Career moves are easier to make well when they are chosen rather than forced. Taking stock regularly — even when you are fairly happy in your job — helps you notice opportunities early and build the skills you will need for them.
Take stock of where you are
Start with an honest review of your current situation. Write short answers to these questions:
- Which parts of my work give me energy, and which drain it?
- What am I consistently good at, according to feedback and results?
- What do I want more of in the next few years — responsibility, flexibility, learning, income, stability or purpose?
- What would I not want to give up?
Free skills and interests assessments, such as those offered by public careers services, can help you put words to strengths you may take for granted.
Map your transferable skills
Many skills carry across roles and industries: communication, organising work, analysing information, managing people, working with customers and using particular software. Listing these makes it easier to see which other roles you could move into without starting from zero.
Research your options
Once you have a few directions in mind, find out what those roles actually involve. Occupational databases describe typical tasks, required skills and qualifications for many jobs, and current job adverts show what employers are asking for right now.
- Read several job adverts for each target role and note the requirements that repeat.
- Talk to people who do the work — ask what a typical week looks like and how they got there.
- Check whether a qualification is essential or whether experience is accepted instead.
Test ideas with small steps
You do not need to commit to a big change straight away. Small experiments reduce risk and show you whether you enjoy the work.
- Take a short course or free online module in the new area.
- Volunteer for a project at work that uses the skills you want to build.
- Do a small freelance or volunteer assignment.
- Shadow a colleague in a different team for a day.
Turn it into a plan
Write down your chosen direction, the two or three skill or experience gaps you need to close, and one action for each gap in the next three months. Review the plan regularly and update it as you learn more. Progress usually comes from steady steps rather than one big leap.