Three Steps to Consider in a Career Transition
Transitioning careers is a common occurrence for individuals on different career paths and can happen for a variety of reasons. A career is defined as an individual’s work experiences over the course of their life (Arthur et al., 1989). A career transition exists when a worker moves from one position to another within the framework of their social spaces in a career field, an occupation, or an organization (Chudzikowski, 2012). While we typically might think of a career transition as a dramatic shift, it can also be considered as taking on a new role or responsibilities within the same organization or within the same career field. In 2022 the US Department of Labor identified “Black and Hispanic workers without a college degree and young adults (aged 16-24) as the most likely groups to transition careers at any given month” (Kochhar et al., 2022, para. 10). While these findings are important for employers to consider strategies for employee retention within these identified groups, it is also true that the overwhelming majority of individuals will experience some sort of career shift within their lifetimes.
Reasons for a shift in career vary widely and can include dissatisfaction with one’s role or responsibilities, dissatisfaction with pay, a working environment that is a poor fit for productivity, discrimination within a working environment, or a combination of these and other issues. With technology rapidly shifting the way we perform duties (such as the rise of AI within organizations), it is also possible that one’s job requirements or expected skill set may change as new innovations are introduced (De Vos et al., 2021). A shift could also simply refer to a student leaving high school or college to enter the workforce for the first time, as well as leaving a job that was held during this period to pursue a career that matches their interests more closely.
Interests, personality, and career satisfaction are closely aligned with the likelihood of job retention and making shifts within the same career field. Holland posited that an individual’s vocational interests, values, and abilities could predict the type of career or position best suited for an individual (Holland, 1997). A study by Kim and Beier found validity in Holland’s argument, stating that interests of students played a role both in one staying within their chosen field of study, as well as the likelihood of individuals remaining within a chosen profession. Kim and Beier suggested that more work should be done to identify interests earlier in one's life in order to ensure greater long-term job satisfaction and productivity in their working environment (2020).
When working to identify the reasons to make a career shift, whether by personal preference or because of circumstances which hinder productivity or personal development, the following steps can be taken to better define a positive direction in one’s career path.
Step 1: Identifying Long-Term Goals for a Career Transition
A simple, yet useful strategy when considering making a career transition is to give yourself a self-assessment to consider the reasons behind your intention to move into another position or career.
Why do you want to leave your current position? Perhaps you feel that the environment is not one in which you can thrive or you don’t feel that you’re being utilized to your full potential. Make sure that you’re honest with yourself when walking through this step so that you can be sure to cover everything you’re looking to do as you move forward into your next role (Amitabh, 2021).
What responsibilities do you want in your next role? Try to be as specific as possible when answering this question. If you don’t have a specific job or career field in mind as your next step, write down responsibilities you’d like to have and interests you hold to define which vocational areas align with your identified passions (Amitabh, 2021).
When will you be able to make a shift? This might be the hardest piece of the self-assessment to identify, as many factors could play into when you think a change might occur. You could be in a position where you are ready to move on immediately due to urgency in your personal needs. You might also be ready to make a change, but are in a position which meets your needs for the time being. Either way, it’s important to identify factors which might influence the length of time required to meet this goal and to have a back-up plan in place in the event that your first choice doesn’t work out as you had originally hoped (Amitabh, 2021).
These are considerations which can be worked out in supportive collaboration as well, highlighted in the next step below.
Step 2: Use Resources to Determine the Right Course of Action
After completing a self-assessment to identify the areas of importance as outlined above, utilizing available resources to help you work through these questions and make your next moves can be invaluable. Doing so can give you the benefit of receiving productive reassurance through collaborative work, identifying areas which may not have been considered, and letting others know what areas of work you’re interested in to take advantage of your current social network. Here are a few things to consider when identifying your resources:
Vocational Rehabilitation or job training services, if applicable.
Working with a career coach to complete a skills inventory and identify job possibilities.
Discussing options with trusted friends, family, and co-workers.
Step 3: Developing Skills within a New Industry or Position
Working to develop skills and expertise in a new position or industry can be challenging. Doing so takes persistence, patience, diligence, as well as open communication and collaboration with others. While being patient with yourself and remembering that there is not one definitive and linear approach to job satisfaction, the following tips can also be helpful in developing new skills:
Using SMART Goals. Setting goals for oneself is vastly important in order to create a game plan for long-term success. Starting with small goals to move towards your ultimate destination will be helpful in developing confidence and resiliency along the way. The SMART Goals method is an excellent approach to identify details of your goal and determine how you’ll know when you’ve achieved success.
Taking on new challenges as they come your way and asking for feedback. Some of the best learning opportunities come from jumping into new tasks in order to gain new insight and learning from your mistakes. When taking on opportunities that are unfamiliar to you, be sure to seek feedback from supervisors or other trusted team members.
Observe seasoned colleagues and supervisors. When feasible, ask to observe work done by supervisors or colleagues with experience whose working style you align with. This can be especially valuable when this coworker has an assignment or responsibilities you’d like to eventually take part in.
Research. Set aside some time that you have available to do research on topics you’d like to explore or improve upon for your benefit within your workplace.
Network. While networking might be challenging for some, there are ultimately only positive benefits in growing the connections you have in relation to your career. Finding the right networking groups or individuals within them can be difficult at the beginning, but is well worth the effort in the long run.
Be Kind to Yourself. Self-care is the most important step when engaging in any of the steps mentioned above. When working on new projects, observing, or asking for feedback, you should practice not comparing yourself to others unhealthily or engaging in negative self-talk which will keep you from maximizing your potential. Working with a career coach is a great option to avoid these pitfalls and to lay out a dedicated plan for success.
References
Amitabh, U. (2021). The right way to make a big career transition. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/07/the-right-way-to-make-a-big-career-transition
Ans De Vos, Sofie Jacobs, Marijke Verbruggen. (2021). Career transitions and employability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 126 (1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103475.
Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T., Lawrence, B.S. (1989). Handbook of career theory. Cambridge University Press
Chudzikowski, K. (2012). Career transitions and career success in the “new” career era. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81 (2), pp. 298-306, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.10.005
Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
Kim, M.H., & Beier, M.E. (2020). The college-to-career transition in STEM: An eleven-year longitudinal study of perceived and objective vocational interest fit. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 123 (1).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103506.
