Published: 10 March 2022
For many students at the University of Sunderland in London, academic success is aimed at one thing - securing a future career you love.
While some may be improving the skills and knowledge they’ve gained from past roles and others are starting fresh out of school or childcare, there are plenty who are looking for a new direction in life.
Starting out in a whole new industry can be intimidating, especially if you are not sure where to start.
Of course, you’ve already made the best decision you could by choosing to study for your career at the University of Sunderland in London.
But what else can you do to help you move into your new sector?
Planning
The first step to any career change is to work out your path to success. Say you’ve already got an idea of the industry or role you want to do. What happens next?
Write out your personal career goals and the milestones you need to hit along the way to achieve them.
Think about things like education (would a postgraduate course give you the training you need?), skills development, networking and volunteering experience in the industry.
Create a timeline with all these things in place and the end goal of your dream job.
Branding
So much of what makes up the way people see you is personal branding. That’s especially important when it comes to applying for new jobs.
You want recruiters to see your CV, cover letter and even social media profiles in the right light for the industry.
It’s likely that your existing image is catered to what you are currently doing, which means you’ll need to spend some time rebuilding it to better fit your future.
Take a while to work out how your current experience could be used in the industry you are interested in.
The rewrite your CV and any business social networks you’re on. It’s also worth writing about the new sector on your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook profiles, as well as following some influencers.
Networking
When starting out in a new industry it’s easy to feel like you don’t know anybody at all. But in this ever-more connected world you might be surprised.
Whether it’s a friend of a friend or a former colleague, it’s likely that you’ll be able to find someone who knows about the sector you are interested in.
It’s also worth going to networking events, building those contacts for yourself and slowly working your way into the industry.
Check out our article on networking for more tips.
Motivation
The final, and perhaps most important, tip here is to stay motivated. Starting out in a new career can be a long process.
You will probably come across more than one setback in your journey. But you’ll also have plenty of successes.
The best way to stay motivated throughout is to keep a track of those moments when things go well for you.
You’ll start to feel a greater sense of accomplishment that builds to a brilliant career.
With a degree from the University of Sunderland in London, you’re positioning yourself for a brilliant career, whichever industry you want to work in.
For more information, go to our Careers and Employability page. You can also read about employability skills on our news pages.
Find out more by following #WeAreSunLon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.