Perseverance pays off in realising a career change dream
Leisha Mitchell, AACC member
For most of us, the days of a ‘job for life’ are all but over. So what do you do when your job is no longer providing much satisfaction? How do you navigate the journey into a new career when you have limited understanding of where to start?
A client of mine recently travelled this path – it was daunting, hard work, and at times she questioned her ability to get to where she wanted to be – and ultimately she landed the job she had hoped for when she first made the decision to re-enrol at university.
Mary (not her real name) had spent 25 years working in administrative roles, taking breaks at times to care for her now-grown children. With her family responsibilities reduced, she decided it was time to pursue a career in the finance industry. Mary’s first hurdle was gaining entrance to university. The particular area in which she wanted to work required her to complete a Bachelor’s degree. Once she was admitted into her course, she tapped into the range of programmes provided by Student Career Development.
Mary participated in a range of career workshops to make sure she had the skills and knowledge she would need in tackling the job search process. A lot had changed since she had last had a job interview. She asked many questions and accepted advice.
As her graduation crept closer she came to see me about her résumé. She had started applying for a few new graduate jobs, but was not getting interviews. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with her résumé. However, I suggested that we alter the language with which she described her employment history. For example, she had held several jobs with high level responsibility, but her job title was ‘secretary’. We worked on changing the focus to highlight her responsibilities, and also her well developed transferable skills (communication, team work etc.). Before long she was offered interviews.
In order to prepare, Mary came in for mock interviews, which allowed me to give her feedback on what she was doing well, and on areas that needed improvement. This also helped with her nerves. Each time she had an interview, she wrote a short thank you letter to the employer to express her appreciation of the opportunity to meet with them. She also asked for feedback when she was unsuccessful – and used this to prepare better for the next time.
Mary wrote dozens of applications. She took every opportunity to let people in her personal and professional circle know what she was looking for, building her networks and developing relationships. This technique provided her with several referrals to employers, and meetings with finance industry professionals who were happy to provide her with advice to kickstart her new career in that industry.
About 12 months after Mary completed her study, she gained a job in a large financial institution. She attributes her success to:
· setting goals and structuring her time to search and apply for jobs
· perseverance in the face of knock-backs
· relationship building and networking, and
· seeking guidance and feedback.
To follow in Mary’s footsteps:
- set some job or career goals (get help from a career counsellor if you are struggling to do so on your own)
- gather information about your options and weigh up what is best for you
- write an action plan and stick to it!
- seek advice along the way
- build your networks (up to 70% of jobs are never advertised!)
- brush up on your job seeking skills
- keep trying, learn from your knock backs, and
- thank those who helped you get there.