educational path look like?  How do you plan on getting experience?

Let’s talk about how does one get the experience?  It’s what was you found out when you looked for a job after college.  “I won’t get hired because I don’t have experience.  How can I get experience if I don’t get hired?”  It’s time roll up your sleeves and start volunteering.  However, find volunteer opportunities in your field may be harder than it sounds.  By this time as a professional, you should already have a nice network in place.  A good percentage of your key volunteer opportunities will come from your network.  This brings me to another point.  Spend some of your time “networking” in person and virtually.  You’ll never know when an opportunity will come from your network.

Now that you are this new professional, does your network know you are this new professional?  For example if you went from being an accountant to a graphic artist, what percentage of your network now know you as a graphic artist?  The next task now is “personal branding”.  This is taking on the persona of (using this example) a graphic artist.  Just because have the skills that make you a graphic artist, doesn’t necessarily mean people see you as a graphic artist.  You must be this graphic artist 24/7/365.  You must now become a subject matter expert.  By becoming a subject matter expert people will then start asking you questions and of course you will have the answers.  In other words, you must walk the walk and talk the talk.

Your Linkedin profile must tell people you are a graphic artist (continuing my example).  Getting people to write you recommendations for your LinkedIn profile is important for your brand.  It’s showing the public that people have given you a testimonial for your work and/or knowledge.

Re-branding yourself takes time.  Don’ rush it because it can’t be rushed.  As you spend your days networking and working in your field, the more people will know who you are.

Going through a career change is challenging.  It’s hard work and one must be prepared for some bumps in the road.  However, it can be one of the most gratified feelings.  If you’re prepared to put in all of the work and ready for a change, maybe a career change is for you.