For me transition is not really a 180 degree switch but rather a shift to more technical activities. Therefore, the next day is not about building my new career from scratch but enhancing the already acquired skills and gradually building new. That itself is somehow tricky since I must find a way to blend my analysis experience to the coding skills I want to develop, the UX/UI design part I want to dive in as well as the product management jobs I aim to get while doing all these. God such a fuss! Once again I must put my analytical way of thinking in action and separate all these flows.
Past years of experience are not to be neglected so initially update the CV, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and Webpage according to recent events. Do not take yourself outside of the game, because risks can easily end up in failure and .. yes you are a badass for taking that risk but you need to have in mind that it is equally probable that you will fail. So, update your CV as if you are looking for another job. Who knows, maybe this will lead you to interesting paths. How to update your CV is a whole different story. It really is a hustle since you need to put together all skills, experience, intellect you have built throughout the years and that requires serious communication technique dear.
a. The rule of thumb is keeping one page for every 10 years of experience so that leaves me kind of restricted. Also, be a bit creative on making it look coherent and simple. Simple. Magic word.
b. Be real. People want to read the resume and understand it. Avoid the mumbo jumbo especially as a technique to communicate something ambiguous. This will be more than apparent and annoying to the person reading it.
c. Brag. Actually, it is the right place to brag about real accomplishments and show that you are able to execute your tasks or whatever it was you accomplished.
d. Review. Show it to as many people as possible who are related to your field of work. The aim is to get a serious feedback and ensure that the CV reflects you, you communicate your points successfully and it is easy to understand the story of your professional path.
Your LinkedIn profile is your online presence to the professional world and they should know of your current status and intentions. Let your network know of your availability and start following the topics that matter to you the most. Articles, courses, entrepreneurs. Use it as a sandbox where you can experiment on everything until you can find your main line of interest. It
Twitter should be more than reposting other people’s posts. Not that this is wrong, but it should frame your professional identity and general interests. It is crucial not to extend the range too wide and start talking one day about stray dogs and the other about azure AI. Just my personal opinion. A follower should be able to place you in one specific professional box seeing your posts. This is restrictive, I know, but it helps building your identity in social media.
Network is – and will be – the most important area of all. Connect through all means, digital, personal, ethereal and try to include yourself in all communities. Everything can be an opportunity to learn and develop. For me, co-organizing a local tech conference was the absolute eye opener of the people that are out there and are willing to help me. Having that as a start I managed to extend the dots of my networking to job forums, tech conferences, entrepreneurs, innovators, professionals, apprentices and so much more.
All these shall take time, so I suggest being patient and willing to suffer some relapses and fussy mornings when you simply want to quit eve-ry-thing and go back to your normal routine. Try keeping a journal in those case or try mailing me! We’ll find a way around.
