Changing Career Paths this New Year

The New Year is a time for soul-searching and planning for the coming period.  Lots of us set goals or resolutions to help us aim for something different or better.  A big one for many people is to look at their career and decide if it is time for a change – New Year, new career?  If you are seeking some inspiration, here are some ideas to get you started.

Preparing for a new career in your existing area

The key when you are looking for a new career or even a new job within your current area is to think ahead – where do you want to be in 3-5 years?  Use this as a tool to help look at jobs and decide if they are the right path to take.

For example, a job might be great now, but if there is no path to promotion or to expand your horizons in the role, you are going to be back in the same position in a year or two – looking for another job.

It is important to prepare yourself for the whole job search because many recruitment teams and specialists will start the hunt just after New Year.  This means over Christmas is an ideal time to look at a few key preparation areas.

These include:

• Hiring someone to update your CV.
• Registering with recruitment agencies before New Year
• Arrange a meeting with a recruitment agent if needed
• Set up searches and alerts with top online job sites
• Start preparing yourself for interviews
• Check your notice period and terms

Changing career direction

What about if you have decided you no longer want to work in the area or industry you are in and want to do something entirely different?  Then this might take a little more work and planning, but there’s no time like the present.

Here are some examples of popular industries and how to get started.

Office administration

Working in office administration is a varied and exciting role that involves lots of different skills and ensures you are at the heart of the business.  Many other higher positions launch their careers in Office Administration, learning the ropes and ensuring they have the skills to run the company on a practical level before moving into management.

You may want to take some training courses in office administration if you have no previous experience.  However, if you have a systematic approach, good computer literacy and communication skills, and the ability to multi-task, then you have a good foundation for the role.

Web developer

Another popular career to consider for the tech-minded in a web developer.  This is the role where you create websites for people and companies and often help maintain them or make ongoing alterations.

You will need some basic coding skills for this kind of role, but these can be learned online with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript being the two most important to learn.

Then you learn a lot by creating sites and working on them.  You can go down two routes – either working for a company offering the service or setting yourself up as self-employed and working for yourself.

Either way, there is a lot of scope to develop your business, add to a team, or lead one, and expand your creative repertoire.

Finding the right career path

New Year is the perfect time to consider your options and where you want to go with your career.  You can assess your skills, what training you may need, and where you want to be in three or five years, then start putting everything into place to find and follow that path.

Tell us some easy career changes that pay well below!