So you’re unhappy with your work life as it currently is and it feels like you’re stuck in a rut? Well, welcome to worlds of millions of other people. The question is, what do you propose to do about it? Stick it out for the next few decades until you retire, all bitter and twisted as you pine sorrowfully for what could have been? Or will you make the break and go get that job that you’ve always wanted to do?

Plan Your Next Move

The first and most obvious question you need to ask yourself is what is it that you want to do. You’ve made the mistake of walking into a dead-job once already; it’s worth taking the time out to ensure that you don’t repeat it. Be sure you know what you are looking for before you embark on your search of a lifetime.

Once you’ve made your decision, you will need to reflect on how qualified you are for the post you desire, and whether prospective employers are likely to look kindly upon you. It may be that you need some qualifications or vocational training. It is worth being patient and taking the time to ensure that you are ready to compete for the job of your dreams, rather than walking into your interview unarmed.

Prepare Your Resume

Once you feel ready, it’s time to prepare your resume. Remember, you will have been working in a different area to that into which you are now preparing to step, and so you will need to mitigate your lack of experience in the field. Include a covering letter to deal with this, and be upbeat about why you are keen to cross over into something new, something you’ve always aspired to do. Impress your prospective employer with your digital skills by ensuring that your LinkedIn resume is exactly as you want it to look.

Even if it is unrelated to your new choice of vocation, the interviewer will want to know what you’ve been doing before applying for this job. Be sure to focus on any skills or qualities which you feel you’ll be able to carry over into your new post, and to explain the connection that you believe exists between them. Turn your experience in an unrelated area of work into a positive by emphasizing the depth of knowledge that you have picked up along the way, as opposed to just being a ‘one-trick pony’.

Take Advantage of New Trends in the Workplace

The general management publication Harvard Business Review has pointed out that in 2020 there was a huge migration within the workforce from one industry to another amid the upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is likely provide some cover for workers wishing to cross into new fields of work without arousing suspicions as to their reasons for doing so.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to switch, the most important thing to remember to exude a Positive Mental Attitude. Whatever you do don’t appear apologetic or guilty for seeking to change from one life choice to a completely different one. Rather, be excited and try to give off a sense, albeit not overdone, of restlessness for success and achievement.

Employers like enthusiasm. If your resume is carefully tailored to your specific individual circumstances and if it exhibits positivity then there is no reason why it shouldn’t stand out above those who have been happy to plod along in the same line of business in their own quiet and unspectacular way. Be yourself, and seize the moment!