You're navigating a career change. How can you benefit from analyzing patterns in career trajectories?

La trayectoria profesional es muy valiosa porque no solo nos permite tener mayor experiencia en el área de habilidades duras. Si no que aquí es donde se desarrollan las habilidades blandas. Es por ello que mapear tu FODA personal, identificar tus intereses y atributos te permite tener una visión global del área en la que mejor aporte puedes dar para tener éxito en ese cambio.

Navegar por uma mudan?a de carreira pode ser um processo complexo, mas empregar uma análise de padr?es nas trajetórias de carreira pode fornecer insights valiosos e direcionamento estratégico.

Many of us better envision their life path through a visual representation. As coach, I encourage my clients to use career mapping. Early 2024, an expat spouse (after a 10-year career break) wanted to move from finances to digital marketing role upon a rapatriation to her country. With a mapping tool, she could 1) Identify her transferable skills: by mapping out her past roles & responsibilities to pinpoint the skills she has developed that align with digital marketing roles 2) Target potential roles: by considering first the intermediate roles demanding less technical skills (marketing analyst, content strategist, etc.) 3) Create a learning path by mapping out the required skills & certifications and, time and resources to acquire them.

Skills Analysis: Conduct an evaluation of the employee's skills to match the company's needs and desired career path and Training and Development Programs: Implement appropriate training programs to enhance employee skills and prepare them for new challenges.

Career mapping is a super powerful method to determine if you are on the right career path. Look at someone in your career field right now who is a few years/steps ahead of you. Do you really desire the position they have? If you don't, you are going to want to make a shift, or accept staying where you are. If you are wanting to progress and you don't like the step on the path, you will likely sabotage your progress and hold yourself back.

When you're unsure how to analyze your skills for a career change, start by examining job descriptions and industry trend reports, and connect with professionals already in the field or role you're aiming for. This will help you identify the key skills that are in demand. If you discover a gap, consider taking a course or gaining hands-on experience by tackling projects or building case studies that develop these areas. The key is to align what you're good at with where you want to go. By taking these steps, you can map out a clear path forward that leverages your strengths and fills in any gaps, setting you up for success in your new career direction.

Skill Gap Analysis: Identify the gaps between the skills employees have and those required for a particular position, and determine the training required.

Active Listening: When talking to employees, HR should actively listen and understand what they are saying. Show attention with eye contact, nods, and relevant follow-up questions. This makes employees feel valued and comfortable to open up.

There are definitely easier ways to make a career transition, and more challenging ways. Some of my recommendations: - Don't quit your former job unless you have a solid plan of what you are doing next. I see a lot of people quitting and hoping to figure it out while they are not working. The challenge with this is as soon as your income stops, pressure starts. Pressure will not help you make a transition that works for you. - Start looking at how you are spending money now. Cut out all unnecessary expenses. You often need to spend money to make a transition, whether it's hiring a coach and/or learning some new skills. - Before you make any bold steps to something new, understand WHY it will work for you and what you desire.

Building a personal brand in a double context of career change and relocation can be difficult. However, my client could start the process and engage with a group of expat spouses like her. Talking on the challenges she was facing (trying to regain some professional consideration) she managed to create a new audience through other expat partners. Her plan is to step by step, rely on this specific community to extend her professional credibility with the support of the spouses' working partner. A personal branding strategy which should "ring a bell" to many expatriates across the world who are all, sooner or later, dealing with the challenges of a rapatriation.

Moving from financial management to digital marketing needs to develop a new "intelligence" I questioned my expat client so that she could confirm her desire to learn. In other terms, to confirm her desire to embrace all challenges, to keep persisiting in the face of setbacks, to envision her effort (path of mastery), to learn from criticism (quite common after a long career break taken overseas) and last but not least to find inspirations in the success of other expatriate spouses. 3 months after her rapatriation to her home country, I have noted that she is still taking courses on digital marketing and plan to apply for an intermediate role from October. Although the journey is still long, she has already reached higher level!