Changing Careers At 30? Make Your Career Shift Smooth And Effortless
Whether you’re interested in changing careers at 30 or finding a new career at 40, here’s how to navigate your mid-career change smoothly.
The growth of remote work has inspired many employees to quit their jobs and make a mid-career switch to a remote or more flexible workplace.
The massive number of layoffs during the pandemic has also ensured that there are millions of Indians looking for a career move to a more stable industry.
If you plan on changing careers in your 30s and are looking to make a career change, you can start fresh with these career options in India and find career change jobs with no experience.
But if you’re looking for new life-changing opportunities what you really need is the assurance that you’re not too old to change careers and the online career guidance to help you navigate your career switch successfully.
If you need career transition assistance and advice for a career change after engineering, for instance, you can connect with a career counsellor in the Glow & Lovely Career Community.
Career change consultant Chip Conley teaches career professionals how to build TQ (Transition Intelligence) and according to him, “Being able to master a career transition has become an essential 21st century skill in a world that is changing faster than ever before.”
How To Make Your Career Change Easier
If you need to find a job more suited to your skills, here are some steps to help you make your career change easier.
1. Know Yourself
Before you change your career, take the time to understand yourself better. Most people never pause to reflect on who they are and what they want from their lives.
Career changes have become more common since the pandemic, since people have more time to reflect and reconsider what they’re doing in their lives.
For many people, a career move can be a life-changing opportunity to find their passion and choose a career more suited to their aptitude and personality.
If you had to sacrifice your passions and dreams to provide for your family or be a better parent you should try to understand your personality, aptitude, and life purpose before making a career change at 45.
This doesn’t mean you need to sit cross-legged and meditate, but that you should figure out how you can apply your skills to live a happy and fulfilling life.
You can also do a free career test and consult get free career advice on your career change options in the Glow & Lovely Career Community.
This will make you more aware about your personality type and offer suggestions on the best careers for your personality so you can find a job that plays to your strengths.
You can also do a practice psychometric assessment in the GAL Community. This is a tool that employers use to screen job applicants for suitability and it can help you learn a lot about yourself and which jobs you will function best in.
One of our favourite successful career change stories is that of a single mom, Shimmi, a preschool teacher in Bangalore trying to provide the best for her daughter. She says:
As a single mother, it is very difficult to manage everything alone. I came to Bangalore with no prior job experience or reference but only hope. I just wanted to provide the best education for my daughter while building my own identity.
When I got the chance at a better job, I was told I would have to give an aptitude test and a personal interview. I remembered seeing an ad for free online courses and was lucky enough to find an aptitude test there for free.
I practiced the whole day and aced the test the next day. The questions in the actual test were similar to the practice test. So, I could get a job, thanks to the free aptitude test.
2. Adopt a Growth Mindset
Making a career change is all about being open to new possibilities, and when it comes to success in life, having the right mindset is everything.
Learn the difference between a fixed mindset vs. growth mindset and the four most common mindset shifts for developing a success mindset.
So, what mindset are you? Are you trying to prove yourself and win? Or are you trying to improve yourself? Do you have a beginner's mind or are you a know-it-all? As Conley says:
“Focus on letting go of ‘proving yourself’ and instead on ‘improving yourself’. Being open, curious, and adopting a growth mindset focused on learning and improving will prevent your professional sandbox from getting smaller and smaller, whereas a fixed mindset will limit your options to that which you already know and make you feel stuck, judgmental or constrained in your profession.”
There’s no shame in going back to school for a career change. Whether that means learning new skills or upgrading the ones you already have, being open to learning new skills with these free online courses will help you become a more suitable job candidate.
3. Find the Best in Yourself
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do with your life but have hesitated from doing? Ask yourself why and be open and non-judgmental of your answers.
According to Conley, weighing your career decisions with empathy and curiosity through the process of Appreciative Inquiry can help you open up to new possibilities and career opportunities.
Appreciative Inquiry is about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the strengths-filled, opportunity-rich world around them. It will help you find the best in yourself by focusing on your strengths and the opportunities open to you.
4. Connect With Your Network
As a mid-career or older professional it’s likely that you have already built a good professional network. Sometimes connecting with your network and letting them know that you’re looking to change careers is all it takes.
You can put out feelers and send a message to people on LinkedIn saying, “I want to change my career to [mention your career preference here]. Can you help?”
People are willing to help someone they like and respect, so only connect with those with whom you share a friendly and mutually respectful relationship.
5. Become a “Mentern”
A ‘Mentern’ is the fusion of a MENTOR and an INTERN or an older professional who can bridge the gap in the workforce between Boomers and Millennials.
The movie, The Intern, starring Robert D'Niro and Anne Hathaway, featured an example of intergenerational collaboration, where older professionals share their career of experiences and knowledge while learning new skills from their millennial and younger coworkers.
Conley believes that creating a mentor-mentee relationship between Menterns and Millennials can foster more intergenerational collaboration in the workplace.
6. Create an Impressive Resume
Don’t write your entire career history in your resume. The ideal resume is one that is tailored to the job description that you’re applying for. It’s best to start with a career summary and use one of the many popular resume formats available.
Don’t make your resume more than two pages long and avoid mistakes such as irrelevant details and creative fonts. Write a career objective statement that matches the job description and company to which you’re applying.
In the Glow & Lovely Career Community, you can also find a free online resume builder to help you write a killer resume.
7. Create a Social Media Presence
Today, it’s common to use social media to find a job. Most companies check out the social profiles of candidates they plan to interview for a job.
If you don’t have a social media profile, start by creating one on LinkedIn and use these social media job search tips to ensure that your social profiles are professional and job ready.
8. Brush Up on your Soft Skills
Soft skills are essential skills to have in the workplace. These include communication skills, interpersonal skills, effective teamwork and leadership skills, and time management skills.
It’s expected that mid-career and older professionals will have developed good soft skills from many years of experience in the workplace. However, some professionals may lack social etiquette soft skills or want to speak fluent English.
In that case, you can take spoken English classes online to improve your skills and confidence and make yourself more employable in the Glow & Lovely Career Community.
9.Make an Interview-Ready-Video (IRV)
The Interview-Ready-Video (IRV) is now an important part of the hiring process as many job interviews take place on video chat. Sending an IRV along with your resume can help you distinguish yourself from the competition.
Employers use the IRV to quickly determine if you’re a good 'fit' for their organization and if they would like to proceed with an interview. The more professional you appear on your IRV, the better your chances are of getting hired.
Here are some tips to create a great IRV:
- Dress for the job you want
- Write a proper, well-written script
- Use a teleprompter app if you need help
- Listen to yourself on audio to know how you sound
- Speak naturally and use proper pronunciation and diction
- Make eye contact with the camera while speaking
- Use open and confident body language
- Film a video on your phone or have it done professionally
- Practice a few times before you create the final IRV
- Your IRV should only be about 60 seconds
- Get it edited by a professional if required
Once you create an IRV you’ll be more comfortable and confident in front of the camera during the actual interview.
10. Start your Own Business
If you fail in your efforts to find a full-time job, don’t lose hope. You can start your own home business as a coach, consultant, or trainer.
As a mid-career or older professional, you have a lot of wisdom to share. You can get paid for your wisdom by sharing it with others as a coach, consultant, or trainer.
Whether that means becoming a life coach or a business coach, or making the change from corporate to teaching, it’s a wonderful thing to discover what midlife wisdom you can share while helping others.
For example, one of the best second careers for teachers to transition to may be as an online tutor who coaches students all over the world in the same subjects that they used to teach in class.
So if you’re considering a career change, these tips for choosing a new career will help you in changing careers change smoothly.
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