New Year, New Career! Our Top Tips for those seeking a career change in 2019!

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As we enter into a new year, many professionals start thinking about a new career or career development. If you are looking at making a change in 2019, we have put together out top tips to get you thinking about possibly the most important decision you will make this year!
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VISUALISE YOUR GOALS – What are your career Aspirations?

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It is important to define what it is you are looking for out of your career.  Making the decision to change is a life-changing one. You therefore need to ensure your next step is the right one. Setting goals can help you visualise the path to a new career – and how to get there. It is important to not only understand why you want a new challenge but also whether your current employer can offer this for you.

For some it may be an increase in salary, for others it may be more responsibility – or even a complete industry change. Most importantly – be specific. Once you have identified what is driving you to change, you will be able to make clearer decisions when it comes to your new career.
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SWOT YOURSELF – Review your Skill set!

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Think of yourself as a business. When you create a business plan, one of the first things you will do is create a SWOT analysis. This will identify your Strengths and Weakness’ as well as looking at your opportunities and threats to achieving your goals. This idea works perfectly for matching your current situation / skill set with those required to meet your career Aspirations.
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Why is it important to SWOT yourself?

By doing this, you have a more realistic picture of where you stand now in order to get to where you want to be in the future. You can identify the areas which can realistically be improved / up-skilled with – or what you have to work on with a long-term goal in mind!

With your career aspirations in mind, write down everything that you feel is a strength / skills that you already possess. Do the same for your weakness’ and areas of improvement (for example – this may be Knowledge of Excel.) When looking at this list remember to be honest! This is for your eyes only and it will enable you to identify the gaps you may need to make the next move in your career.
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Once you have established the Strengths and Weaknesses, it is also important to identify your opportunities and threats. Opportunities would be things that are in your grasp to change or develop / in your grasp. Areas such as Microsoft Training, or gain a chartered qualification such as CIPD, for example. Threats would be things that would be holding you back from achieving your opportunities and Career aspirations. This could be things such as finance (for funding the extra training), family commitments, time.
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YOU ARE YOUR OWN BRAND – Update your CV and Social Profiles

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In the world of recruiting your CV is your most valuable asset! Many people tend to think that one CV will serve all job applications. However it is important not to assume that ‘one-size fits all’ . When applying for new roles, ideally your CV should be tailored for each position you are applying for. Ensure it is fully updated with your latest job roles and dates, as well as all relevant experience and career highlights. For more information on writing your CV – take a look at our blog post on Writing your CV for more tips!
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The other important thing to do is update your LinkedIn profile. (Or rather always keep it updated and Active!) LinkedIn is a great platform for recruiter’s to headhunt – in fact it is one of the most widely used tools today! Therefore it is important to ensure that you have all your experience and work history on your profile. It is a great platform to expand on your work experience and CV, as well as an opportunity to sell yourself to prospective employers and like minded professionals. It is also recommended to show personality in your profile photo. It doesn’t have to be formal – just remember to keep it current and professional – try to avoid holiday snaps and sunglasses!
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If you are active across other social channels such as Facebook, Instagram etc – and your profile is not completely private – keep in mind that prospective employers may try and seek you out on there before asking for an interview. With this in mind it is important to ensure that you are happy that your social profiles reflect the person you want to portray to your future employer. We would recommend ‘cleaning’ up and hiding any unwanted posts. Even better, change your privacy settings so that you can’t be found unless you are friends / or limited information is shown to the public. You can find the instructions on where to find your settings on Facebook here.
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MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN – Reach out to prospective employers and Recruitment Agencies.

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If you are looking for a new career / position, it is important to be proactive. To ensure you get ‘THAT’ role, be sure to make use of your existing industry contacts (LinkedIn is great for this) as well as enlisting the help of recruitment agencies.

Pursuit Resources Group will not only help you save time, but help you get the role you have your eyes on! We are a proactive agency with a huge network of clients across Essex and beyond.  If you are worried about finding the time to make the move, read our blog on more tips on finding the time for a new job.
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