Changing Careers? Do You Know What You Need?

While attending the New Kadampa festival in New York State we met a couple my wife and son met previously in England. The wives talked about children and the men talked about work — but it was his wife’s work.

She is teaching at a university and was thinking of leaving academia for industry. She has undergraduate and advanced degrees in applied math. I thought of her for quantitative jobs and asked: Does she know what she needs to know to make the change in career? Meaning, has she spoken about different career alternatives and learned about the experience and training she will need to have?

When I was asked how to research new requirements for the field, I politely said that often guidance counselors, academic advisers and others in the career advice industry are lagging the field.

I offered a simple suggestion

Use Google.

Do a Google search for resumes in your new field in your region of the country and call up the people. Tell them that you saw their resume on the web, weren’t trying to hire them but wanted to pick their brain.

Ask them about how they broke in and what their firm looks for in the way of training and experience Ask if there are any industry groups they could point you to that you could join. Then thank them profusely for their generosity.

Most people are very generous with their time as long as you aren’t abusive.

And then return the favor when someone calls you.

 

 © The Big Game Hunter, Inc. Asheville, NC  2008, 2016

 

Do you really think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

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