Career Change Advice Be a Subject-Matter Expert

Career Change Advice Be a Subject-Matter ExpertCareer Change Advice Be a Subject-Matter ExpertIts not impossible to compete with industry vets, even if youre coming from a different trade.Are you thinking about making a move from your traditional field? Branding yourself as a subject-matter expert can give you an edge.If youre competing with candidates who have experience within the industry or function, youre going to need a way to distinguish yourself.Its simple If you can apply your current skills effectively to compete against industry insiders, hiring managers will be more likely to take a chance on you. Meanwhile, demonstrating an investment of time and resources shows that youre focused on the new path, not just an industry hopper.Thanks to online tools, its easier than ever before to study up on a subject and demonstrate your mastery to prospective employers. In many fields, todays career changer has options that take fewer resources and time than formal university reeducatio n.Here are six steps to gain visibility in a new industry or functionCreate your subject-matter expertise.1. Determine who you want to be.Do the soul-searching and research first, to understand your tranferrable skills and what your new career should be. Talk to friends, coaches, and career and industry experts.2. Determine your subject-matter expertise.Identify your unique ability to solve a specific business problem. Note the words unique and specific both qualities are essential if you want to differentiate yourself. By focusing on problems you are uniquely qualified to solve, you reduce reliance on industry or functional experience.3. Focus on skills over industry and function.Even more important than transferrable skills, what makes you unique? What value have you provided to employers and which ones apply to your new career?Distribute your subject-matter expertise.1. Manage your online reputation.Do a Google search on yourself what does it say? When it comes to managing your reputation online, many job seekers focus on keeping negative information off the Internet. However, shaping and creating your online reputation is even more important, especially to a career changer. You can build your reputation for subject-matter expertise by creating content under your name or citing the content of others on a blog or another online venue.2. Establish an online portfolio.Hiring managers know that resumes only offer a limited view of a candidates performance on the job. zugreifbar portfolios include work examples, reports, spreadsheets, presentations, design, and projects that an employee has managed or developed, demonstrates transferrable skills.3. Create a ResuBlog.Ive long been an advocate for something I call a ResuBlog a blog that contains industry insights and information along with your resume. Your ResuBlog helps you establish industry expertise in your new career, by writing about it - or you can republish (with permission) industry articles that demo nstrate your knowledge. A ResuBlog is a work product, demonstrating how the career changer thinks, showing your decision process and great ideas in comparison to other candidates.Many jobs are unadvertised. You can be more effective in your career change by changing the paradigm. Find a problem that you are uniquely qualified to solve a problem that needs a subject-matter expert - you. You can spot these problems when youre networking, on job boards or doing industry research.If youre a candidate trying to compete in a new field, youve never had a better chance to build a new brand as a subject-matter expert. It takes some work to rebrand yourself , but even in todays competitive job market you can compete against industry vets. Theres no pill you can take to reinvent yourself - these methods take work, time, and resources. However, in many careers it now takes significantly less work, time, and resources than going back to school for a formal degree.How will you build your subje ct-matter expert brand? Send me an elektronischer brief and share your thoughts.