REVIEW YOU
Make a critical assessment of your:

• unique talents,
• key skills and
• core values.

If you are not sure or confident about identifying them then ask about 10 people who know you well to give their top 7 of you.

Define the environment in which you do your best work. Do you like working in a high pressure/competitive environment or in a collegiate atmosphere?

Define the sort of work that utilizes your unique talents and key skills.

Do you like to work alone, or would you rather work in a team? Do you need a support team behind you to get the job done?

Do you like to work on projects and unique assignments or do you like a regular work flow?

How do you like to be managed?

What sort of people bring out the best in you?

Be clear about your degree of flexibility in terms of where you want to work and whether you are prepared to relocate.

REVIEW AND INVESTIGATE TARGET COMPANIES
Research companies, read about current developments and the issues they are facing.

Read articles and review media segments on the key people working there to determine if they are an organization that you would like to work for.

Know their market strategy, and their position in the industry.

Understand the threats and opportunities facing your target companies. Many industries over the past decade have experienced consolidation.

Know their stance on corporate governance and their human resource policies.

ECONOMIC CYCLE
Understand where your target companies are in the economic cycle, are they in a mature industry or an emerging industry?

Are they expanding or contracting?

Are they reinventing themselves?

Are they disposing of non core assets?

ECONOMIC TRENDS
Read and research as much as possible. Bookmark your favourite websites and visit them regularly.

Read leading publications such as, Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes and Harvard Business Review.

BUILD A NETWORK
The statistics tell us that most people get jobs through other people. So building and maintaining a solid network is critical to your success.

It is not about the size of your network but the quality of the people you have chosen to be in it.

BUILD YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE
Build your knowledge base by attending conferences, seminars, joining leading professional bodies, subscribing to industry specific journals.

INFORMATION INTERVIEWS
When you have completed this research and become knowledgeable about your target industry, target companies and more importantly about you and your unique offering you are now ready to try out the new career that you are aiming for.

Either arrange for an introduction to the person you are targeting, or ask directly by saying something that is really going to interest them.

Another strategy is to say that you are doing research for an article that you are going to publish (state the publication).

Ask for no more than 20 minutes of their valuable time.

Be prepared with lots of well thought out targeted questions the answers to these questions will enable you to ‘try on’ their job and determine how it fits you.

Do not forget to ask for at least 5 referrals of other people that you should speak to. Also, confirm if you can use the person’s name as a reference to getting that meeting, alternatively, the person may call on your behalf.

BUILD YOUR SKILL BASE
Based on the interviews you have conducted it may highlight some skills you need to develop or knowledge you may need to gain.

So from your interviews find out the best places to fill that gap and get some experience so that you can make that transition.

You could take on projects in your current role to hone those skills or search for opportunities outside work to build your skill base.

FINALLY
Stay on the radar screen of decision makers and those who have kindly granted you time by keeping them up to date with your activities and progress. Email is fine for this purpose, but make it personal.

Remember, there is a lot of consistent, persistent work in making the transition so create a personal support team to keep you focused.

By following this roadmap you are well ahead of your potential competitors.

Good luck.

As a career coach Lynda partners with people in career transition, those who want to reassess their career options, get strategies to improve their work performance and employability.

Lynda Aurora FCCA ACA CPA MBA MA-HRM MCC
Asia’s first and only Professional Certified Coach
Member of the International Coach Federation

If you are interested in being coached Lynda can be contacted at: Lynda@LyndaAurora.com