Changing career? 3 tips on how to make it happen

You've had it with finance and want to pursue your dream career in marketing? You've been working in the healthcare sector in Germany all your life, and you're ready to transfer to technology in the US?

Whatever your change of function, sector or location is, it's not always easy to make that jump. Different jargon/sector lingo, new trends in new areas, but most of all: not having the "perfect" background to sell yourself to recruiters: sigh... right?

Who am I to work in X, if I've been building up all my expertise/experience in Y?

Here are 3 tips that have helped me in the past:

1. Make a list of your transferable skills

That sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised about how many of us try to just "wing" it. Make a list of things you do well, skills you've excelled at, and be proud of yourself when you do it. Find out what your transferable skills are, find your success stories, and understand that many positions require someone who's motivated, quick to learn/adapt, flexible, trustworthy, and hard-working.

• examples of transferable skills: IT, communication, people management, creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, etc.

Also, when you're reading a job description, make a list of the skills they are really looking for. What do they want you to DO, on a day-to-day basis?

2. Have career conversations about the new role/sector/location

One of the most important thing you need to know when changing careers: you need to believe you're able to do the job. If you believe that, you can sell yourself to a recruiter or a company. Otherwise, you might encounter one difficult question after another, and with that, the interview gets harder and harder.

How do you get that self-confidence to believe? By researching and talking with the actual change you want to make!

Interview experts in the new function, professionals in the sector, visit the locations you're aiming for. Ask about the reality, not only about the good stuff. Ask what a normal day looks like, ask about the needs and the skills. What is it you DO? Plus, it's excellent networking - you might end up with a job, rather than "just" a career conversation.

3. Brand yourself

Branding yourself (on LinkedIn) as a professional in the field you're targeting, is like sowing seeds today, to become who you want to be tomorrow! Spend some extra time to tailor your CV or bullet points aligned with your new career, comment on articles on LinkedIn, like posts from interesting professionals you admire in the field you're targeting, follow companies, build a strong a summary, use related keywords and definitely consider following a related (online) course (or 2). This will help make it clear that you're motivated about this change, and that you're being proactive about bridging possible gaps.

Did you think of any other tip to help people change careers? Comment below!