How to make a career change into a new industry

Career changers must focus on skills and experiences rather than past job titles and industries, says workplace expert Amanda Rose.

THE important thing when making a career change into a new industry is to train your brain to look at yourself as a skill set rather than an industry background.

Turn what you have done for the past five or 10 or 20 years into a collection of skills and experiences that are generic, not industry specific, because skills are transferable.

Often you can pick up on an industry within three months and familiarise yourself without feeling left out.

If you are savvy enough, you can look at the skill set applied in that industry and match it and say to an employer “I actually have a lot of the skills already”.

You have got to find the wording that is related to what you are good at and the best way to find that wording is to look at job descriptions.

There are a lot of fancy words out there to describe what you do.

For example, a mum coming out of not working for 10 years has organised a family so they can break that down to “time management”, “logistics”, “diary management” – all the things EAs (executive assistants) do.

Say you are a journalist, that means you investigate so you are good at research and compiling information.

You are a story teller, a communications specialist, you can take information that is complex and turn it into information that people can understand.

With a carpenter that has been running their own small business, were they managing a team?

That is a transferable skill set.

Amanda Rose recommends getting experience in the new industry before leaving your current one. Picture: Monique Harmer

If they ran a business, they have all the skills from stakeholder engagement to lead generation.

There are a whole range of skills from just one role.

Another tip is to get as much experience in the new job on the side while you are in your current job.

If you can prove you are participating in relevant events or doing a relevant degree, not only will your name get out there but it shows you are throwing yourself into the industry.

Cut your teeth volunteering or interning so you have some kind of experience and understanding before you make the career change.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every week.

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Originally published as How to make a career change into a new industry