By Susan Posluszny of OPTIONS for Career & Life Planning LLC
When you are looking to transition from one career field into a totally new career field, you can tend to feel like an outsider looking in. You send out resumes knowing that you would be able to prove yourself if only someone would give you a chance. You find yourself wondering just how those insiders got there and sense that all the posted openings go to those who have inside connections.
Well, one wonderful thing about gaining career and life planning skills is that you become empowered with the knowledge that you can break into any career field you choose. It really is about figuring out where you are relative to where you would like to be and working to ‘bridge the gap’ to your new career interest area. One way to bridge the gap is through volunteer work. Through volunteer work in a career area of interest, career transitioners are able to gain knowledge, experience, and connections in industries and work settings where they have no prior work history. You essentially ‘give and receive’ at the same time. My own career development offers examples of how I have worked to ‘practice what I preach’ over the years.
When I first graduated from college I worked in advertising for a time (on good old Madison Avenue in New York City). I quickly realized that this work was not as glamorous as I had envisioned and decided that, for a number of reasons, this work was not for me. As I worked with a career counselor and explored alternate possibilities I came up with a number of career interest areas including human resource management, corporate outplacement, and career development in a higher education setting.
Over the next four years, I simultaneously explored these different interest areas and gained hands on experiences in each one of them. I explored two of these three areas of interest as a volunteer. Despite working full-time in an industry that was unrelated to these areas of interest, I found ways to volunteer anywhere from 8 to 16 hours per month in a college career center. At a later date, I volunteered in a corporate outplacement setting. While these initial experiences were far from the work that I do today, they offered me a taste of reality in these career fields and a glimpse into the world of career development. I learned enough through these experiences to know that I was eager to explore these interest areas further.
Now of course volunteering doesn’t always have to be about career exploration. Those in career transition can take a break from career transition efforts to focus on the bigger picture and the meaning of their lives beyond current career related challenges. Consider volunteering as a way to explore career areas of interest and as a way to go beyond the confines of your daily life trails and tribulations. You will reap rewards tenfold as you take action and serve others. Either way, all involved are winners.
About Susan Posluszny: Susan is the founder of OPTIONS for Career & Life Planning LLC, specializing in unique programs and services to adults in career transition and teens with college major choices. Susan is a Master Career Counselor with over 25 years of career counseling experience. She is the author of In Search of a College Major & Career Direction, an interactive DVD program designed to support teens and young adults with choosing a college major and career path. Her career counseling and coaching practice is located in New Boston, NH. Subscribe to Susan’s free e-newsletter, Career Options, at her website: www.careeroptions4me.com
