Changing Careers... to obtain the Telecommuting Lifestyle
At one time or another, every employee wonders what it would be
like to work in a telecommuting situation. But, they look at
their current job and wonder how they could ever do it from
home. Well, that concern is quite correct as some jobs cannot be
done from home. However, one possible solution is to change
careers into something that compliments a telecommuting
situation.
I've heard it said that changing careers is one of the more
stressful situations that a person can experience. This is
especially true if you've been in a position for many years.
There is a way, however, to ease into a career change without
inducing any of the stress that usually accompanies the
transition.
--- Baby Steps ---
Let's assume that you're an executive secretary with dreams of
working from home. However, your current position is not
practical outside of the office. You start thinking of other
jobs that you could do, but realize that no one will hire you
immediately because you lack the experience to take on such a
position full-time. Instead of pursuing the situation, you
simply give up your dreams and accept the fact that you are
stuck in your current position until retirement.
Realize that you can still move forward with your dream of
working at home, just not all at once. You have to take it a
little at a time to gain experience and prove your abilities
before you take the leap into a new career. Your first step is
to determine what you would like to do, that would lend itself
to telecommuting, and still pay handsomely.
Let's think, you're an executive secretary so your immediate
skills are telephone, organization, scheduling, data entry,
research, and various word-processing and spreadsheet
applications. Consider these various individual skills and put
them together in different ways to see what type of jobs you can
handle. One way to do this is to visit some of the more popular
job sites like Monster.com (http://www.monster.com) and
Headhunter.net (http://www.headhunter.net) and type in your
prominent skills to see what types of jobs appear. You might be
surprised at what you can do!
>From a quick search for the executive secretary, I found that
similar skills are required for the following types of jobs:
- Internet Sourcing - Transcription - Customer Support - Data
Entry - Off-site Executive Administrative Assistant - Web
Developer
As you will find, there are many things that you can do,
however, you don't want to jump in and just do them. For now,
use these career ideas to prepare yourself.
--- Setting up for the Change ---
Once you figure out what you want to do, go back to Monster.com
(http://www.monster.com) and Headhunter.net
(http://www.headhunter.net) and search for various jobs that
would fit your requirements and skills. Don't apply to any of
them yet, just search for jobs that fit your desired direction.
Once you find about a dozen or so different opportunities,
examine them to make sure that this is something you want to do.
Don't worry about salary as of yet since this opportunity is
something you will do "on the side" until you get enough
experience to do it full-time. Remember, the objective here is
to find something that you can do to help fine-tune your skills
for your new career. Don't despair and don't get over-anxious as
this career-preparing stage is only temporary.
--- The Resume ---
Here is the tricky part. You need to rework your resume to
emphasize your skills and strengths for the positions you want
to pursue. Your first thought is to list your skills and
minimize your work history---the functional resume. This won't
work as the employer will assume that you're trying to hide
something. You also don't want to list your work experience
first because you won't get the job since your work history will
not reflect anything applicable for the new career.
You want to write a resume that mixes relevant skills,
achievements, and experiences. Put your most valuable skills and
abilities near the beginning and add an objective tailored to
the job you are trying to get. A good outline for a career
change resume follows:
* OBJECTIVE Write the objective to match the requirements of the
job. For instance, if you want a job as an "Internet Sourcer,"
then you could write something like: "An independent
self-starter seeking a contract or freelance position to provide
research and analysis skills using knowledge, a positive
attitude, and experience as assets for the hiring company."
* SKILLS Describe up to five skills or areas of expertise that
you can offer. The skills can come from anywhere as long as you
can prove them (e.g., a degree you completed last year or a
hobby that makes you an expert).
* ACHIEVEMENTS List up to five bulleted points describing
positive things you've done related your target job. For
example, you can include both paid and volunteer work as well as
hobbies or education.
* EDUCATION/TRAINING or EXPERIENCE List those items that fit
well with your target career. If your education exemplifies your
skills for the job, emphasize it. As for experience, list those
items in your current and past jobs that emphasize your
experience specifically for the job and your new career.
If you're curious and want a few examples for a given position,
download Copernic (http://www.copernic.com) and use their
"Resume" category search. Search for other resumes that meet
your requirements for your position. You might also find someone
else with your skills and realize that they made it into the
career you're heading toward!
--- Going After the New Career ---
Once your resume is complete, go back and search for those
positions that match your needs. Examine their requirements and
create a cover letter that best describes how your attributes
can satisfy the needs of the company. Don't use a form cover
letter, tailor one for each individual position. When you're
confident that the cover letter and resume are ready, send them
to the contacts for each company.
You'll probably have to do this a few times until someone
catches on to your skills and hires you. In the process, make
sure that you keep track of the companies and their contacts
that receive your resume. Since the Web is inundated with
repetition, make sure that you don't send your resume more than
once to the same company.
--- What's Next? ---
The idea is not to give up. If your dream is to telecommute,
then you need to position yourself such that a telecommuting
position can be yours. Just remember that your first job will be
"on the side" and its purpose is to help you gain experience as
a telecommuter in your new career. As you become proficient,
update your resume and go after the big job! Just make sure your
resume makes it clear that you have the skills and desire to be
proficient in that new job.