Community Employment Resource
Centre
The
Community Employment Resource Centre (CERC) brings you this weekly column as an
extension of our on-line service. We
provide referrals to other agencies, advice on job search issues, as well as
dates and / or information pertaining to upcoming job fairs. We invite you to use this service by
dropping into or calling either office (Cobourg: The Fleming Building, 905-372-9372; Port Hope:
Lakeland Place, 74L Queen St. (beside Town Hall), 905-885-2372) or through
our website: www.cercnorthumberland.com.
Due to a number of reasons, I am looking to change career directions. I know where I want to go with the skills I have, but I am unsure of how to sell the career change in my job search. Could you please give me some advice?
When making a career change, your cover letter becomes an extremely important tool. It is here that you need to “make sense” of yourself to the potential employer. You will have to connect your acquired skills and assets to the new direction you are undertaking – it is your responsibility to build the bridge from past to future. To help give you credit in you new chosen profession, be sure to use the correct language for your new field – known as the career vocabulary. Below is a list of resources that can assist with identifying the correct terminology.
§
National Occupational Classifications
§
Job Futures
§
Keyword Guides – numerous printed books highlighting
appropriate vocabulary
§
Job Descriptions
How to sell you and your
career change: Believe it or
not, a lack of experience in a specific field is not the main reason why
employers choose other candidates for interviews. Employers are most interested in seeing a track record of
accomplishments. Often one’s past
successes are used as predictors of potential.
Proven or demonstrated achievements in one environment are seen as an
indication of ability to succeed in different types of settings.
Other
key points of interest to hiring professionals are:
§
Attitude
§
Personality
§
Motivation
§
Career direction and goals
§
Enthusiasm – you can show it in the first line of
your cover letter
The challenge you will face is to find a way to reach out personally to the potential employer and make him/her believe that you are serious about your genuine interest/desire to make a career change, that you are not just having a “bad day.”
Tips:
§ Consider identifying a niche within your industry (different branch) rather than abandoning everything for a completely new field
§ Use any volunteer experience you may have to demonstrate your abilities outside of your current or past career fields
§ Be prepared to undergo training or upgrading in some skills to gain credibility
§ Keep in mind that the possible employers for your new career direction will not be familiar with the “lingo” of your current or past fields so you will need to “translate” previous experiences into understandable language
Hope this helps!