Thread by @paraschopra

How to do mid-career switches?

(A thread)

1/ First of all, am I eligible for giving advice if I’ve never done a career switch myself?

My views come from purely observing people applying to @wingify and the ones who have shifted department within the company.

@wingify 2/ The most important thing to know about mid career switches is that THEY ARE POSSIBLE.

Our first job right after the college is usually out of necessity but unfortunately that sets the tone for jobs available to us for rest of our lives.

It shouldn’t be that way.

@wingify 3/ I’ve seen people spending tens of lakhs of rupees in fees and opportunity cost for an MBA program just because they could do a career switch.

It shouldn’t be that way.

@wingify 4/ But before you make the move, ask yourself WHY you want to do a career switch?

- Is it about money?
- Is it about respect?
- Is it about satisfaction?
- Is it about happiness?

@wingify 5/ More often than not, I’ve seen the motivation for career switch to be getting away from existing role rather than pull towards a new one.

@wingify 6/ Hating your current role is a terrible reason for career switch.

Your hatred simply be dissatisfaction with life in general or undiagnosed depression.

Introspect hard about your decision for career switch.

@wingify 7/ Once you are certain about career switch, explore the landscape.

Rather than jumping immediately to job search, spend time understanding what careers appeal to you.

This is a golden opportunity to start afresh. Take your time.

@wingify 8/ One way to understand the career landscape is to reach out to people who’ve done career switches to roles that you are interested in and ask them what has been it like for them.

@wingify 9/ e.g If you are an engineer wanting to take up a product role, search on LinkedIn for people who have made the jump and ask them for pros and cons.

Know what you are about to get into. Maybe you’ll realise that the product role is not as glamorous as it sounds.

@wingify 10/ Once you are sure about a specific career switch, the big problem is in convincing others that you can do that job well.

I actually see that as less of a problem.

The bigger problem is convincing *yourself* that you can do that job well.

@wingify 11/ What if you are actually terrible at your dream job?

Isn’t it better to find that out BEFORE you make a switch, rather than later?

To know your capability for a job, simply start doing that job without asking for anyone’s permission.

@wingify 12/ The world is full of opportunities for contribution in all roles.

Want to switch to coding? Start doing side projects.

Watch to switch to product role? Start dissecting a popular product on your blog.

Want to switch to managerial role? Start mentoring interns.

@wingify 13/

Want to switch to marketing? Start a blog, increase your Twitter following, run ads for your blog.

Want to switch to design? Redesign an open source app.

@wingify 14/ Want to switch to sales? Start pitching commission-only products to companies.

Want to switch to data science? Get a good score in @kaggle first.

@wingify @kaggle 15/ Want to switch to leadership?
Become a leader first. invertedpassion.com/how-to-become-…

@wingify @kaggle 16/ Doing your desired job without making a switch not only gives you confidence, it gives you a portfolio that you can demonstrate in your CV and interviews.

@wingify @kaggle 17/ I would never hire someone who has an idle wish for a job but has taken zero self initiatives to demonstrate capability for that job.

@wingify @kaggle 18/ Once you have build convinction around your capability towards a job and have a portfolio, ask for an entry level job for that role.

Don’t be shy becoming an intern again.

@wingify @kaggle 19/ You may be required to take an initial salary cut when you make the switch, but that’s OK.

If you end up loving your new job, you will very quickly move up because of your passion for the job and previous inter-disciplinary experience.

@wingify @kaggle 20/ Know that the experience from your previous career will make you formidable in your new career.

Most jobs today require a bigger perspective. You’d have that, and hence will likely become more valuable than your peers who have never had experience from another role.

@wingify @kaggle 21/ That’s it. I hope this was useful.

All the best if you are considering a career switch. Happy to address any point that I may have missed.