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.

A few years ago, in a vain attempt to improve my less than brilliant guitar playing, I enrolled in an evening course for “intermediate players” at a nearby community college.

Already familiar with several of the scales, and the requisite three chords all guitarists need to know, I reasoned I was ready “to take it to the next level”.

There were about 15 people attending the six week course, two of whom were sisters. At each of the weekly meetings, our instructor would remind us that daily practice was essential to becoming a good guitarist. His message on the final day of the course was no different.

“Don’t forget to practice your scales everyday!” he said by way of a farewell. He then turned to the two sisters in the group and said, “You two will be able to act as each other’s consciences in this regard!”

His words, aside from being some encouragement to the sisters, also struck me as an interesting and useful concept.

While most of us think of a conscience as being a guiding force, and something that influences our thoughts and actions in, hopefully, the right direction, a conscience can also act as a gentle reminder, and prompt us to stay focussed and working towards our goals.

And a person acting as a conscience is not like a mentor, but rather someone who will periodically prod us, and remind us of where we should be at any given time.

Asking someone to act as a conscience can be especially beneficial for people who are effectively working alone to achieve what are sometimes open ended and long term goals, where they are not really “accountable” to anyone except themselves.

This is in contrast to team situations, say a workplace project, where goals and deadlines are under constant review by a team leader.

In these sorts of circumstances it is far easier to remain motivated and working towards a specific outcome, as most of us would not relish the prospect of having to “explain ourselves” if things were not completed when required.

Working as part of a team also means we have others to call on if we need help or advice, and this is a role a “conscience” can also partly fulfil, offering encouragement and support when needed.

Changing careers is a very individual, or solo undertaking, and since we are not working as part of a team, and our performance (or lack of) is not being monitored by anyone else, it can become all too easy to let things slip.

And when this starts to happen it is often very easy just to say to ourselves, “Oh well, not to worry, maybe next time.” And all too often we can be very vague about when “next time” will be. And why not? It’s not as if the boss will reprimand us, is it?

While we should be working according to the career change road map we drew up at the beginning of the career change process, having someone who can follow up on our progress can help ensure we meet the various milestones we set out in that plan.

For instance are we doing enough networking? Are we doing all we can to chase down potential job leads? Left to our own devices we may not be doing what is needed, when it is needed.

We all need some prodding from time to time, and perhaps having to “explain” to someone else why a deadline may not be met, or something else may not be accomplished, could motivate us to lift our game, and get things done.

All with a little help from our conscience!

I was first introduced to the concept of skills registers several years ago by Bruce Badger who is one of the founders of OpenSkills, a worldwide association and network of IT professionals.

Skills registers are a great tool for people who wish to promote not just their experience, but also their skills, talents, and abilities. As such, skills registers could be of value for those changing careers, particularly when it comes to highlighting their transferable skills.

While OpenSkills presently caters more for people with an IT and computing background, I thought I would nevertheless write a short post about the basic purpose of skills registers, how they work, and how career changers can make use of them.

For those who are new to the idea, skills registers are literally an itemised list, or register, of a person’s skills, talents, and abilities, and in a way are similar to skills inventories, which I mentioned a few weeks ago.

Whereas skills inventories are more of a personal list of your talents and abilities, skills registers such as OpenSkills, allow you to publicly list these, plus your employment history or “engagements”, by way of an online database.

This database can then be searched by employers, globally in the case of OpenSkills, looking for someone with the skills, and expertise, they require.

A wide variety of skills can be listed, whether this be specific software or application knowledge, “soft skills” such as leadership or communication abilities, and even what some people would consider to be “non core” aspects of a job, such as training or presentation skills.

Often for career changers it is the “non core” skills, or those regarded as being of secondary importance, that can become key transferable skills, and the way skills registers allow you to promote these sorts of skills that can be especially beneficial.

This also applies to situations where key skills from one career, or job, can easily be redeployed and used in another career field, and a skills register is an ideal way to highlight these.

If for example you are a bar manager wishing to become a caterer, you may find it particularly helpful to be able to give prominence to skills that are common to both roles, such as customer service, leadership, and organisational skills, for instance.

Some skills registers can be more than just a way of promoting your abilities and talents however. OpenSkills for example has members worldwide, and this offers the opportunity to tap into a global network of like minded professionals, which is a potential source of job leads and contacts in itself.

