How To Change Your Job Domain In 7 Steps
Are you looking to switch up your career but are lost on how to begin? These 7 tips will help you successfully change your domain, and get the job of your dreams.
Switching careers can be a scary step, especially if you are already established in your career. Companies ask for years of experience as well as educational qualifications, both of which you don’t have. Though it might seem to be a daunting task, it is not an impossible one. If you have the will to learn and the right strategy, you can successfully get into the field you desire, and get the salary package you deserve. These 7 steps will lay out the perfect strategy which will guarantee a smooth change in your career domain. So let’s begin.
1) CONDUCT A SELF ASSESSMENT AND ANALYZE YOUR SKILLS
Asking yourself the “why” question is crucial to understanding what you truly need. Why do you want to quit your current job? Why do you want to change your domain? As well as WHY you think this job is for you. What do you link about this domain that makes you want to switch? Asking these questions will make you understand what job satisfaction means to you and what kind of job you are seeking. This self-assessment will also help you find the kind of job you would like to switch to.
After doing a thorough assessment and understanding what career you would exactly want to do, analyze the current skills you have. Do they match the job I want to pursue? What experiences do I have that will benefit me in my new job? What skills does this new job demand that I lack?
By asking these questions you will understand the gaps in your knowledge and can begin devising a strategy to commence the journey of your career switch.
2) DEVISE A TIME BOUND STRATEGY
Devising a strategy is the next most important step in your journey towards a domain change. Divide your strategy by considering the time you will spend learning skills, exercising what you learned in projects, and when you will begin applying for jobs. This will have to be time-bound so that you can career switch as soon as possible.
3) BEGIN LEARNING SKILLS OF YOUR DOMAIN
Now that you know what company you will go to, and what your schedule will look like, you will have to begin to fill your knowledge gap. You can resume your academic journey by joining colleges or pursuing accredited online Universities like IGNOU. If going back to college is not a convenient option for you, you can choose a Bootcamp or an online certification. Google, Meta, Udemy, Coursera, etc offer various certifications and boot camps in numerous fields like Digital Marketing, UI/UX design, Software Engineering etc.
If you are looking to completely change your field, these courses will give you the required knowledge and skills. However, just learning these skills won’t be enough to crack a job. You will also need to prove to the company that you have on the ground experience in these fields.
4) GAIN EXPERIENCE
Companies demand years of experience for every job. This makes the task of finding a job in your desired domain even more difficult. Now the question arises, how can you gain experience without getting any job? Don’t worry, there are various ways to gain ample experience to prove your worth to the recruiter.
- Internships- Internships are a great way to gain valuable on ground experience of any field. They are a great way to prove to a recruiter that you know how to put your theoretical knowledge into action.
- Try taking up projects in your company related to your desired domain. This can mean extra, unpaid hours of work but it is all worth it once you gain enough experience in your field. For example, if you are a Digital Marker wanting to switch to project management, try taking up product marketing projects. Then ask your company to let you work in the product creations team. You can then write about it in your resume using the XYZ Google formula. Furthermore, by showing your current company that you have the skills needed to switch to your desired career, they might allow you an in-company switch.
- Freelance- Freelancing is also a great way to gain experience. Network with people you know, or start sending cold emails to potential clients pitching your work. As you slowly gain more experience, you will begin building experience in the field which you can then add to your resume.
- Work for Free- Are you passionate about a project in your desired field? Take it up and use your skills! You will not only gain expeirence, but also have your own project to boast about.
5) REBRAND YOURSELF
Now that you have both the skills as well as the experience, it is time to rebrand yourself. This means changing up your resume, cover letters etc and moulding them to your new career. This demands you to include your new skills and experiences as well as, skillfully align your older ones to the requirements of your new career. If you want more tips on how to build a strong resume, check this blog out.
For this, you can also shift to the functional resume structure. This structure focuses more on your skills rather than your job experiences. Being a domain changer, you dont have many job experiences and can thus use this resume structure to highlight your skills and the projects you have used them in. You can elaborate this through the XYZ formula that is-
X is for “accomplished what?”, Y is for “measured by”, and Z is used for “by doing what?”
Also update your Linkedin to market you for your new career field.
After rebranding yourself, now you need connections.
7) NETWORKING WITH YOUR NEW JOB DOMAIN
The last step of your transition is networking. As you are a part of a completely different domain, it is crucial to have contacts to guide you and vouch for you. You can do this through your existing contacts from that field, as well as finding new ones. This can be done through networking sites like Linkedin where you can find and communicate with people from your desired industry.
CONGRATULATION! You have successfully switched and got your dream job.
Though this change might be nerve-wracking, guidance from industry specialists can make your domain transition more smoother. That is where the Hireyy ATS package comes into action.
The package gives you one-on-one mock sessions with industry experts from big companies like Deloitte, KPMG, etc, as well as 4 instant domain referrals that will strengthen your profile. Additionally, experts at Hireyy will make you a strong ATS-friendly resume and build for you a powerful Linkedin account. Furthermore, it also gives you a 2800 percentper cent guarantee that your resume will get selected and you will get a job within an average of just 18 days. So if you are changing your domain but are not able to get your dream job, the Hireyy ATS Package is the product for you. Go check it out here.
Penned by Kritika Pant
