A few weeks ago I mentioned the career transition a chemical engineer had made to become an animator with Disney. As with the stockbroker who became a gardener, many people will agree this is a fairly significant career change to undertake.

Recently a radiographer contacted me expressing a long held desire to become an illustrator, and wondered how on Earth he could go about making, what he considered, was such a “drastic” transition.

While there are certainly transferable skills he could identify, and utilise, there nevertheless remains a wide divide between the two professions. And although he is prepared to study the new skills he needs, he remains concerned his background in medicine, and radiography, will work against him when it comes to looking for work.

In short his thinking is “How could an employer take me seriously? They’ll be thinking that going from a career in radiography to one in illustration is quite a leap of faith!”

Well just about any career change requires a leap of faith of some sort, and far from working against him, his background as a radiographer, and in medical imaging, could be exactly what it takes to land the illustrating work he is looking for.

We’ve probably all seen a variety of medical diagrams adorning the walls of our doctor’s surgery, and while this may not be exactly the sort of work he wants ultimately, illustration work of a medical nature could be the starting point he is looking for, and make for the beginning of a professional portfolio that he will eventually be able to show employers, in other fields, who are looking for illustrators.

Medical journals and other reference manuals contain the work of medical illustrators. Universities, schools, and other educational institutions require diagrams and images as part of their courses. And that’s just the beginning. The point is there is no shortage of work for medical illustrators.

In other words his background, and work, in medical imaging could be used as a stepping stone to a career in illustration, and as a radiographer he will be well placed when it comes to looking for medical illustration work. After all he will have an established background knowledge of medical imaging, and will certainly be more than familiar with his subject matter!

He will no doubt have contacts of some sort within the industry he can call upon, and even if he doesn’t, while he is studying he can start networking, and informing the appropriate people within the industry of his future career intentions. He can also keep an eye open for illustration roles within the industry, and become familiar with the requirements of the work.

If he is part of a large enough organisation there may even be opportunities where he currently works. And while he will initially be lacking in experience, given he is a “known quantity”, a result of his past work and reputation as a radiographer, he will be in good standing when applying for medical illustration work.

So far from being “disadvantaged” he may in fact be somewhat better placed than he initially thought when it comes to finding illustration work.

And this is a situation all career changers can take something from. You may be able to find the new career opportunity you are looking for within the industry, or possibly even the company, you are working in right now.

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.

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!

What do you want to do?

To “Sea Change” is to do something uniquely Australian. It refers to a desire to leave the big city, the cluttered lifestyle and, in many cases, a high powered career, to find a simpler life most often in a small town somewhere along the coast, or near the sea. Hence the term, Sea Change.

By doing so, “Sea Changers” feel they can achieve greater “life balance” away from the congested and noisy city streets, and the endless hours demanded by their high paying jobs. So they quit their jobs, sell their houses, pack up the car, and effectively drive to a far away beach to start a new life. (And when put that way, no wonder so many people are talking about it!)

It is also referred to as “downshifting” since Sea Changers, on giving up their high powered careers and, more significantly, the accompanying high powered salary, are often living on a greatly reduced income doing whatever work they can find in their new environs.

For Sea Changers though, the end justifies the means. Not only are they finding what they consider a better place to be, they also have more time to spend with their families, and the pursuit of interests they didn’t previously have time for. And although the change has come at some cost, in the end it is all worthwhile.

In a way Career Changers are a little like Sea Changers. Walking away from a situation they don’t like, and looking for something more fulfilling. Perhaps we could coin a new phrase here, and give ourselves a name: “C Changers”!

But while Sea Changers only have to open an atlas to find somewhere new to go, Career Changers usually face more of a challenge when it comes to searching for direction.

And finding a new direction to go in, is undoubtedly, the single most important aspect of the career change process. Once we find that direction, let’s call it a will, finding a way to reach our destination becomes that much easier. And as well all know, where there’s a will there’s a way.

So like our Sea Change friends, we know we want a change. We want a new career. We want our our own “C Change”. But where do we want to go, and what do we want to do next?

Well let us follow the Sea Changers’ example. Just as they dream of a better life before making it happen, let us dream also. If Sea Changers can find direction in that way, so can we.

So imagine, or dream for a moment, that money is not a problem. In other words, picture a situation where you have an unlimited supply of cash, and don’t need to earn to a single cent to support you or your family.

In that ideal state, what would you do? What dream business, or enterprise, would you establish? What “perfect” job would you apply for?

And whatever answer you have there, is the beginning, or the first step, of the career change process.

And I stress beginning, because frankly some dreams are just a little unrealistic or next to impossible to achieve! But we’ll return to that point, and explore in more detail, at a later time. The most important step, however is finding that new direction.

So start, or keep, dreaming. After all nothing is worse than being stuck in a job that makes you unhappy. Change is possible, and as with the Sea Changers, it comes at cost, but in the end it is all worthwhile.