As I said OpenSkills at the moment is focussed towards the IT professions, but there are plenty of other skills registers around if you go looking for them, as a quick Google search reveals.

Some are specific to particular industries, or geographical locations, but a little research may uncover one that suits your particular work interests.

One enjoyable aspect of maintaining The InterChange Desk is studying the web stats each day. Actually I check them twice daily, first thing in the morning and then again at the end of the day. Yes, just twice per day; I too have learned to control my “stats obsession”!

As any blogger or webmaster knows, web stats offer an array of interesting information. But it’s a couple of search engine look up terms, or strings, along the lines of “how do I explain my career change at a job interview” that have especially caught my eye recently.

Given that we hear or read things like, “most people will change careers several times during their working life”, from recruiters or in the careers sections of newspapers, you would think that aside from acknowledging the fact you decided to make a career change, you wouldn’t really have to “explain” yourself a great deal.

If one experience I had while making the transition from a finance background to web design, several years ago was anything to go by however, I can understand why some career changers are searching the web looking for advice on to deal with such a question.

In this instance I had applied for a job at a local design studio. I had gone in for a first interview with the person who would be, were I to get the job, my line manager. That “interview” actually went very well. We chatted almost like old school friends about this technology, and that compatibility issue.

So well were things going I was even taken into the work area, where we sat with the coders and developers and looked at, and discussed, some of the projects they were working on.

Despite, at that stage, having no commercial or industry experience whatsoever as a web designer, from the way the conversation had been rolling along, I don’t think anyone (amazingly even myself), would have thought that however.

Any doubts I’d had about my decision to become a web designer were pretty much dispelled by the conclusion of the “interview”. A few days later the interviewer called and asked me to return for a second interview, this time with the studio’s general manager.

“It’s just a formality, a chat, the designers here are looking forward to having you on the team,” he said as he ended the phone call. Unfortunately however, his assessment of my prospects was a tad optimistic.

The general manager didn’t seem the least bit impressed with me. “You’re from a corporate background, we work differently in the web creative industry. You just wouldn’t understand the culture here.”

Cultural issues had been no where in sight during my first interview, and I (eloquently) said as much. This didn’t seem to impress him though. “Look, in the corporate sector, if you ask someone to do something, they do it. Try that here and the guys will say, no, I can’t do that now, I’m more interested in my computer.”

Well that was news to me. You can ask someone in the “corporate sector” to do something, and sure they’ll do it, after you’ve asked them another four or five times, that is.

But before I could even begin to (more) eloquently make that point, he threw my CV, which he had been pursuing, down on the desk, and said “why the hell are you doing this?”

This for me though, was the “tipping point“, as they say in the web creative industry. While I understand the point of job interviews, particularly second interviews, is put candidates through their paces, and sort the good apples from the bad, I was definitely detecting some negative personal bias here.

It’s at moments like these career changers need to hold firmly to their faith in themselves, and what they are doing. I replied to his “question” quite simply.

“I am doing this because I want to, and because I can.”

It was also the first time I have ever terminated a job interview (that I wasn’t conducting).

By this point I had decided this particular company was not for me (despite the rapport I had with the people I would have actually been working with), and politely (if a little firmly) made my excuses and left.

Needless to say I was rather surprised to receive an email from the general manager the next day, asking me to consider an “entry level” role, at surprisingly enough, a very “entry level” salary.

While an entry level position was fine, and money was not my prime motivation, I did think I was worth somewhat more than his offer.

The cynic in me couldn’t help thinking that his whole approach had really only been to knock me down, and then “compensate” by making a job offer, at a very low salary, that he thought (and hoped) I would be grateful to receive.

As it happened fate intervened, and another studio I had also been talking to made a more attractive offer, which I accepted.

There are many reasons why people make career changes, and these will vary from one individual to the next. So if you are looking for ways to answer such a question at an interview, you should already know what to say!

And I don’t think there is a “stock standard”, acceptable, or “one size fits all” answer to this sort of question.

If you are changing careers, from say being a hotel concierge to a chemist, because you feel that will offer you more fulfilment and better utilise your talents, then simply say so!

For many people the prospect of a career change conjures up thoughts of making a complete about-face work wise. It can mean going from being a teacher one minute to being a police officer the next.

