Changing Sectors for the Sales pro
There is no doubt about it that the change between sectors can be a difficult one to manage. At various times in our lives we hit a crossroads and need to make changes in our lives. This may be due to changes in personal circumstances, a major birthday or a significant external event such as a redundancy or restructure or simply it is now we are making a decision for change. We often ask ourselves- Am I going to continue what I have been doing for the rest of my working life? Is a change feasible? How do I make the transition and how do I do it quickly with the least pain possible!
Studies show that one of the top reasons many people change jobs is the lack of clarity about their role, empowerment in their job and talent management in their organisations. Unless you are very skilled at staying focussed you will see the remedy is in changing jobs and working with more dynamic individuals and often there is a necessity to change sectors and often it is a wish to work in a new sector.
Elicit the support and advice of an expert
Once you are committed to the change, one of the first and most important questions you must ask yourself is – Am I you going to do it alone or engage an expert coach to fast track my success to enable me to move more quickly and achieve a better result.
This is a master-project. You will encounter unique challenges and hurdles which will need to be overcome. This is where a career coach would assist you rather than you considering the escape route of a U-turn! Your coach will assist in keeping you motivated, action orientated and achieving your goal in no time at all.
Know where you are & lay the foundations
Take stock of where you are
Understand yourself – your values, beliefs, wants and needs
What are your internal motivators for moving jobs and sectors?
Examined your skills, talents and competencies in depth
Make your career and sector change a priority. Nothing else should interfere.
Ensure your desire to succeed to succeed greater than your fear of failure
Be prepared and ready to embrace change
Understand the needs of your customer (employer) - know your USP’s,
Combat any fears you may have – eliminate any boundaries - hurdles are not insurmountable – learn to jump them and get around them
Take control of your mind
Build confidence and self-esteem
Where you are going
“If you don’t know where you are going, you are not going to get
In know where we wish to work and the sector in which we wish to work in we must understand how that job will relate to our own values and beliefs. It is fundamental that now that we understand our-self that we know learn to understand our customer or in this case our potential employer. This is someone who will make a marked impact on our life.
A great tool and indeed skill is to visualize the future. Close your eyes and visualize yourself going into the job, doing the job and working up through the ranks. This is a very powerful tool.
The best way to predict your future it to invent it – Alan Kay
How are you going to get there?
Now that you know where you are going it will be considerably easier to get there. You now need to concentrate your energy in perfecting the interview and your CV, having a skills based approach and thinking of different avenues and ideas creatively on breaking into the sector. You will need to be confident and gain recognition for services and abilities which may necessitate a level of retraining. In the short-term you may wish to take on current extra tasks to show your experience in a particular role
Shoot for the stars and Celebrate
“One of the greatest tragedies in life people have is that men and women go to their graves with the music still in them” Holmes
If you are truly dreaming about that new job, don’t take a U-turn, jump those hurdles and live the life you want to live. Otherwise you will always wonder!
In summary you need to Evaluate, Plan, Market Yourself, Perfect the Interview and application and then to create a campaign.
Now, all that’s left for you to do is to CELEBRATE and life the life you have created. Congratulations, you succeeded because you left nothing to chance!
Caitlin O’Connor, Director Accelerating Performance
Accelerating Performance
Workplace Innovation and Thought Leadership
Phone: (01) 4926024 Mobile: (086) 8364042
email: caitlin@acceleratingperformance.ie
