Time For A Career Shift? Here's How To Get Started

It’s all about bringing your strong points to the forefront and using everything you have to support them

- Shannon Manuel

No matter what your reasons, making a career switch can be tricky, especially if you’ve already branded yourself as an expert and professional in an entirely different field. The process isn’t impossible, but there are a variety of ways you can rebrand yourself to impress employers in a new industry.

You don’t need to hear that building and maintaining your brand online is the cornerstone to making things happen in your career. A personal website, social media, industry associations — these are all tucked in your tool belt for communicating to employers and clients about your brand. Especially if you’re going through a career change, it’s important to give your brand a makeover. Sure, you have transferrable skills, but you need to communicate why they are relevant to a new industry.

What do you hope for people to associate with you when they think of your name? Is there a certain subject matter in which you want to be perceived as an expert, or are there general qualities you want to be linked to your personal brand?

These are the kinds of things you should be considering when thinking about your personal brand. Once you understand the dynamics around how you’d like your brand to be perceived, you can begin thinking strategically in terms of its creation.

It’s critical to note that you should be completely authentic in your rebranding. If you create an image of yourself that’s not truthful, then you’ll have a hard time living up to it. Plus, most people instinctively know when someone isn’t being completely honest. Resist the temptation to embellish the truth and instead, be confident in who you are.