How You Should Go About Building A Career In A New Industry

People give up their careers for many reasons and decide to reinvent themselves, professionally, to become more successful in their careers. Whether you feel like you don’t belong in your current industry, or you feel like you want a new beginning, a career switch might be the right idea for you.

Although you feel like you’ll have to start from square one when you change industries looking for a change, that may not be the case most times. You may already have many skills and networks that are transferrable to your new industry.

You might not feel like you have any solid support to hold on to for a while until you get yourself settled in the new industry. But there are many strategies you can adopt to build yourself a distinguished career path in your new venture.

Do your research on the industry

You were familiar with all the dips and peaks in the terrain of your old industry. To achieve that level of familiarity with the new field, you must invest considerable time to find out about the new industry. When doing your research, you should focus on finding answers to the most important questions for you in the early stage of building a brand-new career:

• What skills sell as hotcakes in the industry?
• What’s the organizational hierarchy like?
• How long should you wait to move up the ladder to a leadership role?
• What struggles can you expect in the first three years of your career here?
• What challenges does the industry have for the coming years?

One thing you can do is conduct an informational interview or two to find out about what it takes to succeed in the field. A manager in your company or a colleague can help you find answers easily. Success stories of senior leaders in the field will have tons of tips for you.

Take initiative yourself

Businesses used to have clear career paths for their employees in the past. You’d start at an entry-level position and simply perform well until the employer promotes you to the next rung of the career ladder. However, that is no longer the case in the corporate world today. Promotions no longer come to those who wait, but rather to those who take lead. If you need a promotion, you have to voice your desire and show your manager the professional accomplishments you’ve achieved so far in your career. Since you are starting in a new field, you would be set apart from the traditional workers who expect promotions to come in due time. Know what you want from Day 1 and start working for it without pause.

Networking will open many doors for you

You may have carried your friends and relatives from your network when you entered the new field, but it might still lack professionals from this industry. Network twice as hard as you did in your last industry. Because you are a new entrant, there are still many things you haven’t uncovered about the field. Expanding your network will let you see new sides of the industry that you haven’t been exposed to before. Add people from inside and outside your company to get a broader view. One day you might even realize that there are better companies out there who offer much more benefits than what you get here.

Train your mind to recognize opportunities

Maybe you are not cut out for simply holding down a job at a big firm and working 9 to 5 every day. Although it is a new field, you might have an idea that will land you big money if you realize it. If you have plans for your own business, carefully think them through and put them into action. You might not rise to the level of A-stars in the industry in just a few years. But you can work on building yourself a reliable customer base that treats you as their “go-to” person. Then, you can build your career path around your business for a more successful professional life.