Actually this is NOT the last post being made at The InterChange Desk, at least I hope not, but rather it is what I might say if for some reason it were.

This article is actually part of the Blog Apocalypse, a meme being hosted by Albert Foong aka The Urban Monk, who is inviting participants to imagine that, shock horror, the blogosphere is coming to an end, and they have the opportunity to make one final post before it is all over.

For every person who takes part Albert will put aside one dollar. Once 500 participates have been logged, he will make a $500 donation to a selected charity. He’s even open to suggestions as to which charity as well. So since it’s for a good cause, why not?

And if it were your blog, what last message, or words of wisdom, would you leave your readers, while you still could?

It was something I had to ponder for a short time. The InterChange Desk, being a blog dedicated to all matters career change, and job search, made me wonder what one topic or issue could I elevate above all others, and highlight in a final post?

Then I remembered a comment a reader had made a few days ago. The commenter had said while she always wanted to make a career change, she was too afraid to take the plunge, and make it happen.

Therefore my last post at The InterChange Desk would to be quite simply to say “go for it”.

In fact I would quote the words of Mark Twain, which have always, for me, made a lasting impression.

And his words are exactly spot on. It’s always the things we didn’t try to do that linger in our minds long the opportunity to act has passed. Of all the questions we ask ourselves, it is the “what if” ones that we keep trying to answer.

If you’ve gone out and tried to do something and failed, then at least you have the consolation of telling yourself that you gave it a go, and it didn’t work out.

You however can’t say that if you just sat out the moment, and let the chance pass you by.

And then of course there is the possibility you will succeed, in which case many of us are left wondering, “why didn’t I try doing this far sooner?”

To quote the ancient Roman poet and possibly, motivator, Virgil:

We really are only afraid or fearful when the prospect of the unknown, or uncertainty presents itself, and that fear alone is enough to hinder us.

This is where making plans and doing research can make all the difference. If we know what we are up against then we are far better prepared to deal with it.

As I’ve said when contemplating a career change draw up a road map. While it won’t eliminate every last doubt and unknown, it will supply you with direction and a means of reaching your goal.

So there we go, my last words of advice, plan it, research it, and then go for it. And in parting let me offer one final motivational quote. While the creator’s name eludes me right now, I’m sure you’ve heard it before:

And in true MEME style I’d like to tag the following bloggers, people I either know in person or by reputation: Kumiko, Darren Rowse, Eastwood Zhao, Uncover Your Bliss, domestika, shokthx, and Cedric Ang.

Yesterday I discussed the idea of making a direct approach, or expression of interest, in working for a particular company or employer, even though they are not advertising any job vacancies, plus some of the advantages this method of finding work can have for career changers.

While targeted job searches are not usually considered “conventional” methods of finding work, compared to applying for jobs that are publicly advertised, they are nevertheless effective and certainly produce results.

While job seekers may feel such an initiative constitutes making unsolicited contact, or even being a “nuisance”, in many instances employers are happy to hear from prospective employees.

And those who aren’t will usually come back with reasonably moderate lines to the effect of “thanks but no thanks; we’re not hiring right now”, or, “thanks for your interest; but you’re not quite what we’re looking for”.

And that is all fine. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.

While the process of “cold calling” seems a little daunting at first, try and consider it your job to find a job, and as such regard difficult things, like making follow up phone calls, as simply part of the “job”.

Seek and study
The first step is to think about what sort of places you would like to work for, that could benefit from what you have to offer. Search around and make a list of organisations that are in, or near, your locality, or wherever you are prepared to work.

Gather the names, and email addresses if possible, of the people you will be addressing your enquiry to. In larger workplaces this will probably be the HR or recruitment manager, while in smaller organisations your point of contact could be the owner, or a director.

Swot up on the company through its website, and find out as much as you can.

Use search engines, read public financial reports where available, press releases, and anything else you can get hold of. This is something that is far easier to do today than it was ten or so years ago thanks to online avenues of research!

At this stage also find out exactly who to direct employment enquiries to. In smaller enterprises it could be the CEO, or the head of the division you wish to work in.

Double check
Once you have drawn up a list of contact names, confirm your information is correct. A quick phone call to a company’s reception, or main switchboard, should be all it takes. People resign, retire, or move on, and information is not always immediately updated on company websites, or other public sources of information.

All your effort could come undone, and make you look tardy, if the information you use is clearly out of date, or a name is misspelt.

Also be mindful of who you are talking to, particularly in smaller companies where anyone from the CEO, or owner, downwards may answer the phone when you call.

Prepare your pitch
Think about how you will word your enquiry. Be straightforward and to the point. Be upfront with the facts, and don’t overstate your knowledge or experience.

