The Do's and Don't‘s of Career Switching

by Mel Schnapper, Ph.D.

I have been counseling job hunters for more than 15 years. Most of my clients have been unhappily employed. Some want to remain in the same career path; some want to switch careers but don't know how.

Here are some brief words of advice for those of you who came to your current job by chance - it was the first job offer, a relative told you about it, dad or mom was already doing it. Now, for whatever reason, you're ready for a complete career overhaul.

DON'T look forward to your city's Sunday newspaper employment section to give you sudden insight or expect that the next job interview will awaken some latent interest in a career that you've never had interest in before.

DO determine an alternative career objective. There are several ways to go about this task. For adults who are over the age of 20, 1 recommend doing a rigorous inventory of your life's accomplishments, skills, results and values that were demonstrated or played out by these accomplishments. By conducting this assessment, you will produce a particular and unique profile that a job counselor can use to give you feedback or career alternatives.

DON'T invest in expensive aptitude tests and psychological assessments. These tests evaluate values and inclinations in the abstract and are not specific to your life history. It doesn't help much to state your preference when given a choice of "baby-sitting for a cat" or "reading to a senior citizen." For the accomplished adult, the answer about the future has already been established by the past, if you know how to read your own past.

DO an assessment on your own, using the classic What Color Is Your Parachute, by Richard Bolles, or my book, the 2soon-to-beclassic The Last Job You’ll Ever Look For. There are many variations of this approach in other job hunting books on the market.

DO see a job counselor, if only briefly, to get some immediate feedback and advice that will save you a lot of effort, time and expense for the rest of your career pursuit.

DO attend meetings of professional groups made up of those people who have the career you are exploring. You will meet the kinds of people in the field, listen to their shop talk and find out what they like and dislike about what they do.

DO assume a leadership role within that community so you will be involved in a task relationship with potential colleagues already in that field of employment.

DO go on informational interviews as part of your formal exploration of the field. Many job hunting books describe the strategies of this approach.

DON'T spend a lot of time reading about the alternative career, especially when you have access to real people in the field.

DO work smarter on your current job and even be prepared to take work home so you can create the time during work hours for your exploration activities.

DON'T endanger your current employment until you are financially able to conduct a full time job hunting strategy, or your current job is so stressful that it doesn't leave energy for exploring the next job.

DO make sure that your dissatisfaction with your career is intrinsic to the career path and not just a reaction to temporary circumstances such as a boss you don't like, being over- or underwhelmed by an immediate situation that will end, or other temporary situation.

DO take a job hunting workshop for an evening or day. Some are even, specifically geared for particular populations making career switches. Examples in Chicago are workshops for "Teachers: How to Become a Corporate Trainer," or "Alternative Careers for Nursing/ Medical Professionals" and others for lawyers, engineers, etc.

APRIL/MAY 1991 THE JEWISH PROFESSIONAL