How to move sideways into a different career?
What's the first step in moving into a whole new career?
How do you get a foot in the door of something you have no experience in, but plenty of enthusiasm for and interest in?
Is cold calling ever appropriate?
What if I'm wrong?
Do I need to re-train?
Currently in: Illustrator/Designer
Interested in: Fashion + sustainability
Replies10
- That's super helpful and I love the idea about starting something of my own in that area. I hadn't considered that, but it makes total sense and creates proof of my intent and interest. At the moment I have no evidence of that, so I really like the sounds of it. Thanks so much!
- Hey Trinity, the best way to make a sideways step into a new field is to find a role in the new area you're looking at, which requires your current experience. So for example, for you that might be a Designer role in a sustainable fashion house. That way you use what you know to start to understand and have an impact in the area you want to go into. The other thing to do is start something, like a newsletter/social media channel etc. advocating for and education people on what it is you're interested in. My recommendation would be doing both! You'll learn a lot, hope that helps, Lex x
- @Peter Jackson This is such a great way to approach it Peter, thank you for the suggestion! It does feel intimidating as a mountain, but little steps are achievable, yes.I love the idea of imagining it as a brief, it seems more digestible to me now!
- @Daniel Nieuwenhuizen Thank you Daniel, you're totally right. I think over the years I've had my eyes and ears open to this field, so I've taken in more than I'm aware, but I just need to show evidence of that to others.I always struggle with expressing my interests through applications. I'll work on producing evidence of what I've learned and of my interests.Reaching out to people is the scary part, but it's definitely the next step!
- Take a step-by-step approach rather than climbing the mountain of a whole new career.Perhaps approach it as a transition into a related field.Think of it as a design brief:Create a ‘foot in the door’ design/illustration portfolio that expresses enthusiasm and interest in fashion and sustainability.
- I think reaching people for advice, specially when you're interested in the field, is fine – but make every approach appropriate.The second thing is to see what you can take from your current training and knowledge in the new job, and build from there. This will reduce the number of things you need to learn.And we'll never know if we are wrong or right in making those choices, but the earlier you try, the earlier you find out. :)
- @Trinity Mitchell Oh wow, this is amaaaazing! Looking into this now. Thank you!
- @Aiman Ishak Such a thorough and thoughtful response. Thank you so much for engaging with me. It feels good to share and start a conversation, instead of going around and around this in my head!
- @Creative Conscience we run a year long support programme on how to create a social or environmental project, a side hustle that can lead you into a new path/career/direction. DM us if you're interested - Happy to chat.
- 1. Build up your skill. Learn the neccesary skills needed for the new career, you don't need to reenter university but an online course would be enough, there are plenty of ways nowaday to learn something without enrolling into a class. Equip yourself with the proper knowledge of that career.2. Start building connection. Getting a work in another career without an actual certification can be hard, but with the right connection it is possible. Start interacting with people of the industry, learn from them and build meaningful connections.3. Build out a professional personal portfolio. It can be hard to showcase work without actual clients, the best way to get over this is to do personal projects that you can showcase. This way people will know of your skills and the extent of it.It's never wrong to change career to something completely different in my opinion. Its quite normal from what I've seen. It is hard but absolutely possible as long as you put in the work.
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