Too often we think we’d like to change jobs or career
paths yet once we start looking at all the choices, we quickly get overwhelmed
and give up. It’s hard to know where to
start and it can take a lot of time to do this essential part of figuring out what
you’d like to do and then how to go about getting there.
So often, high school career counselling falls short
in truly explaining all the different fields of work. And a really important piece of the puzzle to
help make sound career choices early (and later) on in our lives is often
overlooked. Primarily because people don’t
know how to research. And where
to look to find the key pieces of info that will help them make a considered
and informed decision.As a Coach who specializes in Career Change Strategizing, I can narrow that research down significantly. It still requires time and energy on your part, but these “go to” places for finding key information will help you avoid the often daunting task of networking (if I had a nickel for every time I’ve had a client say they HATE networking, I wouldn’t need to work!). So this is the easiest networking you’ll ever do… and some of it doesn’t even require you to talk to another human being.
First, you need to put on your Investigative Reporter Hat! And leave the job seeker at home. All the resources I’ve laid out here require you to be seeking information, not jobs. Because, if you approach with a hidden agenda, you may find your reception becomes less than warm.
Here are 3 resources through which you can access valuable, career-specific information easily and quickly without feeling like you’re imposing on someone’s time or to find people in the field to talk to.
1) The
disciplines/career paths’ designated Professional
Association. This is always your first stop on your investigative process
for the least biased information. Many associations will provide you oodles of
excellent information about their profession and what courses/schools are
required. And, if you screw up your
courage and call them after reviewing their website in depth, they will often
provide members who are ready and willing to chat with you about the specifics
of the industry and their personal experiences in the field. They often also run conferences, workshops
and regular networking events that you can attend (often for free for at least
a couple of times).
2) Training/educational institutions
that are teaching the skill/discipline also are great resources for finding out
important information about the industry/sector/career pathway. They should know what (and if) companies are
hiring and what salaries one might expect at various milestones down the road. Some, of course, even offer co-op and
internship opportunities as part of the training and this can be invaluable for
getting much needed first-time experience with the profession.
FYI: Both
Professional Associations and Educational Institutions “should” have and freely
offer names/ contact info for members and/or past students who have taken their training and are
currently working in the field. These
are people who have agreed to talk to people like you who want to know more details
about what the courses are all about, how useful they were and what the credential
will get them once completed.
3) Read job postings related to that field.
You can learn a heckofalot
from job postings as to what different job areas/sectors and actual positions will
require of you. You can also find people
who are in that field of work on LinkedIn and, through joining Groups they are
in, you can research their work history online through their profiles, then, if
you see a match, reach out to them via email and ask them if they’re willing to
share some of their knowledge with you. They’ll also give you lots of valuable clues
for preparing resumes for those types of positions!
These
activities all fall under the heading of what we, in the career coaching biz,
call Informational Interviews. Like job interviews they require preparation
and professionalism. And a polite
awareness that these folks you’re asking questions of are busy people and probably
can’t spend more than 20-30 minutes with you, max. So be clear and direct and, when that time
has passed, double check with them as to whether it’s okay to continue. Also ask them for another referral so you can
keep the ball rolling and dig deeper into your chosen career environment. More
information is good… one person’s job love can be another’s hate. So take all info with a grain of salt and find
a few more people in the field to make sure you’re not throwing out the idea
after one less than stimulating interview.
Cardinal
Rule #1: DO NOT take your resume with you.
(This way if they ask to see it, it gives you an opening to send it
after the fact, and get their email address, if you don’t already have
it.) And again, you’re doing RESEARCH here,
not JOB search!
And always – always – send a thank you email.
Hopefully,
if you found their assistance helpful, and you’d like to keep in touch as you
proceed forward, it’s always a nice idea to let them know when you’ve followed
through with a suggestion/idea they gave you.
This way you start developing a very useful career support group, for
now and the future.
If you’d like a copy of a really
great e-workbook on how to conduct Informational Interviews, which
includes a few scripts and a list of questions you might consider asking, email me, mention this blogpost and I’ll
send it to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment