How to approach retraining for a new career

Are you feeling unfulfilled at work? Maybe it’s time for a change?

Whether you recently graduated and want to change track, or you’ve got 20 years of experience in your field, it’s never too late to rethink your chosen profession. With the average career change taking place at 39, it’s clear that many people change paths at a time that feels right for them.

While the urge to change careers may have come naturally to you, knowing where to get started with doing so may have not. This is understandable, particularly if you are well-established within a specific sector or company.

The following advice will help guide you through how to approach a career change:

Determine your why

Before you make any active steps towards a career change, it is first important to determine why you want to do so. This could be anything from pursuing a passion to wanting to relocate.

It is important to do this to provide yourself with a focus and also make sure that it is truly a change in career you want rather than pursuing a new role at a different organisation. For example, if you are seeking a career with better benefits, is retraining the best option, or would seeking a similar role in a different company solve your problem?

Explore your options

Now that you have determined the reasoning behind pursuing a career it is time to explore potential new options. It may be that you already have an exact role in mind, but if not, there are plenty of things you can do to help find new possibilities, including:

• Attending a careers fair to see what current jobs are available in your local area.
• Taking a personality test to highlight your strengths and weaknesses and assess which careers align with them.
• Speaking to established professionals in fields you are interested in to get a better understanding of what their role entails and whether it is something you would enjoy.

Establish an action plan

Once you have decided on the new career path you want to follow it is time to put together an action plan.

Determine what training and/or qualifications you need to obtain and decide how you are going to go about doing so. It is likely that it won’t be viable to quit your current position before you are qualified for a new role and so it may be that you need to attend classes and complete courses during the evenings and on weekends. Think carefully about whether this is achievable and the impact it may have on both your mental and physical health. It may also be that you need to make training work alongside family life.

Gain relevant experience

As well as becoming qualified, it is useful to begin networking so that you have a better chance of securing a job once you are ready to do so. This could include attending industry talks or connecting with people on LinkedIn, especially if you are entering into a sector where this is common practice, such as consultancy.

If possible, try to secure some work experience or shadowing. This is particularly useful if you are retraining for a technical role such as solar panel installer or electrician. This will allow you to witness the job first hand, confirming whether or not is it something you would like to do. As well as giving you some hands-on experience to add to your CV. While undertaking work experience or shadowing, be sure to ask if there are any additional steps you could take to be successful in your desired career.