This analysis is particularly important if you’re mid-career or thinking of making a significant career change. “Big job changes are very difficult to accomplish and very difficult to succeed at,” says Jeff Oliver, owner at Fresno, CA-based Oliver Search Consulting, which specializes in the agriculture and food processing industries. “If you’re miserable, try to get at the core of your unhappiness and then really address what’s making you unhappy.”
#3 – Long-Term Goals
According to Emily Fragoso, senior recruiter at Mixtec Group, a produce-focused executive search firm in Glendale, CA, there’s one very important question anyone considering a career change must ask: What is my ultimate goal? “Focusing on what you really want to achieve will be the best guide for this type of decision,” she advises. Jobseekers, she notes, should “be certain they are not running away from something, but running to something that matches their professional and personal goals.”
“Decide what you want to be ‘when you grow up’ and move toward that goal,” agrees Manfre-Gross. “A new position should give you opportunities, tools, or experience to get where you want to go.”
Karen Rae Horwitz, president and CEO at JobGiraffe, a Chicago-based recruiting and staffing agency, notes that job-jumping is often seen as a negative and stability a positive on a resume, especially when at mid-career. “Stability is a tangible asset to most employers,” she observes. “This is why making strategic job moves throughout your career, and trying to get it right each time, is imperative.”
#4 – Qualifications
Once you have determined your long-term objectives, it’s time to assess whether your qualifications match the needs of a position that will move you toward your goal. “You should ask yourself how you can best add value in a new role,” says Fragoso. “A close examination of your goals, experience, training, and values will help determine if they are in alignment.”
Some skills transfer relatively easily to a variety of roles. “If you have managerial experience, this is a plus, because it is composed of soft and hard skills that would work well in most workplace environments,” Horwitz explains. “It all comes back to rationalizing your expectations and dissecting your skills in an unbiased and even brutal fashion. Know your weaknesses, know what objections employers might have to you—anticipate obstacles that will arise.”
Janice Cutler, vice president and director of human resources at the Philip G. Ball Company in Clarks Summit, PA says she looks for team players and problem-solvers, people who can prioritize tasks, have technical knowledge, and can sell and influence. She notes that these traits are universal, and would apply to many jobs in both the wholesale and retail sectors.
