5 Common Career Change Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them) - Work It Daily

5 Common Career Change Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them) - Work It Daily After months (maybe even years) of careful thought, you have decided that the time is finally right to make a career change. This is one of the biggest decisions of your professional life and it will have a significant impact -- one way or another -- on your quality of life.Buckle up! This change won't happen overnight and it's going to be a roller coaster of a process. As you navigate your way through the career change process, here are five mistakes to avoid. Believing That Career Change Will Be Easy via GIPHY As alluded to in the opening graphs, the career change process is a roller coaster ride of emotions and there's nothing easy about it! Some people go into the process, think they'll apply for a few jobs, and just hope something will come together. Then, after the setbacks mount, they lose confidence and become frustrated.You need to take a step back and taper your expectations.The job market is as competitive as ever and, depending on how long you were at your previous job, the job search process has changed significantly. From the way you find jobs, apply for jobs, and interview for jobs, the process is not the same as it used to be.Work It Daily can help you tackle these challenges and more, including one-on-one coaching and advice on how to prepare your cover letter and resume.The job search process isn't easy, but if you take the proper steps, it doesn't have to be miserable. Not Doing Enough Research You've decided you don't want to continue with your current career path and have narrowed in on another career to pursue.Guess what? That's not enough!You need to research the industry you're going into to see how many of your professional skills will transfer over to the new career field. You also need to take a serious inventory of the skills that you're lacking and investigate your options for upskilling to gain those valuable skills. This may be the most difficult of all the career change challenges. However, addressing it early in the job search process will only benefit you more in the long run.In addition to all of that, you need to have a strong understanding of the state of the industry you're targeting. Some industries, such as journalism, are struggling and seeing significant reductions in workforce while other professions are in danger of being automated. It's important to make sure that the profession you're going into is better than the one you're leaving behind .It's also important to research salaries for the profession, so there are no surprises as you go along in the process (more on that in a bit). Attacking The Career Change Process Alone If you've neglected your professional network or don't have one, you may want to make that your first priority before starting the job search.Career change is hard enough as it is, but very few people are able to accomplish it without a little help. This is where your professional network comes in handy. Talking to former colleagues, professional acquaintances, and mentors can not only help shape your career path, but they may also be able to recommend companies that may be a good fit for you and make some initial introductions.If your professional network needs some work, try to reach out to colleagues to see if they're willing to introduce you to some professionals in their networks. In addition, you may want to look into attending some local networking events to meet new people.Online networking tools such as LinkedIn also give job seekers an opportunity to run their own proactive job searches. If you've identified some companies that you're interested in, you can use Link edIn to connect with people at that company. You can also contact the recruiter for the company.Your networking efforts should run concurrently with your job search. Neglecting Your Resume There may have been a time a long time ago where a one-size-fits-all resume was fine but it's not like that now. Every resume needs to be tailored to the specific job you're targeting. The modern-day recruiter handles so many resumes that they only have time to skim them.You basically have six seconds to get that recruiter's attention, so all the relevant skills that you possess for that job need to be on top of the resume.There are still some people that fall into the trap of spending most of their time on writing a good cover letter but using the same resume over and over again. Both documents deserve an equal amount of attention. It may take a little extra time but it beats being repeatedly passed over for job interviews. Expecting To Make More Money via GIPHY If you're making a career change just to make more money, you may be in for a surprise. Sure, depending on your industry and professional experience, there are some career changes that lead to instant raises. But, in many cases any financial gain that comes from career change happens in the long term, not the short term. It's very possible that you'll have to take a pay cut initially until you prove yourself at the new position. This is especially true if a company takes a chance and hires you with little experience. The company wants to make sure you can do the job before it makes a significant investment. That's why it's important to do salary research early in the process and plan accordingly. Hopefully by avoiding these five mistakes, making a career change will be a little less daunting and intimidating. And, (even though it didn't make the list) make sure you don't prematurely quit your current job before you've secured a new one (unless you have the resources) because even the smoothest career changes take a little time.If you feel lost at any point in the career change process, Work It Daily can assist you in tackling all of the above challenges and help you grow your career from there. From Your Site Articles 4 Mistakes To Avoid A Derail In Your Job Search - Work It Daily 4 Secrets To Changing Careers In Your 40s - Work It Daily | Where ... The Biggest Mistake Job Seekers Make May SURPRISE You - Work ... Biggest Career Mistake About Money - Work It Daily | Where ... Related Articles Around the Web Career going in wrong direction? Avoid these job change mistakes ... The 5 Biggest Mistakes Career Changers Make Worst Career-Change Mistakes | Monster.com Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!