Barcelona Activa | Ajuntament de Barcelona

How to make a career change

The environment in which we live is complex and constantly changing. And so is the labour market. Having to have a change of career is becoming increasingly common, perhaps because our motivations are no longer the same or because there is currently no demand for our career profile on the market. We show you what steps to take if you are considering a change of career and what questions you should ask yourself.

  • 1The reason behind it

    Your reasons for changing

     Why are you considering a career change?

    • Do you want to improve your working conditions? Your salary? Your work/life balance? Would you like to work in a different team?
    • Are you looking to learn new things? New challenges? Work in new professional areas?

    Every change involves difficulties; knowing the reason for the change, and being sure once you have decided, will help you not to give up if you encounter obstacles.

  • 2What are you like?

    Analyse yourself in order to discover your interests

     Ask yourself: what do you like to do?

    • Think about what activities make you really happy.
    • Be open with yourself and think broadly: maybe you’ll discover new areas of interest!
    • In previous jobs, what would you have liked to further your interests in, learn more about or take part in?

     Do you know what you are like?

    • Think about your most notable qualities and what you want to achieve with the career change.
    • Set red lines that you don’t want to cross.

    Your interests and your personality will indicate what potential jobs you could do.

  • 3What can you do well?

    Think about your skills

      What skills and abilities define you as a professional?

    • The people around you will help you identify what stands out about your personality and way of working.
    • Ask yourself: what did you do better and more easily in previous jobs?
    • In terms of your professional training, remember why you chose it? What doubts did you have? What knowledge have you acquired and how can you apply this?

    This information will tell you about your know-how in the workplace and what you should emphasise.

  • 4Where do you want to get to?

    Imagine your future workplace

     What would be your ideal workplace?

    • Try to define it in a concise manner, with a specific example.
    • Project yourself into the future. If you think 5 or 10 years ahead, where do you imagine yourself working? Be open and don’t set yourself limits.

    Once you have a clear idea of what your ideal job is and what would make it ideal for you, it will be easier for you to find a more realistic intermediate step in order to start out on your journey.

  • 5What does the market have to offer?

    Research your professional sector

     Find the most requested career profiles for your area.

    • What is required to access the job you want?
    • What do you already possess? What do you need to improve? And to learn? Do you have enough motivation to see it through?

    Using the specific information about what they are asking for, you can see the jobs closest to your current profile and draw up an action plan.

  • 6Your goal and action plan

    Plan your career change path

     Keep in mind that the path could be longer or shorter, depending on how far you are from your goal. Therefore, it may include:

    • Improving your training to enrich your CV.
    • Researching jobs in specific workplaces.
    • Training and learning in intermediate posts or using short term ‘springboards’ to reach the workplace that interests you.

    Now you know where you are starting from and where you want to end up. Work to achieve your professional goal.