Today’s anonymous career advice post is common for many people with a desire a complete career change.
Although today’s question is super-specific the recommendations apply to many other situations.
Dear Focus, I have been working offshore in the Oil and Gas industry for 13 years now. Never really worked a job on land. But I feel that this chapter of working offshore has to end. My problem is I have no idea what to do next.
Changing your career is always a big change, it can seem daunting but often it is something you can break down piece by piece.
Not knowing what to do next is not uncommon, the majority of us have no idea of what we would want to do next. You have the opportunity to build towards your next step.
One thing you should do is make the time in knowing what the next career move ideally is.
Firstly, your skills are always transferable, many skills seem specific on the surface but once you evaluate you will see how they often apply to so many roles.
Most of the skills I learnt in part-time work when I was 17 and working in QSR still applies twenty plus years later.
Your industry is a specialist industry and might seem unique however almost all of your skills are transferable and it is something for you to explore, map out and explore.
The question to ask yourself is what role do I want to do and what makes me great for that role. These are going to be the first questions the hiring manager and HR team will ask.
Below is a series of actions you should take:
Actions
- Find areas of new work you will want to work in
- Review places like Glassdoor for reviews of interviews and the workplace
- Review LinkedIn for people who have these roles and their backgrounds, often you will see there isn’t always obvious steps to the roles they have
- Create a hitlist of jobs, roles and levels you are applicable for
- Find as many people within that sector that would make time to discuss the job and their roles with you
- Write a detailed pros and cons list of the role and your fitting
- Write a SWOT analysis and be brutally honest, you will be surprised how many strengths and opportunities you
- Start writing or recording content about the subject matter and the area you would like to go into – clearer thoughts and ideas will really help you
- Look at free online courses and take as many as possible in your spare time
- Write a standout cover letter, explain why you are relevant, these are questions you will have to answer before they question you
- Create bespoke CV/resume for each role – this is something many fail to do
- Lean into the free resources available, dive into webinars, YouTube is full of useful content
- Self-learning is essential, show how you have developed yourself and those around you
This list should help you understand the steps to take and how you will be more applicable than you think.
Best of luck.
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