Training for your new career

Step 3 of a 10 step career change plan

If completing a career change we easy, all of us would be in our dream careers right now! So what is stopping us?

Perhaps it is the additional skills which we need to build to be credible in our new career.

Don’t think that training, however, is restricted to job-related or academic courses. You can get the skills and experience you need for your career change in many other ways!

Firstly, consider leveraging your current employer. They may be able and willing to offer you various training programs, although of course don’t tell them that you are training in order to pursue a career change and leave your current job!

Perhaps you could offer your services to organisations who in your chosen career? This is a great idea – not only does it improve your skills, but it allows you to get yourself known in the industry and puts you in pole position if the company you’re working with is looking to hire someone permanently!

So what if you can’t find companies in your chosen field who are prepared to offer you paid work experience? How about an unpaid period of work experience? Not so attractive, perhaps, but then you need to think how serious you are about a career change! A few weeks of unpaid work now is a small price to pay if it leads on to a much more fulfilling career for the rest of your working life!

Consider also approaching charities who are always on the lookout for committed individuals – if you have a skill that they need (even if it is just being a ‘safe pair of hands’) they may allow you to spend time learning and developing the skills you will need to support your career change! Finally, consider starting your own business. If it is successful, then well done – you’ve already succeeded in your career change! And if it’s not successful, then the experience you gain will be very useful to your new employer!

Move on to Step 4: Accepting a salary cut for your career change