What do you do if you want to switch careers within Education smoothly?

Unlike in many other professions, 'switching' in education has many things to consider. As educators our work is very personal so before making any major changes, think about what you really love about your job. When I made the switch from full-time classroom teacher to more middle administration/management, I hadn't fully considered how much I would miss the daily interaction I had with students. I found that I really regretted not being with them everyday. This is just one thing to reflect about.

In my view, reflection is they key to make the best decisions. First of all, it is necessary to identify the reasons which lead a person to make the decision itself. In my case, my decision to become a teacher is to give a very powerful tool to students, which is knowledge and experience. I consider this tool vital so as to have a good job in the future and, specially, to lead a good way of life, to make the right decisions and choose correctly. Education should not only have a good effect in order to have a job, but also in order to make good choices. Learning from your own mistakes and trying to correct them is a very powerful key.

Actually, roles in schools are changing A LOT at the moment. With roles that use to be more prominent becoming less critical and roles like 'inclusion coach' and others are taking center stage. There are many new roles and titles in schools now, so be sure to ask loads of questions and also read the job descriptions carefully!

There has never been a better time to collect 'micro-credentials' than now. Also, finding ways to interact with your network will help in understanding what new skills you might need in any job change.

It is essential that you have the adecuate skills and knowledge to build a career. Without a good amount of information, you can make a serious mistake and maybe you will regret it in the future.

Without a doubt, networking is essential to making any smooth transition to any new adventures! However, it does require work. Following/befriending people on social media doesn't make them your instant PLN member, you have to have authentic and genuine interactions with others to develop the network...

It is always a great point to look into social media, you can get a new job or you can find a forum or a comment which can be useful for your career and knowledge. Everything helps in the end.

Having reviewed thousands of resumes/CVs there is a very fine line between being 'trendy' with your format and being outdated. Never, ever put anything on your resume that you cannot fully discuss with future employers. For example, if you were a member of a committee for a project, you need to have very clear contributions in mind when talking about your activities within that committee or on that project. If you cannot speak with authority about that, then I would suggest maybe thinking of something else to add... The resume real estate is finite and can be used up quickly so make every character count!

Being able to pass a personal interview is really important. Showing genuine interest in your field and confidence when making decisions is a relevant issue. Probably a good boss needs to know that he can count on employees.