Alumni Career Articles

Top 10 Tips for Career Changers

1. Take time to assess your career assets. Look carefully at all areas of your life experience (not just paid work), to clarify your skills, interest areas, values, needs, and goals.

2. Research new career ideas thoroughly. First read the relevant sources, and then talk to people in the new career field. Don’t rush into action on a new idea – and don’t reject that career dream as impossible or impractical too quickly.

3. Expect your career change to take time. Careers transitions generally take much more time than you would expect. In general, the further away your new career is from your old in job function and industry, the longer the change will take.

4. Be sure that you are making a move toward a goal that fits you. Don’t change careers just to get away from a difficult job situation.

5. Understand how your transferable skills fit and add value in the new career field. Be certain that you can explain to prospective new employers how the skills you have acquired in your current work can make you effective in your new field.

6. Don’t assume you need additional training or a degree program to qualify for your new career. Research the field and the training options thoroughly before committing your time and money.

7. Look for opportunities to begin gaining experience and exposure in your new career field. Consider all the possibilities for building skills and experience through volunteering, internships, and professional associations.

8. Go back to the job search basics. Be sure your networking, resume/cover letter writing, interviewing and negotiating skills are up-to-date. Networking will be especially key in helping you to identify industry trends and job leads. Be sure to join the Tufts Career Network, at http://careers.tufts.edu/network, to connect with over 7,500 alumni in a wide variety of fields.

9. Be flexible … your destination may turn out to look different than you had originally planned. There may be more than one way to satisfy many of your career criteria, and you’ll need to be open to unexpected possibilities.

10. Get lots of strategic and emotional support. Career change can be a challenging process, and will certainly take you out of your comfort zone at times. Identify people who can support you in your career change process – by helping you find new solutions to problems you encounter in your search, offering encouragement, or just helping you laugh on a tough day. Try to find mentors who can offer practical help in entering a new field.