I dreamed of being a store manager. I moved to the capital for this dream. The capital is a city of opportunities. I became a store director four months after I moved here. Only it turned out that the dream was not mine. My picture of the world did not correspond to reality. The functionality in the position of store manager in the dream job did not meet my expectations even halfway. “Apparently it happens,” I thought.
I did not panic. On the contrary – I began to actively think through a strategy for my career future. At that time nobody had heard anything about career guidance for adults. That is why everything that happened to me, I did by instinct.
To begin with I put all my functions into puzzles. All the duties that I had performed as deputy manager. And everything I encountered as a director. Each function I detailed. What I did and how I did it, what knowledge I was guided by, and what skills I applied. After that, I reflected on what I was good at and what I enjoyed doing the most. I thought about when I was professionally balanced and therefore happy. And what, on the contrary, I absolutely would not like to see in my new field. This kind of brainstorming is extremely important.
CAREER GUIDANCE – INTROSPECTION.
After such introspection I chose the HR sphere. Because it is about people. The way I thought about it was very simple. I used to supervise about 250 people. And I loved working with staff: recruiting, training, developing and managing. “Why not tie my career to people and their professional well-being,” I thought.
Now I’m an HR Manager. And I’m happy to be in HR management. In addition, I do career counseling and help my clients deal with career issues and enjoy their work.
So the first thing I advise you to do when it comes to career counseling is to identify the functions that bring you joy in your current field. From everything you’ve done previously, identify the skills and competencies that will form the basis for your future profession. Think also about interests and values. Which ones should be present in the new field?
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
I read in a book that skills can be conventionally divided by parts of speech.
Nouns characterize specialized knowledge. Those knowledge that you have acquired through experience or training. These can be any disciplines and subjects. This includes “I know how to” skills. For example, how to fix a computer or how to conduct diplomatic negotiations. Think about what kinds of nouns you possess specifically. Maybe you know how to create websites, make layouts in graphic editors, or do beautiful makeup.
Verbs describe functional skills. Those that you know how to do regardless of field or industry. They’re also called transferable. Such skills are universal. For example, analyze, train, supervise, calculate.
Adjectives or adverbs describe the way you do work. These are your soft skills – character traits and personality traits. For example, you might be described as persistent, creative, or meticulous.
If you decompose your professional experience into parts of your speech, you can define your future field in more detail.
The new field of work
THE JOB MARKET AND CAREER GUIDANCE FOR ADULTS
After that, it’s worth turning to the job market. And match your chosen skills and competencies with different industries and fields. After understand what positions you can apply for.
To do this, it’s worth looking at job sites under the heading “job search by category”. See what the requirements are in IT and what the requirements are in telecommunications. What you need to know and be able to do to get a position in the design category, and what is required for the restaurant business. Look into each category to find “your” reference point.
I advise you not to change both the business field where you worked and the profession at once. In career guidance, it is better not to chop in the heat of the moment, but to move in stages: first change the profession, and then – the sphere. Or vice versa.
For example, you are working as an accountant in the legal field, and want to become a consultant in tourism. In this situation, the first thing to do is to find a job as an accountant in the tourism industry. Immerse yourself in new information and give yourself some time to adapt to the desired topic. And then – to try your hand at a new position, but already in a familiar area of tourism.
When the position is found, thoroughly examine the requirements for the position. And identify the “development zones” – the skills and knowledge that need to be fine-tuned to get a job in a new field.
