Quantifying Your Knowledge and Skills
Most people making a mid-career change understand more than they realize. They gain knowledge or skills in one situation but fail to see the various other areas to which that same knowledge or those same skills apply. It's a terrible mistake. So much of your knowledge of processes, production, people management, time management, and so on can transfer from one career to another.
To maximize your career-change opportunities, you need to discover your hidden knowledge. You have to find knowledge and skills that can transfer into new areas, allowing you to become an expert rapidly. For years you have been learning "and gaining skills. You have, of course, learned specialized professional skills, but you have also gained knowledge and skills from other areas of your life. Many of these have value in your career.
Catching "Nonprofessional" Skills with Professional Value
Being a Little League baseball coach is an example of an outside interest that develops professional skills. Every technique you use to motivate the kids and manage their parents can be applied in the work environment. In order to build a championship team, you have to motivate underachievers, deal with egos, manage personality conflicts, schedule practices, and arrange transportation. You also have to carefully negotiate differences between players, and diplomatically solve disputes among parents. These are practical management skills. As a successful team coach, you have learned leadership skills that are priceless in the working world.
Human resources managers feel that time management is one of the most important skills needed in a management candidate. If you have been working at a job with set tasks, you may not realize your skill in this area. You may have to look outside your workplace to assess your time management ability. How many outside activities do you have? Do you belong to several clubs? Do you do community work? Do you carry responsibilities at church? Do you manage your home and also work a full-time job? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you possess time management skills.
Don't sell yourself short. We all learn from what we already know. List the after-work activities in which you participate. Do your best to note the managerial skills and knowledge you have gained from all your life experiences. Please note: many times you use managerial skills even when you are not a "manager." For example, you could be responsible for the successful completion of a set of tasks that involve the help of three other people. These people don't report to you, but you have to help them organize, prioritize, and process the information you need to complete your tasks. You are using managerial skills.
Quantifying Your Work Skills
The next step in your program is to quantify the skills you use in your actual job. It is often difficult for people to be objective when evaluating their own strengths, weaknesses, talents, and skills. You may want to enlist the help of others.
Getting It All Together
This article should have helped you recognize the transferability of your skills and knowledge. During this time of transition, it is wise to consider a new career even if you have not worked in that field before. If your personality and your skills match with a career field that has held some interest for you in the past, give yourself the chance to at least find out more about it.
By now, you know that most of your skills can transfer to a new career field, and you know how to prove to an employer the value of those skills. The next step is to learn how much effort is required in making various job/career changes.
Personal Calls in Your Marketing Campaign
It is for this part of your mid-career change campaign that you need to reevaluate your middle-aged packaging. Your in-person calls, and later your interviews, can make or break your mid-career change.
In-person calls are not the same as interviews. An interview for a position is the objective of your marketing campaign. Personal calls gather information for your marketing campaign. When you are making personal calls, make sure it is understood that you are seeking only information, not an interview.
There are two types of personal calls. The first occurs during the phase of your marketing campaign when you are gathering information for your prospect list. The second type of call occurs after you have your prospect list and resume completed, when you want to introduce yourself to prospective employers. You would not want an interview during the first phase, because you don't have enough information yet to be well prepared.
Show appreciation to the people who help you on your way. Send thank-you notes to those who take time from their busy schedules to talk to you. Keep in touch with your network at regular intervals. You may make a contact who is unable to help you at that moment but who can give you valuable help months later. You don't want to be forgotten.
