Your Job Is Not Necessarily For Life. Should You Switch Careers?
Executive research firms regularly come across people who have decided to switch careers. There was a time where you chose your occupation and stuck with it till retirement and many people nevertheless follow that path. An increasing number of people, however, are deciding to give up their first choice and attempt something new. For many, it is a move to a new country, or a good exploration of a new skill, but for others, it’s moving the skills they already have to a new field.
If you’re taking the plunge and changing careers, can you convince a good executive search agency that will it’s all for the best? How do you demonstrate that you haven’t lost any of your abilities?
Switching careers is a brave thing to do. It can impact your income, your working hrs and even where you live. It’s not a decision that people take lightly, plus it’s one that’s seen differently by everyone. If you take a career break to travel or to study, you should be prepared to change that experience into positive ways you can contribute to your new company.
professional search firms look for the right candidates for the job. If you have switched careers or used a break and want to sign on with an executive search firm, after that it’s a good idea to make an appointment to go and see them. This will allow you to sit face-to-face with the consultant and explain why you took a year out, or even why you decided to change from medication to law. Whatever your own experience, you should be able to make use of elements of it to demonstrate how you could be valuable to a company in a senior placement.
For example, if you spent your time volunteering for a charity plus working in Africa, you will have acquired better communication and diplomacy skills than most people. If you were involved in a building task, you can illustrate how you managed to project, getting people to work with each other as a team to achieve a common objective. Whilst sorting out a problem company area isn’t the same as building a school, the things you discovered from your project can be used in any situation.
It’s not regardless of whether you have changed careers that will interests an executive research firm; it’s why, and what you’ve learned that could advantage their clients. It could be that your career switch gives the client exactly what they’re looking for. It’s up to you to turn it into the advantages that could win you your next job.
