The thought of changing careers will cross everyone�s mind at some point in time. Yet, not many think that they, confidently, can take that step. While there are many reasons that can be attributed to this noticeable phenomenon, we, for the moment, will confine ourselves to the major reason - lack of confidence.

Lack Of Confidence - A Major Drawback To Successful Career Change

It is not unusual to desire a change in career. However, proper & detailed planning and preparation is essential for a successful change in career. Many times, procrastinating over the matter not just develops the redundancy factor but also creates a sort of fear and hindrance.

10 Steps To A Successful Career Change

Here are the ten steps to changing your career successfully:

1. Preparing To Change: Gather information about your target organizations, job profile, etc. Get additional training and certifications as needed. Get your resume done professionally; highlighting areas to which you can contribute to and your past accomplishments.

2. Expect The Unexpected: Interviewers throw out surprises, sometimes unintentionally, which can catch you off-guard. It pays to know the questions that they might ask. Anticipate even the craziest questions.

3. Consult Those Who Are Already In Your Chosen Field: This gives you a wealth of information on the daily routine, responsibilities and challenges.

4. Changing A Line Of Career Isn�t Unusual: The need for cross-discipline skills is no surprise these days. Get across the point that you don�t lack all the skills required by the new job even you haven�t worked in a similar one. Interpersonal skills, organizational, personal skills are commonly required wherever you go.

5. Brush Up Old Skills And Add New Ones: Comparing your skill set with that required by the target job will tell you the areas you need to concentrate on.

6. Use The Internet: Use Internet job boards to post your resume, which should be carefully crafted specially for this purpose. By crafting, I mean using keywords that are industry-specific jargon.

7. Internet Helps Research A New Industry: Visit websites of organizations, forums or associations in that field which gives invaluable insight before short listing them. Researching job listings by company will definitely help you get an idea of what skills are most in demand.

8. Family Support: Draw confidence and support from your family. When you are down, use them as a sounding board. They may be able to help you come up with new ideas, and they will definitely boost your confidence.

9. Interview, Interview: Even if you are not perfectly suited for a particular position, you should still interview as much as you can. This way, you will know your strengths and weaknesses. It will also help if you do some informational interviewing. This is simply targeting people already working in your field and speaking with them about their jobs.

10. Network. Networking has been the time-tested method for a successful career change. Network with ex-employees and current employees of your target industry. Over 60% of all interviews come as a result of networking.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions � Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.