Many people also think it will be a time consuming, and possibly expensive, process. And depending on your ultimate career goals, relative to where you currently are, that may be true.

Sometimes though people are a lot closer to their dream career than they realise. They may even be in the right industry, in the right company, even the right division, but not quite sitting at the right desk.

With a few changes and some tweaking though, you may be able to transform, or alter, your not so great job into something you really relish.

Let’s call it the 10° career change, since rather than starting from scratch, you are only making some relatively small changes and modifications to your current situation.

Say you are computer systems administrator working in your company’s IT department. For some reason though, something doesn’t quite feel right, but you can’t seem to put your finger on exactly why.

You’ve even explored the possibility you are in the wrong career, but some self evaluation has revealed that you like, and want to be, working in an IT environment, doing very much the sort of work you currently have.

So what’s wrong?

Perhaps it’s time to take a more in depth look at your work. What is it you enjoy doing, but is absent from your role at the moment?

Does your work not offer you enough responsibility? Or, conversely, is there too much? Are you bogged down with managerial and administrative tasks when you would rather just focus on your core work interests?

Is there not enough people, or customer, contact? Would you prefer to be more involved with other staff members, and helping them solve problems? Or is there too much, and the constant interruptions and questions are driving you to distraction? Do you want your work to involve more innovation and planning, or less?

While no job is perfect, and all will entail some tasks you don’t like, it may still be possible to rearrange, or make some slight changes though. And if the outcome will make you happier and more productive, then it is in everyone’s interests, yours and your employer’s, to consider how some changes could be made.

This will involve a little work and research on your part, and of course talking to your boss, but the result will hopefully be well worth the effort.

Start by making a list of what you feel is lacking in your current job. What would you like to do more of, what would you like to do less of? Be realistic. Ensure you have the skills and competencies to take on whatever new work, or responsibilities, you are looking for.

On the other hand, don’t expect to be relieved of everything that is on your “don’t like” list either.

The next step is to build up a case for a job, or career “realignment”, that you can present to your manager. Work out possible ways that duties could be harmoniously transferred around the office, and be prepared to backup your reasoning.

Consider the possibility of offering to do some extra work, this could mean participating in a few workplace projects, or taking on other additional duties in exchange for what you want.

Also take some time to think about how you will word your request when you speak to your boss, and anticipate what sort of questions you may be asked at the same time.

Remember to make any approach to your manager on a “proposal only” basis, when you present your ideas. Appearing to be overly presumptuous or forward could work against you. Explain that your current work is not as fulfilling as you feel it could be, and then outline how you think improvements could be made.

You may be surprised just how flexible some employers can be, and rather than risk the possibility of losing a worker, they are often happy to consider these sorts of reasoned requests.

So there you are. The 10° career change. No major upheavals or transformations in sight! With just a few small steps to the left or right, you could find your career going in the exact direction you want it to.

I was chatting with a recruitment consultant at a Christmas function a few months ago who was very keen to tell me how stressful her day had been. Like many activities, recruiting is something that tends to slow down over the Christmas and holiday period, so I was curious as why she was so flustered.

“Try skim reading 500 resumes in a day, and tell me that’s not stressful!” she replied. While she was preparing for a recruitment program that would take place after the holidays, people had apparently already begun submitting applications.

Being a topic she was clearly interested in, I asked her to describe what constitutes the “ideal” CV, and what a job seeker could do to help recruiters “separate the words from the music”, as she put it.

While I am going to write in more detail later about what career changers can do to prepare resumes that help emphasise their skills, rather than just their experience, I thought I’d write a post that shares a few tips from an “insider”, on how to tune up our CVs.

Keep it brief
Ideally a CV should not exceed three A4 (single sided) pages. You are doing yourself a disservice by sending a recruiter anything longer. If you were trying to sort through 500 resumes in a day, chances are you would probably give up on the ones that reassembled magazines, so big are some!

If more specific information is required about a previous role, it will be requested later, so there is generally no need to supply half page descriptions of every job you’ve had.

Bullet points rule!
Summarise your work and experience in bullet point format. Think carefully about what information you will present though. As mentioned, recruiters tend to skim read resumes looking for key facts and points, so be sure to include only the most important, or noteworthy, aspects of a role.

