How to Choose a New Career Path
Change is good! Along with it come fresh perspectives, new experiences, and greater opportunities. However, making a big change - especially in your career - can be daunting.
If you know it’s time for a career change, but aren’t sure where to start, try following these steps to help you find your dream job.
6 Steps for Choosing a New Career
1. Put Yourself First
Before you decide on a new career, take some time to think about yourself. To start thinking about what kind of career may suit you, consider your following traits:
- Values
- Skills
- Interests
- Personality
You can also use self-assessment tools (or career tests) to generate a list of occupations that may be a good fit based on your personality traits.
Some job seekers even choose to work with a career counselor or other professional development professional to help them find a good fit.
2. Make a List of Potential Careers
Once you have determined the types of careers that may suit you or that you are interested in, combine them into one master list of prospective options.
Next, take your master list and eliminate any duplicates. You may start to notice similarities in the professions on your list, such as administrative work, sales, management, or others.
3. Explore Your List of Professions
Now that you have an idea of the type of work you’d like to do, it’s time to research!
Gather information on each of the professions on your master list.
Try to find job descriptions, educational requirements, whether training is necessary, estimated salary, and any potential advancement opportunities.
4. Compile your "Short List"
Lists, lists, lists! While they can seem repetitive, maintaining diligent lists will help you narrow down your preferences more easily, and will help you keep track of all your options.
At this point, you should take your master list and narrow it down to your top five career options, based on the information you researched in step three.
Remove anything with duties that don’t appeal to you, eliminate any career with a weak job outlook, and cross off anything that requires education or skills that you do not possess.
Unless of course you found something you know you will love, but requires additional education – you can always take classes to get yourself there!
5. Complete Informational Interviews
When you have narrowed the search down to a few options, it’s time for more intense research.
Make appointments with people who work in your top professions, whether you know them already or not. LinkedIn is a great tool to use to find these individuals. Sit down with them and conduct an interview to gain an inside look at your top choices.
6. Make Your Decision
Now that you have completed all research and narrowed down your search, it’s time to make the big decision.
Pick the profession that you think will satisfy both you and your wallet. It’s an important decision, but doesn’t have to be a permanent one. If you change your mind down the road, that’s okay!
Many people change careers more than once throughout their working years.
Starting Your New Career
Congratulations! You’ve decided which career you want to pursue. With interviews completed and the job nailed down, you’ll be well on your way to fulfilling work weeks.
Here are some tips for your first days on the job:
- Create a New Morning Routine
Your morning can have a big impact on your entire day. If you always had to rush out the door to get to your previous job on time, try getting up a little earlier for your new job.
If you were typically a breakfast-skipper, try giving yourself some time to eat before leaving the house.
Find what you need to do to get your day started right, and stick to the routine!
- Dress to Impress
Keep the familiar anecdotes, “dress for the job you want” and “a first impression is a lasting impression” in mind when choosing your first day outfit.
You’ll definitely want to be comfortable on your first day, but you may want to dress it up just a little out of respect for your new company and job.
- Early is On Time
Especially on your first day, be sure to arrive early to your new job. This shows your supervisor that you are committed to the job and you value punctuality.
However, don’t arrive too early, as it may throw off the schedules of the team members who are helping to get everything ready for you.
Arriving 10-15 minutes earlier than your scheduled start time is ideal.
- Go to Lunch
If your new boss or coworkers invite you to lunch – go!
This will help you get to know your new teammates more personally, outside the office. It also helps them get to know you, which may be the reason why they invited you in the first place.
- Be Yourself!
While your morning routine, wardrobe, and timeliness may change when you transition to a new job, your personality shouldn’t.
Remember to be yourself! Your new company hired you for a reason, so relax and enjoy your new surroundings.
Be Your Own Boss
If all of this new career talk has you thinking “but I want to be my own boss”, we can offer advice for that as well.
Through the Electronic Merchant Systems ISO Agent Program, we partner with savvy, motivated individuals like you to bring our innovative products and services to merchants across the nation.
The Agent Program allows you to be your own boss, create your own schedule, and grow your business at your own pace.
But, you never have to do it alone. We’ll work with you to offer marketing assistance, customized agreements, and 24/7/365 support for anything you need.
EMS Agents experience unmatched support through:
- Customized Agent Agreements
- Lifetime Residuals
- Unprecedented Transparency
- Marketing Assistance
- Dedicated Support Staff, 24/7/365
About Electronic Merchant Systems
Founded in 1988, Electronic Merchant Systems is a leading provider of payment processing services.
We manage and safeguard many types of electronic payment transactions including all major credit cards, debit cards, electronic benefits transfer (EBT), stored-value, and electronic check services.
We wish you the best of luck with your new career search. If you’re interested in learning more about our ISO Agent Program, click the link below today!