Take aim and deliver
Be personal in approach, use actual names rather than generic salutations and titles, such as “sir” or “madam”, or “to whom it may concern”. Also don’t make your enquiry look like it has been sent to 50 other people at the same time!

Remember attention to the smallest details can make all the difference.

Follow up
Phone the person you addressed your expression of interest to a week after you sent it, to ensure they received it. Allow a few extra days if you posted it.

This can be the hardest part of the exercise but making the effort will generate a positive impression. If a number of people have done the same as you, and you are the only one who makes a follow up call, it is you who will stand apart from the others!

I’ll speak to you soon
Keep in touch, even if your enquiry doesn’t result in any immediate action. If the company has no current vacancies, ask if you can follow up again after a certain number of weeks or months. Be bold without being overbearing.

Send emails, or better still, make periodic phone calls passing on information of any developments on your side, such as updates to your experience and qualifications, or to ask if any new opportunities have arisen within the company.

Try to consider this ongoing relationship as another part of your networking activities.

Finally…
As I said earlier, searching, or asking, for work in this manner may seem daunting at first, but the more you do it, the more your confidence will grow, and the easier it will all become.

And some final motivation; remember that your efforts are ultimately all about finding the sort of work of you really want.

When looking for work, or a new job, probably the first thing most people do is reach for the classified advertising section of the newspaper, or log on to a job search website.

What may surprise many people though is that there are other, possibly better, ways of finding work.

Just about every recruiter I have spoken to says only about a quarter, to possibly a third, of jobs are ever advertised publicly.

And while these figures vary, no matter how you look at them, there is no doubting that the vast majority of jobs never reach newspaper classifieds, or your favourite job search website.

So just how are all of these apparently “invisible” jobs filled then?

Many roles are only ever advertised internally, within a company. Some are advertised in publications exclusive to certain professions, such as medical journals for example. Others are filled through networks, word of mouth, and people “knocking on the door” of a workplace enquiring about job opportunities.

The last method, where people knock on the door as it were, or make a direct expression of interest in working for a particular company, was, I discovered, especially widespread in the Web/IT industry several years ago.

In fact companies were receiving so many expressions of interest from people keen to work for them, that some spent very little money advertising job vacancies as a result!

This method of hiring also applies to other industries though, and you may have noticed a number of companies on the “work for us”, or “employment opportunities” pages of their websites often state they are interested in hearing from people who would like to work for them.

While they may not necessarily have a suitable role vacant at the time someone makes an enquiry, if an employer is sufficiently interested in someone they will stay in contact with them until a role emerges.

It is also not unknown for companies to create roles for people who they have been especially impressed with, lest someone else hires them!

And this way of finding work can be particularly useful for career changers, or those with limited experience in the field in which they would like to work.

Making an expression of interest in working for a company is not the same as directly applying for an advertised role. Here there is a far greater expectation that applicants will have the required qualifications and experience, and those whose applications are not up to spec will most likely be discounted.

Applying for a role that you are not completely suitable for, in the hope of “getting a foot in the door”, is a ploy that could backfire though. And spell the end of any future prospects of finding work with that particular organisation.

Making a direct approach, or indicating a desire to work for a particular company however, allows you to introduce yourself a little more subtly to an employer. This gives you the opportunity to set out your circumstances, outline the reasons for your career change, and explain how you think you can be of value to the company.

By additionally building up some rapport and a relationship with the recruiting office of the company, you can continue to “market” yourself, and remain utmost in the minds of those you have been in contact with.

So don’t wait for possibilities to appear in the classifieds, rather get proactive, and start searching for work opportunities.

Tomorrow, in the second part of this article, I will outline some strategies for making an expression of interest, and also for developing relationships, with companies you would like to work for.

One question that many people contemplating a career change ask is whether they will need a degree in order to establish themselves in a new career.

The short answer is, “it depends”.

The question of a degree, or some other formal qualification, is an aspect of the career change process that, depending on your career goals, may require some thought.

Committing to a degree course is clearly not the same as taking a six week course at night school, which requires two or three hours of your time, and usually only once a week, for the duration.

To become say a doctor, dentist, or lawyer, fields where professional qualifications are an absolute necessity, then obviously the answer is yes.

The prospect of going, or returning, to university can be daunting though, especially for those who are established in working life, and also have other commitments and obligations, such as a mortgage and a family to support.

At best a minimum of three years may be required to gain a degree, but if part time study is the only option, then the time frame could be, at the very least, six or seven years. That’s a long time to remain committed to a career change, to say nothing of the cost, both financially and in terms of time.

While some form of study, or re-skilling, will almost certainly be necessary to make any sort of career change, there’s a good chance long term, and potentially expensive, study will not be required.

