6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career

6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career For many years now, weve watched aculture of almost continuous restructuring and contingency work displace the job-for-life. Rather than staying at a single company for most of our careers, today we have an average job length of just over four years. Its elend just individual jobs that have come under threat, but entire career paths. We live in an era where entire professions are being supplanted by rapid technological innovationand automation. Not only can we no longer expect a job for life We may not even be able to expect one career for life.Its very likely that most us will have second careers, and some of us may even have third or fourth careers. Despite this fact, much of the career advice one finds on the Internet and elsewhere focuses on how tolaunch your first career. In my opinion, its high time we started talking about how professionals can star t their second or third careers. Today, then, I offer six tips on that very subject1. Learn From Your First CareerLaunching a second career means more thansimply doing the exact opposite of your current career. You may even like some aspects of your current career, and you dont have to discard them entirely.Rather, what you should do is take a look at your current career and identify the things you like and the things you dislike.Make a list of the likes and dislikes, and then seek out a second career thatretains the likes and dispenses with the dislikes.2. Select Your New Career Based on Your Well-Prepared Career GoalsBefore selecting a newcareer, you need to clearly set out your new career goals. For example, millions of Americans between the ages of 44 and 70 are looking for encore careers.These are second careers thatcombine personal meaning, social impact, and, levels of income that are consistent with or higher than a persons income in their previous career. Younger career-cha ngers may also be looking for such encore careers, or they may be driven by desires likeincreased income, job satisfaction and engagement, and employability.Once you are crystal clear on your career goals, you can go about choosing a new career path that best aligns with behauptung goals.3. Beware Industries and Professions Where Jobs Are in Terminal DeclineWe live in volatile times Globalization and increasing automation mean that many industries will experiencemassive reductions jobs over the next 10-20 years.The Occupational Outlook Handbook provided by the U.S. Bureauof Labor Statisticsprovides forecasts about declining and rising industries over the next decade. A recent Oxford Martin School studysimilarly surveys thejobs that are most vulnerable to automation in the coming years. I highly suggest career-changers spend some time studying these resources to ensure that the new careers they choose dont disappear a few years down the road.4. Select a Career path Where There Jobs a nd Salaries Are Expected to GrowRelated to the previous tip, career-changers should try to get into career paths where the escalator is going up, not down. You can find out which professions have the most growth potential using the sources presented above.5. Leverage Your ConnectionsChanging careers isnt easy, but career-changers do have at least one advantage over first-timers who are new to the working world their networks. Most career-changers have likely built powerful networks of high-level contacts over the course of their first careers. They can leverage these networks to find new opportunities in new career paths.Remember, studies show that candidates who are referred to an employer are much more likely to be called to interview and offered a job. As a career-changer, your personal and professional is the secret weapon that can give you an edge over those who are just starting out. Use it.6. Obtaina Relevant Certification to Boost Your CV and Demonstrate Commitment.A great w ay to prepare yourself for your new career and to show potential employers that you are committed to your second career path is to obtain a relevant certification via night school or online learning. Taking the time and effort to engage in professional developmentwillprove to employers that you are dedicated and ready to give your new career all that you have. Employers will look favorably on this, and youll be more likely to land interviews and jobs as a result.-Making a career change can be difficult, but its also increasingly becoming the norm. Starting a second career isnt the same as starting your first, but if you follow these tips, youll stelle yourself for success on your new professional path.