The upsurge in Covid-19 cases has left a number of people unemployed—a thing that has compelled many to apply for jobs in different fields or even create businesses of their own in diverse professions. 

Some people have even put aside their professionalism in office work and focused on diversifying their skills in areas such as catering, photography, fashion, baking, farming, entertainment (YouTube), among others. 

This change in profession is termed as a career shift. A career shift can also be a change in industries or one’s type of employment.

In an interview with Career & Skills, Aimable Nkuranga, a Financial Fitness Coach, shares details on what compels people to shift careers and how to triumph in these new careers.

Excerpts;

What pushes people to change professions or jobs?

People change jobs for different reasons, but each time a person changes their jobs, they are not necessarily changing their career. With a career shift, someone leaves their profession to enter a completely different one. If a banker quits his or her job to pursue their dream in the entertainment industry, that is a career shift. 

With reasons for changing jobs and careers, I can mention the following:

Loss of enthusiasm in the company’s mission. Employees sometimes find themselves increasingly disconnected from the reason that pushed them to apply for their jobs. They have mentally switched off and checked out of the job. This might be caused by an unconducive working environment and the leadership of the organisation, starting from the immediate supervisor of the employee.

Every job must provide a sense of fulfilment to the employee. When a job has become a senseless routine, an employee thinks about quitting. Others change in pursuit of greener pastures. When employees think that their contribution to the organisation is undervalued or that the salary and other benefits are less than what they can get elsewhere for the same effort, they will leave. 

How often should people change careers?

Changing jobs frequently can be a sign of instability and looked at negatively by potential employers. A reasonable time to spend on one job should be several years (at least three years and above), because that’s when you have tried everything you can and you have had time to make a genuine assessment of the situation. With that interval, one can change as many times as they can. 

If it’s changing careers completely, I would advise not to change more than three times. You can start a career without giving it much thought, and later come to realise that it’s not something you want to spend your entire life doing. At that point, you need to be selective on what will be your next move. If later, you will notice that your second career is not aligned with your goals, then you can change for the last time. It will be very bad to be a beginner in something at the end of your working age.

Can a person switch to careers they have no experience about?

It is not advisable. It takes a lot of time and energy to move from total ignorance to prime performance. However, you might have been volunteering, or doing something as a hobby, and later you decide to pursue it as a career. In that case, we can’t say that you don’t have any experience. 

How can a career shift be successful?

Any career shift can be successful when someone has considered their personal talents, abilities, skills and life goals. If your shift is aligning with this, you have chances of enjoying what you do, and being motivated to do what you do. When you enjoy what you do, and you are great at what you do, it’s a straight path to success.