In fact your current qualifications, despite the fact they may not seem relevant, may be all you need.

Use what you have
An existing degree, if you have one, can be of considerable benefit, no matter what it is for. A degree is more an just a piece of paper stating that you are university qualified in a particular subject or field.

The fact that you committed to several years of successful study demonstrates that you are prepared to apply yourself for extended periods of time, and achieve goals. It is for this reason that many employers place a high value on a degree, regardless of what it is for.

Therefore your existing degree, supplemented with a certificate, or diploma, from a shorter course of study relevant to your new career interests, will go along way to finding the work you want, without having to spend years studying, possibly needlessly, at university.

A universal qualification
As I’ve just said simply holding a degree, any degree, can open doors long after you’ve left the university campus.

For example I saw a letter someone wrote to the careers editor of a local newspapers several years ago, asking how they could become a journalist with the same publication. The writer was told that a good portfolio of published work, together with any degree, would be sufficient for them to be considered for a journalism internship with the newspaper.

This situation once again illustrates how useful any sort of degree qualification can be, regardless of the work you want to do.

As I’ve already said, while an accounting or commerce degree will probably not be adequate if you wish to become something like a doctor, there are still other options you can pursue without the need for long term study.

A top up?
It could be that time spent studying for an honours, or possibly even masters, “extension” of your current degree will be the sufficient re-qualification you require. This could take a year or two, but would be preferable to starting again and devoting three or fours of your time to study.

Conclusion
In a lot of cases you should not require an additional degree to make the career change you are planning. Use of your current degree, regardless of what it is for, combined with some recent short term study, and the leveraging of your transferable skills, and past work experience, should be sufficient.

Always look at what you have first before deciding what to add. It could be you already have much of what you will require.

Yesterday I discussed the promotional and networking benefits that blogging can have for career changers.

To keep the networking theme continuing today I thought I’d relate an anecdote from a few years ago, once more about my web design career transition.

As I mentioned yesterday, the quirky nature of my personal website had garnered quite a degree of unexpected, but welcome, attention from a number of professional web designers locally.

As an aside, the researcher at the disposable razor blade company I mentioned yesterday, was but one of my web “identities”. Another “character” was a web designer, who featured in an on-going series of fictional stories that chronicled his various up and downs socially, personally, and as a freelance web designer.

I would subtly allude to various aspects of web design in these stories, using knowledge I was gathering about the workings of the web industry as I was going along.

As a result I would literally meet people who already thought I was a web designer, and was simply producing the fictional series as some respite from a hard day’s work designing websites!

I was able to deploy my expanding knowledge in more purposeful ways however, and it was one conversation in particular with the director of a design studio that resulted in a web design job offer coming my way.

It’s no secret web designers like to party, meaning there were always regular gatherings and social events around town, which I’d often get myself along to. It was not only a way of doing some serious face-to-face networking, but also of having some fun at the same time.

At one such function I met, for the first time, a studio director I had been corresponding with by email for the past few months. He went on to tell me about some of the projects he was working on, and a particular problem he was having with one website that was being produced to a very tight deadline.

Without having to think, I immediately ventured a possible solution which he was very interested in. A few days later he emailed, thanking me for the suggestion, and told me it was working perfectly!

I replied back telling him I was happy to have been of service, and partly humourously, to consider me for any job vacancies he had. I was surprised when he wrote back saying that while he had no openings presently, he had mentioned me to the Creative Director of another design studio who was looking to hire.

About ten days later I was starting work as a web designer, having virtually been head-hunted into the role!

And a large part of my success in this regard had been the way, albeit slightly creatively, that I had managed to build up name for myself, as someone who knew what he was talking about when it came to web design.

While you don’t have to go creating multiple identities, or writing works of fiction to get yourself noticed, there are a still some lessons that can be learnt from this experience.

Firstly, avail yourself of every opportunity to network face-to-face with people doing the sort of work you would one day like to.

As I mentioned yesterday, a blog (or personal website) is a great vehicle with which to introduce yourself, and go about creating a network of professional contacts, but it’s not the be all, and end all, of the process.

It’s the personal, or face-to-face, meetings that can really make the difference though, and often the value of putting a “face to a name” is often under-appreciated.

Also, keep you finger on the pulse. Be “up to speed” with the industry buzz. Subscribe to industry newsletters, blogs, and magazines. This will also give you some conversation starters at networking functions, and allow you to make knowledgeable contributions to the discussion.

And some informed conversation might be all it takes to bring about the job opening you have been looking for.

Several years ago while in the process of becoming a web designer I discovered the best self promotional tool I had was my personal website.

