5 ways to make a change mid-career

With better opportunities and entrepreneurial avenues opening up, the number of people wanting to break away from their existing careers has also been on the incline. Shreya Roy talks to experts to find out how to take the leap of faith and make a mid-life career change.



1) Choose your Change of Role well

After the decision to break out of your current mould has been made, one needs to be careful while choosing the new profile & industry. Research will tell you that there are professions which are harder to break into due to certain specifications. “Conduct a wide-ranging inspection on what interests you & then align it to an industry that has fewer barriers to entry,” says Srimathi Shivashankar, assistant VP, diversity & sustainability, HCL Technologies.

2) Be Ready for Questions

“When you make a mid-career change, people are keen to know the reasons for it. So, make sure you have a good reason to provide, which is clear, and honest. More money is often a contributor, but hardly ever a good reason in these situations,” says Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder & senior vice-president, TeamLease Services.

3) Be Realistic & Evaluate all Aspects

Logically evaluate your financial situation and other practicalities that you will have to account for before and after you make the huge change. “It is important for you to be certain that you are not viewing a certain career in a different light because of a bias. You can make sure of this by having conversations with people who are in the field you’ve chosen to transition into,” says Shivashankar.

4) Work on Developing Required Skills

An important consideration could be that you may need to get new certifications or develop a newer skill depending on your new role. “Being mentored by a senior, being flexible and open to change and having a strong networking practice with your peers is crucial, as social networking sites these days also look for candidates who have been referred,” adds Shivashankar.

5) Don’t be hasty about your choices

One of the big questions when making a career change is when to quit and start over. Don’t be hasty with this choice and evaluate whether or not you need to quit immediately, or if you will be better off served by working on your aspirations simultaneously. “This will depend on what you want. If it is entrepreneurship that you are going for, then there is really no good or bad time. But to move to a different organisation, the timing is something you need to think through carefully, before leaving what you are doing,” says Chakraborty.