The global pandemic has led to many people looking for new challenges and changing their career. According to Microsoft, pandemic pressure has seen 1 in 4 over 45s considering a career change. 

When you have been working in your field for some time, change can feel tempting. Whether this is wanting to work less hours, more hours, struggling with redundancy, or simply desiring to start afresh. It may not seem realistic to dream of a new career when you are so far advanced in your current role, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Melissa Thom from the Bristol Academy of Voice Acting (BRAVA) is empowering and supporting others to make the leap and change paths. Many years before the pandemic hit, she’d been through that same experience of feeling stuck in her current role and wanting to move her career forward. 

“Starting as a radio host and voiceover in 1996, presenting breakfast for radio groups including GWR and voicing for global brands, I launched a couple of startups and a design agency with my husband. I then moved into marketing, working as Head of Comms for a digital agency but I was unfulfilled in that world. Plus, at that point, I was as new mum and feeling creatively stuck.”

Here are Melissa’s top tips in changing careers, including what to consider, moves to make, and choices that need to be made:

1. Assessing your skills

Writing down your skills can allow you to draw a bigger picture and organise your thought processes with ease. Assess what you are good at, small and large. Drawing these skills together will help you find what careers are out there for you.

2. Focus on the good

When deciding on a field to focus your career on, study what makes you happy. If you are satisfied with the work you are achieving, it will massively improve your mental state. A study conducted by Faragher et al. showed that job satisfaction is strongly related to mental/psychological health. In fact, there was even a significant relationship between job satisfaction and physical health symptoms. Combine these considerations with your skills and you are away!

3. Mastering your trade

Before quitting your current job, it is important to assess how long it will take you to master your new career choice. Research is vital when it comes to mapping out whether a certain career path is in reach and right for you at your stage in life.

4. Career planning

Jot down every one of your objectives and expectations. Consider where you would like to be in 10 years and work backwards from there. Fabricating a dream is only possible if you make realistic targets, so write in detail. Include everything from the desired salary, to the level you wish to start from.

5. Educate yourself

Consider educating yourself further, brushing up on knowledge of your new field. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a qualification (though it could be). It could mean simply attending some presentations or lectures that people already in those careers are giving. It is important to get as well-informed as possible before starting your new career. What’s more, if you tell your potential employer, it shows your eagerness to be involved in the field.

6. The world of social media

Follow professionals in your desired career. Find what they speak about and in what tones. Communicate with them, gather tips for starting in that field from them. Most of the posts they share on social media will come in handy for you.

7. Adapting your CV

Changing the way you present yourself as an individual to show how you are suitable for your new career is vital. You need to showcase your assets to demonstrate that you are a suitable candidate. Do your research! What makes a professional in your field? Once this step is completed, you are ready to go out hunting for your new path!