11 tips for changing careers
Today’s job seekers can use AI to do things like optimize their resumes or match them with roles that suit their skills. They also have access to countless articles outlining helpful tips to change careers, like this one. So, let’s dive into some actionable steps you can take to change your situation—and potentially find your true calling.
Why people change careers
Everyone’s story is different. Your desire to change careers might be motivated by your ambitions or dissatisfaction with your current work. There are countless reasons you might want a change. Here are some of the more common reasons people consider career shifts:
- A more challenging career path: Being in the same field or role for a long time can cause your work to feel stagnant and less challenging. If you feel these emotions creeping up for yourself, it may be time to consider changing careers.
- Burnout: It’s important to properly manage your stress level throughout your career. Taking on too much responsibility or devoting too much mental workload to your current role or field, among other things, can cause burnout. This can manifest as lower productivity, being distracted more often, and a heightened sense of irritability. The underlying cause of your burnout could well be that your current role or field isn’t fulfilling. A career switch to something you feel more passionate about may be just what you need.
- Lack of growth: Some employees seek a career change when they feel there’s nowhere else to go in their field. Their current industry may stagnate because of internal factors, such as a lack of advancement opportunities, or external ones, like market saturation or technological disruptions. If you start to see this writing on the wall in your current sector, it may be time to look elsewhere.
- Compensation: Many employees seek a career change if they feel that’s what it’ll take to attain the compensation they deserve. Research is essential here, not only into salary potential but also what it takes to pursue work in the new field. Your newly chosen career path may require reskilling, such as certifications or a different academic degree.
- Work-life balance: Today, employees are looking for careers that support a balance between their work and home lives. If you feel like your industry demands too much of your time, putting strain on your personal life, you might consider it a sign to explore other options.
How to change careers
Knowing you’re ready for a change is easy. Knowing where to start? That’s a little more challenging.
The thought of switching career paths may be overwhelming, especially if you’ve put several years (maybe even decades) into your current one. Here are some actions that can help facilitate a smooth transition.
1. Determine why you want to change careers.
Changing your career is no small feat. Yes, it’s challenging. And, yes, you can do it. But one of the most important tips for successfully changing careers (or making any big life change) is to find out your why.
What is your reasoning for changing careers? Does anything resonate with you from the list above?
Are you burnt out? Are you seeking a more rewarding career field? A less toxic work culture? Maybe your current company, role, or industry is causing you too much stress and time away from your family.
Whatever the reasons, there’s something at the core of who you are that has you considering this career change. Tapping into your why for this big move will keep you moving forward along the path when times get tough.
2. Reflect on your goals.
Where do you see yourself in 1, 3, 5, or 10 years? It’s important to reflect on these questions to get a better picture of your ideal career trajectory.
Creating a vision for the future serves as a barometer against which to measure decisions and actions. With these short and long-term goals in mind, you can analyze your current career situation and determine a path that better speaks to your passions.
Take time to write down what you’re passionate about. Identifying and analyzing areas that might bring you fulfillment can provide the foundation for a list of possible careers to research in our next step.
3. Research different career paths and industries.
A quick internet search provides us with all sorts of information on a seemingly limitless number of topics. Researching changing careers is no different.
Dive deep into any career paths you’re considering. Explore relevant resources or see if any classes or certifications are necessary to make the switch. Every career path requires different prerequisites. Some common ones to explore as you switch careers include:
Educational requirements:
- Obtaining a degree, certification, or specialized training in the new field
- Taking courses or completing a program to gain relevant knowledge and skills
Gaining relevant experience:
- Pursuing internships or entry-level positions in the desired field
- Volunteering or taking on projects to build a portfolio
- Freelancing or consulting work to develop practical experience
Developing transferable skills:
- Identifying and strengthening skills that are applicable to the new career
- Acquiring new technical or soft skills through training or self-study
Building a professional network:
- Attending industry events, conferences, or meetups
- Connecting with experts in the target field through informational interviews
- Joining professional associations or online communities
Financial preparation:
- Saving up funds to cover educational costs, potential pay cuts, or temporary unemployment
- Ensuring financial stability during the transition period
Shifting careers is a major life change. Doing this research is essential to ensure you switch to a fulfilling path that severs your goals and passions. You don’t want to start your new career only to find out it’s not what you wanted or won’t give you the life you want.
4. Consider a lateral move at your current company.
You may not have to go as far as you think for a rewarding career change. If you work for a large enough company, you may be able to facilitate your shift with a lateral move to another department. Say you work in marketing, for example. A switch to sales or human resources (HR) may be possible.
Not every company may support this move, but the right forward-thinking company could make a career change easy without even changing employers.
What’s even better about this strategy is that you may even be able to test out your new role before taking the full leap. For example, company leadership might arrange for you to shadow someone working in your desired role. You might even be able to arrange a mini-internship in which you can work on smaller projects within the other department on top of your current role’s primary duties.
