Here Are A Few Tips That Can Help You Make a Career Change At 40
Not everyone is at the peak of his/her career at the age of 40 as some people find it necessary to make a radical change in their career path even after working in the same field for almost two decades. When you decide to make a career change at 40, several questions may arise in your head like, ‘Is this the right decision?’, ‘Will I be able to succeed in it?’, ‘Will this career be better than the last one?’ and many more like these. But once you firmly decide to move forward, you will be able to smoothly transition through different stages while gaining proper clarity about what exactly you need and how you will achieve it.
A career change can be converted into an amazing opportunity by making proper use of the skills and experience that you have gained over the years. It can be the right time to achieve all that you wanted to since a long period of time, but could not due to different reasons. However, you must keep in mind certain things before stepping into a new career and some of them have been listed below.
1. Be strongly motivated and eliminate your fears — It has been rightly said that motivation fuels passion and hence, you need to remain motivated and encouraged so that you can see beyond the challenges you are bound to face while making this change. In addition, the fear of moving ahead can act as a huge obstacle so you must eliminate all kinds of fears that pull you back. You might be scared of things like finance, health and ability to work, but you must avoid all the excuses to experience career growth.
2. Get ready to start at the bottom — It is not possible for you to attain that strong position, which you had in your past job as soon as you transition into the new one. You have to prepare yourself to start from scratch, despite having years of experience. Moreover, it will require an immense amount of hard work to move up on the ladder of success.
3. Make a list of your transferable skills — Transferable skills are those which can be utilised in almost every other occupation like time management, organisation, leadership and communication skills. However, you need to maintain your focus on those specific skill sets that are not only unique, but can be highly beneficial for your new employer.
4. Upgrade your resume — Another most important factor that can make a significant impact on your decision about career change at 40 is your resume. Although you may have plenty of certificates and achievements to flaunt, but you need to tailor all of them in your resume in such a way that they make it easier for you to grab some of the best opportunities in your new career choice.
5. Expand your network on social media — Today, social media has become one of the most important factors of almost every aspect of human life. By opening yourself to different social media platforms, you can easily expand your network and introduce yourself to many of the industry experts that can open doors of opportunities for you. This is undoubtedly an effective way to do your personal branding on your own and reintroduce yourself in the markets.
6. Seek professional guidance — Besides planning everything on your own, you also have the option to approach professional career coaches and experts who guide you at every step of the journey. They not only make you aware of your strengths and weaknesses, but at the same time, they help you gain those skills that can prove to be beneficial in your new career path. In addition, they also assist in building a strong resume and a successful roadmap for you.
Conclusion
To sum up, making a career change at 40 is not as difficult as you may think it to be. Instead, executing a radical change at any point of time in your life can help you experience personal growth. So, if you are planning to change your career, make sure to follow the above-mentioned steps. From eliminating your fears to listing your transferable skills, upgrading your resume, expanding your network and even approaching a career coach, you must consider each one of these factors while preparing yourself for a midlife career change.