4 Action Steps To Strategically Carve Out Your Next Position

As a recruiter, I’ve facilitated a considerable amount of career changes over my career, with the majority of those coming from candidates who were not necessarily in the job market (commonly known as passive candidates) but were willing to entertain something new if it truly represented a good career move for them. In fact, some of my most memorable candidate experiences have come from those who were gainfully employed, high performers. Career moves at all levels should be well-thought out and your reasons/motives should be clear in your mind and clearly articulated to a potential new employer. This is where having a career coach or a trusted recruiter can work wonders for you ??

For most professionals in their field of expertise, whether passive or an active job seeker, there are practical steps that you can take to position yourself for your next career move. Here are my top 4!

1. Be reflective of your career to date – What have you accomplished personally and professionally? What do you do best, what do you enjoy doing, and what direction are you looking to take your career in? The latter could mean a variety of things such as stepping out of an individual contributor role and leveraging your experience into a supervision or management of people role. Or perhaps moving to a new industry and field entirely. The key is to know what you want and to pursue whatever that is. A lot of professionals from my experience, and I notice this more from people who I speak with who have been with one company for the majority of their careers, do not know how to start this sort of career reflection and ultimately have a hard time pinpointing what they’d like to do because they’ve been boxed into one area for so long. If you are timid about switching companies, then make it a point to explore new opportunities within your current organization to avoid career depression or burnout.
2. Once you’ve completed your reflection and you’ve figured out what you enjoy doing and what you’d like to do, the next step is to start doing research into the companies you’d like to work for and the key skills that are necessary for the role(s) you are pursuing.
3. Interview Rust – Now would be the perfect time to start brushing up on some of those soft skills. If you’ve kept your head down with one company for more than 5 years, chances are your ability to navigate through rounds of interviews could need some fine-tuning. Be deliberate in this area and get a coach or watch videos online about the right and wrong way of interviewing. The more you practice it, the better you will become at communicating during interviews.
4. Develop your personal brand and market yourself accordingly – This ties into point #1. Knowing who are you, what you do well, and how you can offer value to a new company will make you more attractive to hiring managers and recruiters. The key is to steer your career in the direction you’d like to take it – don’t allow other people to dictate your career!

Final Thoughts: Let’s face it, changing careers is daunting for most people. Preparation is key and remember, what you do as a profession should be rewarding and bring your life deeper meaning. You are working for more than just a pay cheque, and I’ve noticed that those who love what they do, end up making the most money. Be courageous in your pursuit of greatness!