Well with ongoing economic uncertainty and major companies announcing those
layoffs, you might consider switching careers to explore new
opportunities. In fact, according to a recent poll
by the fast company, 52% of American workers are
considering to take the leap by pursuing a new occupation
can be daunting and stressful with many job seekers wondering
if they are qualified for the jobs that they want
. So joining me now is Kathryn Minshew founder and
Ceo of the muse, a career development platform.
Catherine is great to see you and what are your
top tips for people who are looking to switch careers
? Absolutely, well, it's actually a very good
time to consider a career change right now. As
you said, the economic volatility means that a lot
of people are leaving what were once considered safe harbors
and stepping out into the unknown. So my tips
would be one determine why you're thinking about making a
change. Um what is it that calls you towards
something new or frankly, what is it that you're
looking to move away from or escape from? So
get clear on your values and priorities, secondly,
make a plan. Um it is much easier to
execute a career change when you have a really clear
idea of where you're going to, so speak to
someone to understand and really lay out what are your
strengths, what are your transferable skills, if you
have the ability to speak to a professional career coach
that can be an excellent move. You know,
we have several career coaches who are bookable through the
muse. But even if it's a colleague, a
former supervisor or boss really start to talk to people
who have worked with you or people who can help
you lay out what are your key assets in a
new career and then finally think about how you might
round out your skills, whether it's a side project
, a gig, taking on a new certification or
simply proving out the skills that you do have that's
going to make you much more effective as a career
changer as such. Great advice there, Katherine for
anyone who feels like they might need to rebrand themselves
right? They might need to rebrand their skills,
flush out those skills as you've been mentioning. What's
the best way to go about that? So,
I think rebranding yourself is a several step process.
I would encourage people first to get comfortable with the
lingo the vocabulary of the industry or the career that
you're looking to move into. So, for example
, sign up for industry newsletters, read blogs about
the potential career path you're looking to move into or
print out job descriptions that you think you might want
and highlight. What are the skills that you have
, What are the skills that you need, then
think about how you position that online. Think about
the language you used on linkedin on your social channels
. You know? Again, it's helpful to revisit
your resume and make sure that it's presenting you as
the candidate you want to be seen as going forward
, not the one you were. Um And then
also really think about again how those that might be
called to be references on you former colleagues, how
they might talk about you and describe you. It
can be very effective to actually reach out to former
colleagues, inform them about your career change and tell
them a little bit of what you're hoping to do
or how you're hoping to be seen in your job
search and in the future role. Okay. Any
changes Catherine specifically to the resume that can help you
stand out if you are looking to make a career
change. Absolutely. So job seekers today should know
that many resumes are actually screened by applicant tracking systems
using machine learning before they ever get to a human
. Which is why it's really important to make sure
that you have the right keywords. So again,
I would encourage any applicant to look at the key
words and the skills and the specifics that are mentioned
in the job description that you're applying for. And
to the extent that you can do so truthfully make
sure those show up on your resume. Um Also
think about the action words that you use on your
resume. You know, we put together a list
of over 100 action words that are much better than
just managed a certain project or executed a certain thing
, the more your resume can point to concrete results
and skills that will help you in your new chosen
career, the more likely you are to have an
easier passage making that switch. All right, Kathryn
Minshew, Great advice. We'll have to check out
those 100 words over at your site. Katherine is
the founder and Ceo of the muse.