The first step is to be extremely specific about the industry you want to move into. Too many people make the mistake of being too generalistic when defining where they want to move into.
The more specific you are, the more focused you can be in your search. You can make sure you talk to the right people, tell the right story, and apply to only the jobs you actually want. This will dramatically speed up the process and increase your success rate.
⭐️ Typically, you should narrow your search on one industry and 3-5 roles or job titles that you are interested in.
⭐️ Be specific! Only go to the next step once you have identified the exact job titles you want to dig deeper into.
It's important to actually speak to people who are doing the roles you think you want. Remember that it's especially hard to if a job is the right fit for you from the outside. The day-to-day of a specific job is very different from what we know from the outside.
The best way to find out if a role is right for you is to speak to people doing the jobs already. This is called an informational interview, and it's a critical step of the career change process.
⭐️ Learn how to set up informational interviews on this page.
⭐️ Aim to talk to at least two to three people per role you defined in the last step and find out as much as you can about their careers. Be specific - find out about their day-to-day activities, typical career progressions in that industry, skills required, and get insight into what companies are great to work at. Once you do that, you will instantly get clarity over which roles you want to be prioritizing.
If you have no experience at all in the new field, it might be worth exploring ways you can get some part-time experience. This could be via volunteer work or startups in your area.
⭐️ This quote from Kathryn Minshew explains this: "Break the cycle of needing experience to get a job, and needing a job to gain experience.
In terms of gaining experience, one of the best things you can do is find a startup or nonprofit to work for part-time in your area of desired expertise. This helps you gain a foothold and gives you something to talk about to future employers. For example, a friend of mine did social media for a startup for three months on nights and weekends when she was trying to make a jump into a full-time social media role. She was recruited for her dream position shortly thereafter." (Source)
Get actionable career tactics and resources in this weekly round-up
Bite-sized career advice from the world's most successful professionals and industry leaders.
Proven networking email templates to help you grow your network and accelerate your career
Depending on how much of a career or industry change you're planning, you may need to highlight specific skills from your experiences that are relevant to the jobs you want. To help you determine which skills to highlight, take a look at the job description. What do they expect you to have?
Core competencies like Leadership, Teamwork, Analytical and Communication skills are always transferrable, so if you don't have specific accomplishments in mind, write about experiences where you demonstrated them. This might be about you leading a team, creating a presentation, etc.
⭐️ Targeted Resume is a free tool that analyzes the job description you're applying to and tells you exactly what the job is looking for, as well as what your resume is missing. It takes a couple of seconds to 'keyword optimize' your resume.
A resume summary is an optional section you can use at the start of your resume. They're useful if you want to direct a recruiter's attention to specific skills or roles you're looking at.
⭐️ Our resume summary generator gives you several examples of summaries you can use as a career changer.
There's a lot to cover here, and the best recommendation is to use our free tool, Score My Resume.
It uses AI to analyze your resume and tell you where you've gone wrong. It performs over 50 checks on your resume and typically finds an average of 15 easily fixable errors on every resume, enough to cost you an interview.
⭐️ Your resume should be a summary of your accomplishments, not your responsibilities. It should not read like a job description.
⭐️ Use action verbs and numbers to describe your accomplishments. Here's an example of how to write effective bullet points.
When you apply online, your resume first gets read by resume screening software (i.e. Applicant Tracking Systems). Many candidates get rejected for using resume templates that are unreadable by these tools. Ensure your resume will be read correctly.
⭐️ Download a free resume template here (Word and Google Docs).
⭐️ Use standard fonts and section titles. Read more
⭐️ Use Word or Google Docs to create your resume, and export it in PDF. Avoid Photoshop and creative design tools. Read more.
Get an expert resume review, instantly. Plus, it's free
Tailor your resume or LinkedIn profile to a job description, in seconds
Download resume templates that are optimized to pass hiring software
How to use numbers and metrics to write effective resume bullet points
An actionable step-by-step checklist to stay organized through a job search
Get inspired by bullet points that got candidates hired at top companies
Know exactly what your future employers are looking for when they read your resume
Use powerful action verbs to increase your resume's impact
Keep your LinkedIn profile and your work experience up-to-date. Make sure you have an engaging LinkedIn headline and summary.
⭐️ Use an engaging LinkedIn headline. See examples here.
⭐️ Write a better LinkedIn summary. Generate one here for a career changer.
⭐️ Make sure your LinkedIn matches up with your resume, including your job titles and work history.
An optimized LinkedIn profile helps recruiters find and contact you when they have new roles they need to fill. To identify keywords to use in your profile, go through job descriptions you are applying for or look at top LinkedIn profiles in the industry you want to work for.
⭐️ LinkedIn Optimization helps you position your LinkedIn profile for your new industry.
⭐️ Tailor your LinkedIn profile to the industry or job you want to join; update your job titles accordingly.
⭐️ One useful tip is to review top LinkedIn profiles in the industry you want to join. What keywords do people use on their profiles? What skills or certifications do they have?
