change your career, Changing your career can feel slightly scary. But when you know the right steps to take and start moving forward with the change, you'll find things a bit easier, tips to change my career, tips to change your career

1. CHANGING
YOUR CAREER
Fed up with your job? Tempted to
change career?

2. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
WHAT IS A CAREER?
A career is a path of work. It makes more than just a job title.
It is a significant part of a person’s life, with opportunities for
progression.
Being in the right career is important for:
Job satisfaction – feeling that your time and effort is being
put in the right place
Health – keeping your mental health in shape requires your
daily life to be reasonably stress and worry free
The workplace – It is better for a company to have staff
that truly want to be there

3. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
WHAT IS A CAREER CHANGE?
A change of career is not a shift in job – it’s a complete
move from one field to another.
Moving career is:
Exciting – especially if your job and field bores you or leaves
you feeling unfulfilled
Nerve-wracking – especially if the career is very different
Brave – because acknowledging your unhappiness, and
inviting doubt from others, is not always easy

4. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
BUT NOT EVERYONE WHO CHANGES
CAREER IS THANKFUL THEY DID
It’s important to carefully consider the reasons
why you want to change:
Is it:
The hours?
Your colleagues?
The work itself?

5. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
THE HOURS
Think about:
Flexible working – it is law for
employers to consider a flexible
working request. This could be:
 A move from full to part time
 Job-sharing
 Doing the same hours over fewer days
 And more
Are your hours not meeting your needs?
Would you prefer another pattern, or a stronger work-
life balance?

6. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
YOUR COLLEAGUES
Are colleagues holding you back, or making
work difficult? A change of job, not career,
might be the answer.
If you changed role within the organization, would you be more excited
about coming to work?
It might be a sign that you should change career if the type of worker
just doesn’t match you. You could be around:
 The opposite/the same gender too much
 People too commercially/academically minded
 Too many/too few people!

7. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
THE WORK
The work could just not be right. Separate it from your
hours and your colleagues. If the others were ideal,
would the job be?
Consider talking to your employer:
They may introduce more challenge
They may pass some work to others
You’re not threatening to leave – you’re just
explaining that the work isn’t at a happy level

8. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
SO, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT
TO CHANGE CAREER?
It’s not the hours, the colleagues, or the work. It’s the
whole lot. You need a change of career.
But where on Earth do you start?
You could be in two minds
Knowing where you want to go – you can jump straight
into the research and education
Knowing that you just need to get out of where you are
– you need to do some thinking and introspection

9. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
INTROSPECTION
Look at your skills, and what was missing from your last
career.
Use these questions as a guide:
What have you achieved in your career and which of
those are you proud of?
Have you enjoyed the challenges, or preferred the
steadier work?
How did promotions, if any, make you feel?

10. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
MORE INTROSPECTION
Write your answers down so they can become a solid guide.
Did your salary allow you live the way you wanted, and what
level could that reasonably be?
What expertise have you got to carry over elsewhere?
Then, finally…
Will you regret it if you don’t?

11. SO YOU KNOW
WHERE YOU WANT
TO GO?
Here’s what you should do.

12. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
RESEARCH
This is about more than just the internet
Career within the same field – you may already have a fair
understanding of expectations, have spent time with
people in the role and know the general path
Career in a different field – this is likely to need much more
research about the environment and lifestyle
So what research can we do?

13. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
OBSERVATIONAL SHIFTS
Go for a day-in-the-life of with someone doing your dream
job.
Observational shifts are great because:
No responsibility – you will be free to learn
without committing to work, though you
probably won’t be able to help or do anything with risk
You have a whole day to ask questions – and while on the
job, the real issues will be at the fore
No training required – the benefits of work experience
without qualifying to do it

14. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
WORKING
Without a doubt, the best way to gain experience in a
field is to join in! If you can’t get paid work, unpaid is just
as valuable for learning.
Potential work opportunities are:
Internships
Part-time work
Voluntary work
Temp work

15. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
TRAINING PROVIDERS
Talk to a training provider. They’ll give
you an idea of the realistic prospects
of the career you want to move to.
They will know the training required
and be able to help you seek it.
They will also help you understand timescales and
how you might achieve the results around other
commitments.

16. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
Recruitment consultants, like
training providers, see career
changes regularly, and will have
valuable knowledge to take
advantage of.
They may assist with getting you
onto training courses or work
experience.

17. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
EDUCATION AND
TRAINING
With research about the job over, it’s time to figure out
whether you and your CV are up to the task.
A serious career will require a level of re-training – this
should be of no surprise.
Here are the steps you need to go through:

18. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
IDENTIFY THE SKILLS NEEDED
Skills are separate from qualifications. If you want to become
a carer, where are your caring skills?
You can build skills that are lacking with:
Training courses
Work experience
Both!
Don’t underestimate how much the type of person you are
counts as much as how qualified you are.

19. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
IDENTIFY INDUSTRY QUALIFICATIONS
Think cost and time.
If you can’t afford full-time education, try and work part-time.
If the skills are relevant to your current job, they may even pay
towards the course!
Part-time education is great because:
 You keep earning while you learn
 You remain a part of the workforce and can grow from that
 The learning is at a slower pace – great if the course is a
high level

20. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
TRY SMALL COURSES
It is sometimes best to do much smaller
courses to first ensure you are capable
and willing to do bigger ones.
Try free courses online, with sites like
FutureLearn. These offer bite-size dips
into the academic field of your dream
career.

21. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
DISCUSS WITH A CAREERS ADVISOR
Some people aspire to better themselves but can’t
get the academics down – and this is very common.
A career’s advisor will have a clear vision of how to
reach success and can support you from start to
finish.
They may be your route to work experience and
should have a method and contacts to achieve this.

22. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
NETWORK
Networking is key when venturing to a
new career. Be it through friends, family
or more professional networks, knowing
others will boost your opportunities for
experience and put you in good
standing for recommendations. You can
also gain an insight into life on the job.
Try looking for a professional network in
your area that welcomes candidates.

23. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
FIND A MENTOR
A mentor, or a career advisor, can
be an informal arrangement or
someone like a career consultant.
They will keep you on your path,
helping you through tough times
and allowing you to achieve the
good times.
They may already have a network that
you could take advantage of.

24. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
IN SUMMARY
First establish why you want to change careers – and if it’s a
problem that can’t be changed within.
If a career change is definitely the right thing:
Do observational shifts, internships and voluntary work
Get part-time and temp work where you can
Identify what skills and qualifications you will need
Try smaller courses so you are prepared for them
Use experts like career’s advisors to guide you!

25. Call a specialist Careers Advisor at Pathway – 0121 707 0550 or visit http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
YOU DON’T NEED TO DECIDE ALONE
Why not contact one of our careers advisors at Pathway
Group who can guide you on the path to a change?
Call Pathway on 0121 707 0550
Visit our website at http://www.pathwaygroup.co.uk/
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