JobsCity.net

1) Decide what it is you cannot stand about your current job situation. Is it the hours? Is it the actual job? Is it the long commute? Is it the pay? Or is it all of the above? See, what you might need is not an actual career change but a change in hours (flexibility, part-time work, etc.), or perhaps the same kind of job but closer to home.

Don't fall into the trap of wanting to change everything about your job and career before you evaluate and know for sure that is what you want to do to become a happier person in your worklife. Work with a career coach to determine your goals and shed light on the problem areas you need to work on to achieve maximum job satisfaction. My personal recommendation for career coaching is Carole Nicolaides at http://www.progressiveleadership.com.

2) Have a clear goal in mind and on paper. Your career coach can also help you with this process. Assuming that you have decided that a career change is your ticket to worklife happiness, sit down, think and be honest with yourself. Talk to yourself out loud if that helps. (I know it helps me clarify my thoughts). Listen to yourself in the process, also. Tell yourself what it is you want to do:
- what is the job of your dreams?
- what industry is it in?
- what steps will you need to get there?

3) Talk to people in the new industry. Find these people through your contacts, networking, research in the library (trade and association publications) and the Internet. For a list of industry related research websites, e-mail Rita Fisher at resumes@reliable-net.net.

4) Join trade associations and attend networking events within your new area of interest. Subscribe to the most important publications and newsletters. Keep up with the new industry.

5) Learn something new every day. Make sure to learn something every day that will pertain to your new job, even if it is just a small piece of information.

6) Get additional formal education if needed. Through your research and speaking with people you will soon find out if you need to pursue additional educational avenues in order to have the best possible shot at landing a job in this new industry.

7) Rework your resume. You will most likely need a functional resume that will focus on your transferable skills (such as customer relations, conflict-resolution, communication, negotiation, teambuilding, etc.). For the best results, get help with this process. We, at Career Change Résumés, offer this service.

8) Post your resume online. For a list of job board sites to post your resume on, e-mail Rita Fisher at resumes@reliable-net.net. Besides the online job boards, visit websites of companies you would like to work for and post your resume following their instructions.

Caution: Don't just sit back and wait for results from your online job postings. Use Internet job boards only as a minor method of job seeking. The majority of your job seeking efforts should be concentrated on talking to everyone you come in contact with and on networking at industry events and job fairs.

9) Just do it. Robert Eckert the CEO of Mattel who successfully made a career transition from Kraft Foods to Mattel, said regarding his career change that you have to: "commit fully. Once you decide to make the move, always look forward instead of being distracted by the 'could haves, would haves, should haves' of the old job."