Use a medium size font (10 or 11 points is standard) and a conventional font face. Helvetica, Arial, or Times New Roman, are the more popular, and “safer” choices. Reserve the “Comic Sans” font for birthday invitations and the like.

A resume that does not present professionally is unlikely to viewed professionally. Remember, first impressions last!

The 15 year rule
Unless you are applying for work at an organisation like a security agency, where full disclosure of your background is required, there is no need to supply detailed information of work you did more than ten to 15 years ago.

In most cases a list consisting of job title, company name, and approximate period of employment, is all that is required after this sort of time-frame.

This is generally because trying to contact someone for a reference becomes harder as time goes by. People move on or retire, and even companies themselves tend to do likewise, whether they are taken over, renamed, relocated, or they simply go out of business all together!

And while government security agencies may have the time, and resources, to track down your long-retired boss from 20 years ago, most recruiters are really only interested in your more recent work and performance.

An exception to this rule may apply to career changers though, especially if you feel a past role could be of some value to your career transition strategy.

Personal information
This is an area that some people are uncertain about, but in reality there is very little personal information that you are actually required to include on a CV.

Depending on employment laws and privacy statutes in your area, only your full name, a postal address, at least one contact telephone number, plus optionally an email address, are all that is required.

In most cases you will not need to supply information such as your age, date of birth, gender, nationality, or religion.

Additional items
List only qualifications and professional association memberships that are current, and relevant to the role you are applying for. While things like an up-to-date first aid certificate may also be useful extras, there’s probably no need to continue listing that “diploma of distinction” from the wine tasting course you did ten years ago!

And while the “Hobbies and Interests” section seems to cause some people a disproportionate level of anxiety, recruiters really only want some idea that you “have a life” away from work, and seldom pay it much attention.

Word of warning though. Sometimes recruiters may refer to a hobby you have listed as a conversation opener at an interview, so avoid listing too many of those “fantasy” hobbies, you may just come unstuck if the interviewer also scales mountains at weekends!

Gimmicks
These are more often seen in the creative industries, where eye opening, and attention grabbing resumes are more the norm.

For example graphic or web designers will often utilise their skills to embolden their resumes, and while certain “gimmicks” have a time and place, in general the appearance and layout of your CV should be in keeping with the industry you are pitching it at.

In other words… boring? I’m afraid so. Unless of course you would like to make a career change to an industry that permits you a little more creative flair with your resume.

Well, you have come to the right place then…

I received an email in response to yesterday’s article The importance of leaving a job (you hate) gracefully, regarding resignation letters, and the format they should take, and since I’ve written “one or two” before, I thought I’d write a post on the topic.

This is a subject that causes a lot of confusion, but in reality resignation letters are actually far more straightforward than many people believe.

We’ve probably all heard about the very grandiose resignation letters people like politicians (or very senior company executives) write when they leave a post, and they often do this because they are trying to make a point, or clarify the exact reasons for their decision.

Being politicians they are probably also trying to take a shot at an adversary or two at the same time, since the eyes of the media are on them, and they have everyone’s attention. Well, that’s politics for you.

For the rest of us however something a little less complicated will suffice. In fact you may be surprised just how simple the wording of resignation letter can be. Really all we are doing is advising our employer that we are leaving our job and the date that this is happening.

Here is an example you could use in just about any situation. No emotionally charged speeches or filibusters here!

See what I mean when I say simple and straightforward? As I say, this is all that is really necessary in a resignation letter.

There is no need to list or offer any reasons why, since these will probably come to light during the discussion after you resign, or at the time of your exit interview.

In many cases resignations are not surprises, but merely formalities, and chances are you’ve probably already discussed your intentions with your employer, and they already understand, or know, why you are leaving.

If however you do feel the above example is a little too short, or “to the point”, you could also insert a paragraph like this, particularly if you have worked closely with the person you are addressing the letter to.

As I said a resignation letter is really only a formality, and simply confirms your intentions in writing, and as such it is not necessary to be verbose, or attempt to justify your decision in any way.

And while a formality, resignation letters do not need to be overly formal. In my example, you will notice I have addressed the manager by first name. It is quite acceptable to address the person you are writing your letter to in the way you usually do.

There is no requirement to address someone by honorific (that is Mr, Mrs, or Ms, or title, such as Doctor) just because you are writing a resignation letter, unless of course you usually refer to them that way.