LinkedIn can help you change career direction!

Have you ever felt that you were in the wrong job but just don’t know what other career options are right for you or where to start? LinkedIn can offer you an opportunity to dip your toe into other industries and help guide you to a new career direction.

By joining groups you can view discussions and articles related to the type of work that you have an interest in. You can hear from experts in their fields about hot topical issues and potential job opportunities. It also helps you to come up to speed with the industry lingo so that you are better equipped to discuss topical matters.

How to get started:

1.  Pick three different sectors you are interested working in

2.  Search LinkedIn Groups for  respected groups related to your chosen field

3. Choice a group that has a large number of followers and where membership is not restricted. Read some of the recent discussions and articles posted

4. If interested follow and choice daily or weekly updates, depending on how much time you can dedicate to researching

5. Read at least three of the discussions and/or articles that are written per week

6. After a month if you are still really interested in a sector, start exploring the LinkedIn profiles of the main contributors you are interested in. Look at what courses they completed and the type of work that brought them to where they are today

7. Compare your experience and educational background

8. Look at the main gaps and start exploring how you can fill those gaps by looking at courses, jobs, and volunteer work where you live or beyond

9. Contact the people you know in this industry who could offer you advice as to how to reach your goal of gaining work experience in this area and what hiring managers look for when recruiting people in this industry

10. Create a realistic plan including a timeframe and budget needed and commit to the plan

Happy researching!!