Career choices often reflect an individual’s strengths and choices. Having chosen a career, you must figure out how to start working on it. The working phase comes right after obtaining some basic qualifications in the relevant field. Such skills are learned after satisfying the requirements in a study curriculum. For example, Neuro-Linguistic Programming training is an important aspect of life coach programs.
The working phase of a career is often a hurdle for many individuals because they don’t know how to get started. The following are ways by which you can start working on your chosen career:
- Rethink Your Best Career Choice
Having obtained the basic qualification for your chosen career, you must do a reassessment. It’s deemed a reassessment because you must have done a similar evaluation before you opted for the course of study for your chosen career. A reassessment is important because it helps add clarity to your intended career pursuit.
For instance, there are many specializations in every chosen career. Some of the key points to consider while rethinking your career choice include:
- Make a list of what has changed and what hasn’t changed during your years of study.
- What specialties do you like to focus on in your career choice? If you notice you love working with people, you can consider a life coaching career and other people-centered jobs.
- Make a list of the keep top talents and personal skills you possess and those you need to develop to get started on your chosen career.
- Endeavor to define your career goals.
- Learn More About Your Chosen Career
The next thing you need to do is to learn more about your chosen career. This is because you need to determine some other unknown variables of your chosen career.
For instance, you need to apply the knowledge you got from theoretical studies to the corporate world. To get a practical perspective, you can start by searching the internet for all the information you can get on your chosen career. Other ways to find out more about your chosen career include:
- Visit a local library.
- Contact the local employment office to learn more about the prospects in your chosen career.
- Schedule meetings with established professionals in your chosen career.
- Ask professional unions and bodies for more information about the career.
- Get More Qualified
There’s no end to obtaining certifications and qualifications relating to your chosen career. You may have gotten the basic qualifications in your chosen path, but you may need more certifications to remain relevant in the field.
For instance, in a life coaching career, additional qualifications may include completing a Neuro-Linguistic Programming certification course. Certifications are awarded when individuals successfully pass a test, exam, or accreditation system governed by a professional body.
- Create A Resume
Resumes are important documents when you’re looking to kickstart a career. It’s a document that summarizes an individual’s qualifications, skills, and achievements. It’s one of the documents prospective employers will examine carefully along with your job application.
A well-presented resume also depicts the value you can add if you join the prospective employer’s team. Resumes may contain details of individual roles and accomplishments in previous jobs. An employer should be able to determine your potential and the advantages of bringing you on board by perusing your resume.
- Apply for the Desired Jobs
With a resume in hand, you should immediately start applying for jobs you may love. There are many ways to hunt for your desired jobs. These include:
- Temporary Appointments and Internships: Internships, temporary appointments, and contracts are great openings to start with. They are straightforward ways to get a dream job because they often lead to a permanent position. It’s always advisable to take up such opportunities mainly with a keen desire to learn new things and gain practical experience. If your bosses can see that you’re passionate about your job, they may be convinced to offer you a starting position for the long-term.
- Referrals: You can seek a job referral from professionals with whom you may have created a working relationship within your field. These referrals are known to give quick access to key job positions in companies you normally can’t enter. Of course, you must prove yourself worthy of the job after you get in.
- Job Fairs: Job fairs are events organized for getting a workforce for specific industries. To take advantage of this opportunity, you must find job fairs that relate to your industry. These events may be physical or virtual.
- Cold Emails and Calling: These are unsolicited communications with companies and organizations of interest. Here, individuals forward their resumes via emails to companies with the hope of being considered for job openings that may suit their profiles. Calls can also be made in the hope that the organization’s HR department may give the individual a priority in future job openings. There’s no guarantee that this will work, but it’s worth a try.
- Recruiters: Many companies saddle third-party recruiting companies with the responsibility of getting them qualified personnel for a job opening. These recruiters may be available locally or online. Liaising with them may get you your dream job faster than you think. The recruiters get paid on a commission basis. It’s best to be clear about the party who pays these commissions. Sometimes the company pays the recruiters, but it’s also possible that you may have to pay the commission if you get the job.
- Stick to Your Old Job Until You Get a New One
If you’re currently employed but looking to change your chosen career, it’s advisable to stick to the old job until you get the new one. This is important because you need an income for developing knowledge, skills, qualifications, and certifications in your career.
Sticking to an old job as you look for a new career is a tough decision. You need to develop the ability to balance your time between your current job and job applications, interviews, etc. Further, being out of work creates issues in your resume. It makes most hiring managers flag your application and want to know what happened at your last job. They may ask why you left your previous job and why you couldn’t find a job till now.
- Get A Mentor
Mentors can help you to start working on your career. Mentoring, in most cases, doesn’t require you to pay any money. However, you get a good level of supervisory knowledge from a willing mentor. Think of it as learning ropes at no cost.
Mentorship can also develop into a great symbiotic relationship where the mentee benefits from the mentor and vice versa. For example, most mentors have a wealth of knowledge but lack the skills to harness information technology for their fields. A mentee can help the mentor to get familiar with new technologies. Meanwhile, the mentee can gain knowledge from the mentor. A mentor that recognizes the value of a mentee is more likely to offer him better work opportunities in the future.
- Update Your Resume Per New Certifications
As individuals get more certifications along their professional journey, they need to keep updating their resumes. An updated resume opens the individual to more opportunities in his or her career path.
Include dates of certificates awarded to reflect the recency of an award. This markets you as an asset to any organization. Other information to input in your resume includes volunteering endeavors and conferences. These updates will make your prospective employer think that you are a thorough professional and make other aspects of your resume look more believable.
- Join Professional Organizations
Working on a career not only involves getting certifications from professional bodies; it also involves becoming a member of such bodies. Registered memberships of professional organizations may differ from their certifications. These memberships allow professionals to register after fulfilling a set of requirements.
Memberships may be offered based on a subscription or a one-time basis. They’re also made available to individuals based on their certifications, years of experience, and some other considerations.
- Learn on the Job
When you eventually get a new job, certifications and academic qualifications are only as good as your work performance. You need to pay great attention to the hands-on knowledge that you gather in a job position. As you perform your duties, liaise with teams, and correspond with key players within the industry, you begin to acquire important skills in your career.
All the new information and knowledge acquired on a job should be applied zealously to ensure that you constantly improve. It’s believed that the first year is the hardest and getting accustomed to the job gets easier after that. Always make sure to keep track of your career goals on the job.
Final Thoughts
Getting basic qualifications for a chosen career is only the first step. To be properly established in your career, you need to update your skills continuously. Remain rightly positioned for future opportunities with an updated resume.
Apply to the organizations you’re excited to work in and expect the best. Consider getting mentored by an experienced professional. When you eventually get your dream job, don’t ever forget to keep learning.