5. Determine what skills and experience you need for a new career.
This tip ties in with researching your new career. As you research, determine if you’ll need any reskilling to pursue your new desired career. If so, what kind of skills do you need?
Can you break into this new career with an online certification? Do you need to go back to school? You might be surprised to find out how easily you can attain the accreditation necessary to pursue your new path.
Gone are the days when night classes at a 4-year college were the only way to pursue a career. Finding out what your new education path looks like is an essential part of launching into a new career.
When deciding if a new career move is right for you, factor in the time, energy, and money necessary to reskill.
6. Consider alternative ways to get experience for a new career.
If you begin to research a particular career path, don’t be discouraged by the amount of information, education, or experience you need to get started. In other words, don’t give up right away.
There’s more than one way to reskill and get the job you’re after in today’s market. For example, your current company may offer side projects to get experience in your chosen field.
You can also research free courses online in your new field. Sites like Coursera have an entire library of training resources across various industries. Other sites, like Udemy, may offer paid courses. Still, prices for many of these courses are usually way more budget-friendly than pursuing a curriculum at a university or major organization.
As always, ensure the courses you take are backed by accredited professionals—especially if they require a fee. The last thing you want to do is invest time, energy, and money into a course only to realize it’s not what you need to get where you want to go.
7. Test out a new career.
There are many ways to test out a new career. One is by keeping your current position while volunteering your skills to other organizations or freelancing in your spare time.
Websites like catchafire.org match professionals with nonprofit organizations that need those professionals’ help. You can browse a dashboard full of projects that meet your newly acquired skills and criteria and apply to the opportunities that fit your schedule. It’s a great way to launch your new career without sacrificing or feeling like you’re in over your head.
If you’re further along your path of career transition and looking to receive compensation, freelancing might be the choice for you. Job board sites like Upwork and Fiverr provide a place to advertise your services and pick up your own clients. Paid or not, there are several ways to test careers you may want before committing to the transition.
8. Reach out to your network.
Your network can bring you opportunities and knowledge you may not have had access to otherwise. Whether you reach out to peers on platforms like LinkedIn, or attend industry events that enable you to expand your network, tapping into connections can provide you with valuable insights that can give you an advantage on your career transition.
Leveraging the experience of others who have already been where you want to go offers inside information and contacts that accelerate your path to a new career. Colleagues may also have contacts at other companies or provide resume tips for changing careers based on their own experience.
You never know what tidbits of information you’ll get from your network, but it can be invaluable insider knowledge.
9. Update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
Your LinkedIn profile and resume are powerful tools for landing the job you want. LinkedIn is a valuable resource for optimizing both. Foundationally, it functions as a public-facing resume that can catch the eye of potential employers.
LinkedIn also provides a platform for showcasing your skills, experiences, and thought leadership. A strong LinkedIn presence boosts your visibility to potential employers and industry connections. Further, the platform features hundreds of articles on topics like optimizing your resume or industry trends. Don’t overlook LinkedIn as a resource for helping you along your path to changing careers.
A quick way to optimize your profile or resume is to research job listings for the positions you’re interested in. Within each job description, you’ll find keywords the recruiter or hiring manager might use to filter out potential candidates. Inserting these keywords into your resume or LinkedIn profile can give you a better chance of catching the right person’s eye or making it past companies’ applicant tracking software (ATS) companies.
10. Ask for feedback after interviews.
Following up after an interview is one of the best moves you can make to enhance your career prospects. This is especially true when changing careers.
Email the hiring manager or person you met with after the interview and thank them for their time. Also, ask them if there’s anything you could’ve done differently. If you have a good rapport, you can dig deeper into what they did or didn’t like about how you handled the interview.
It’s good practice to send a follow-up email whenever you sit down for an interview. But another opportunity to seek feedback is when you receive a rejection email. If a company emails and says something to the effect of, “Thank you for your time, but we’ve elected to go with other candidates,” this is your opportunity to ask why.
Don’t be intimidated. You’re entitled to ask why they didn’t choose you. Unfortunately, some companies may be too big or busy to respond. And if they don’t that’s OK. But the ones that do provide you with valuable information you can use to sharpen your interview performance skills.
12. Don’t rush.
Even with these tips for changing careers, the process won’t happen overnight. Take your time and trust the process.
You may feel you need to jump to the next opportunity (even if it’s not the right fit) when you want to leave your current career. But don’t rush. Explore all the avenues you can to gather information, and make sure you’re as confident as possible in your decision before making any big moves.
Following these tips and taking your time can pave the way to a new, more rewarding career.
Interested in a career in tech?
If you’re looking for tips for changing careers in the tech space, Intuit has resources to help you along the way:
- Browse our tech career openings to find a tech position that’s right for you.
- If you’re returning to the tech workforce after time away from tech, explore our Intuit Again program, a returnship for people who took a career break or otherwise left tech and want to refresh their skills.
Consider an apprenticeship—the Intuit Career Pathways Program is a software development apprenticeship specifically designed for underrepresented groups in tech.