It proved a great way to not only learn new design skills “on the fly”, but also showcase them at the same time. Since I didn’t have a whole lot of commercial work to produce a “proper” portfolio with, I decided to design my website according to a fictitious theme, and “tell a story” as it were.

One of these “themes” entailed my being a researcher at a disposable razor blade manufacturing company, and I designed a website that outlined by “work” at this “company”.

Though a million miles from web design as such, the website nevertheless demonstrated my design abilities, and due to its “quirky” nature was noticed by a number of professional web designers, including the one who went on to offer me a design job.

While having some sort of showcase website may seem like an over-obvious requirement for an aspirational web designer, there are a number of reasons why anyone who is changing careers should also consider having their own personal website, or blog.

Blogging isn’t just for those who wish to share details of their personal life or an interest in a pastime, and with some thought and careful execution, a blog can be a powerful self promotional and networking tool for career changers.

1. Make a name for yourself
A blog allows you to introduce yourself to the world and potentially make yourself known to a large number of people, and all before you’ve even left the house!

Who you are, and what you do (or would like to do) becomes visible to anyone looking (through search engines for example) for someone with your particular profile, interests, or goals.

2. Network with potential colleagues and contacts
A blog is a great way to create a network of people who share your interests and outlook, and it shouldn’t take too much searching around to find others who are blogging on the same topic as you.

You can start to make yourself known to these people by adding them to your blogroll, and making comments on their blog posts, or even by directly introducing yourself to them.

3. Share (or show off) what you know
One way to demonstrate your interest and knowledge is to write posts sharing your insights on issues and developments relating to the industry, or career field, you are interested in.

Well researched and written articles will give your readers the clear impression you are knowledgeable and up to speed with what’s happening around you.

For my part this proved very effective in finding web design work.

4. More than just a name
Many people effectively use discussion forums, news lists, and other online communities as a way of networking, and making a name for themselves, by sharing their knowledge on a given subject.

A blog though, containing more information about who you are and what you know, linked from your profile page or forum signature, can add a little more dimension to what is otherwise a two dimensional screen name or avatar.

5. Brand “You”
Creating a personal brand is one way of standing out from the crowd, and a blog is ideal way to go about a establishing your own brand.

Conclusion
Getting started and creating a blog has never been easier thanks to tools such as Wordpress and Blogger. Not only are they free to use, complete web novices, or those who don’t have time to develop a website, can be up and running in a matter of minutes, by simply using a standard blog template.

While becoming a “blogger” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, as a promotional and networking tool, it is certainly worth giving the prospect some consideration though.

Last Friday I linked to a book review about “slash careers”, which is a term used to describe a person who has a number of quite separate jobs, or careers.

For example my current job title is Consultant / Content Producer. My consulting work involves me working, usually on a short term basis, for a number of companies in Sydney on various on-going projects of theirs.

Meanwhile my work here at The InterChange Desk, and even my e-zine OnVoiceOver, is where I wear my “content producer’s” hat.

There’s probably more “slash careerists” about than meets the eye. When you start looking more closely at exactly what people do for work, you realise many of them are doing all sorts of other things, over and above their “official” occupation.

For example I know a doctor who also writes a number of articles for medical publications, and lists his occupation as Doctor / Writer.

While some people may argue that his writing for medical magazines is just an extension of his duties as a doctor, the two jobs are quite unrelated. Treating patients at his surgery is, in reality, a long way removed from his writing work!

In fact he has written quite a number of articles, and I even suggested he had enough of a portfolio to become a full time writer if he ever felt like it.

And herein lies another way of effecting a career change, doing, as I said last Friday, part time what you would one day like to do full time. And you may even be able to make complete use your current career or job, as a way to move towards doing something new.

A year ago I met a media trader who was excitedly telling me about a couple of upcoming speaking engagements she had. Personally, public speaking is something that terrifies me, but her enthusiasm was almost infectious.

Her work as a media trader had been noticed by her peers in the industry, and she had received a number of invitations to speak at upcoming conferences and training seminars.

These speaking engagements began to have a domino effect, and as more people saw her speaking and presenting, the more invitations she started receiving to speak at other events. Before long she was even travelling overseas for some engagements!

I ran into her a few weeks ago and she told me speaking now occupied almost all her time, and that she was very much enjoying her “accidental” career change. She still works in media and advertising, but only on a freelance basis when time permits.

I know public speaking is not for everyone (look whose talking), but her story shows how it is possible to move onto something new, while fully utilising your current skills and knowledge. While public speaking may not appeal to you, perhaps something else, like teaching or tutoring, does.

While unplanned, her story also demonstrates how a fairly significant career change can be made without having to undertake long courses of study, or even “start again from the bottom”, in a new career field.