Develop your network by connecting with people in the industry you want to move to.
⭐️ This guide is a great overview of what you need to do develop and grow your personal brand on LinkedIn
Optimize your LinkedIn profile for the jobs you want
Generate an effective LinkedIn summary instantly
How to ask for a LinkedIn recommendation [+ template]
Get actionable career tactics and resources in this weekly round-up
How to write LinkedIn connection requests [+ template]
While the standard approach is to go to Indeed or LinkedIn to find a job, you'll often find that there are many jobs that are especially suited to you that aren't aggregated by those larger job sites. You want to try find the smaller job sites that employers post dedicated jobs on - this means you'll be competing against less people and will get a higher response rate.
⭐️ To find niche job sites, go to Google and search "[your industry] jobs". Examples could be RemoteOK.io for remote jobs or Dice for tech jobs.
⭐️ You can also use Indeed, Monster and LinkedIn to find jobs, but use them in addition to the niche job sites. Employers are bombarded with irrelevant applications on the larger sites so they often spend less time and focus reviewing applications that come from there.
Have a company in mind or already have a contact at a company you want to work at? Get in touch with the recruiter.
⭐️ For inspiration, here are LinkedIn and email templates you can send to your contacts to ask for a job.
Optimize your LinkedIn profile for the jobs you want
Proven networking email templates to help you grow your network and accelerate your career
How to ask for introductions on LinkedIn [+ template]
External link. A niche job board for remote jobs
Get actionable career tactics and resources in this weekly round-up
To get past the resume screeners, you should tailor your resume to each job you apply to. Do this by including the most important keywords the job description requires.
⭐️ This is usually time consuming, but we've made it easy for you. Targeted Resume is a free tool that analyzes the job description you're applying to and tells you exactly what the job is looking for, as well as what your resume is missing. It takes a couple of seconds to 'keyword optimize' your resume.
⭐️ Save the job description on your computer when you apply for a job. The employer might remove it by the time your interview is scheduled.
A cover letter is particularly useful for changing careers. Use it to explain how your current skills will translate into the new role.
⭐️ This cover letter checklist guides you through the process of writing and optimizing your cover letter for a job.
⭐️ It can be tedious to write one for each job application, so you can reuse parts of your cover letter for different jobs, as long as you sufficiently customize the introduction and key skills.
It's usually very easy to find the recruiter responsible for the role you just applied to. Find their contact on LinkedIn or Google and connect with them on LinkedIn or email.
⭐️ Connect with them on LinkedIn with a personalized connection request.
⭐️ To make things even easier for you, I've compiled these LinkedIn and email templates you can send to a recruiter right after you have applied.
Tailor your resume or LinkedIn profile to a job description, in seconds
How to follow up with a recruiter (template)
How to write LinkedIn connection requests [+ template]
How to ask for introductions on LinkedIn [+ template]
Get actionable career tactics and resources in this weekly round-up
You might already know people who are employed at companies you want to work at. They can directly refer you to companies so you can skip the initial resume screening stage.
⭐️ If you have a company in mind, go to LinkedIn and find people in your first degree network who work at your dream companies.
⭐️ More detail is in the free How to Get a Job Referral playbook.
Use LinkedIn to find contacts outside of our immediate network that we have mutual connections with. We'll then ask our mutual connections for a 'warm' introduction to those contacts.
⭐️ Chances are that you have friends - or friends of friends - who already work at your dream companies.
⭐️ To make things even easier for you, I've compiled introduction templates you can send to your contacts right away.
There's a lot to this, so we recommend checking out this free detailed guide we created to help you get a job referral.
⭐️ Do not ask for a job or a referral directly. Instead, ask your contacts about their company and get a sense of if it's the right role for you. Take notes - these learnings will also help you stand out at the interview stage.
At the end of your interview, your interviewer is always going to ask you, "Do you have any questions for me?". Be prepared!
⭐️ To make things even easier for you, I've compiled the best questions you can ask an interviewer at the end of an interview.
⭐️ This is your opportunity to find out if the company is the right fit for you. Plus, asking smart questions will make sure you leave a lasting impression on your potential employer.
Find out what the organization does, who their clients are and their approach.
⭐️ Go to the company's About Us to start with, see their recent news, and particularly funding or strategy announcements.
⭐️ Find out what makes them different from their competition.
Make sure you know the job description well enough. Know what your day-to-day responsibilities are and what teams you will be working with.
⭐️ Your interviewer is going to ask you why you think you're a good fit for the role.
⭐️ For each responsibility or task on the job description, come up with an example of why you have the right experience or skills for it.
Practice the most common interview questions with a friend or in front of the mirror.
⭐️ You will almost definitely be asked about your career change, e.g. "Why do you think you're a good fit for the role?". Have answers ready for these kinds of questions.
⭐️ Nerves are normal, and even the most experienced interviewers get nervous. Practice with your interview clothes on - seriously. This will help reduce nerves on interview day!
⭐️ A great resource for interview questions is this Interview question list
