Why you need to get serious about a Mid-career Transition ?

Change is the only constant. This has been the scenario in the Indian job market since a long time, but the last couple of years have signaled turbulence like never before. Job roles are redefined every day to accommodate newer technologies and practices. With the rise of AI, almost 70% of jobs in the IT industry will become obsolete or get revamped. Indian techno giants have already started layoffs in the last year or two. The fact that many engineers feel stuck in the same role despite promotions, makes the job market both unstable and stagnant in a manner that is frightening.

Many people in the industry are no longer enjoying the jobs that they were once so proud to get in those big companies because of their repetitive nature. According to LinkedIn’s latest India Talent Trends report 90% of working professionals in India are interested to know about newer job opportunities. The report lists various reasons why professionals look for a job change, but lack of career advancement opportunities tops the charts with 45%, implying that professionals are dissatisfied with their current role, and possibly see no way out of their stagnating career. They have already reached the maturity level in terms of their own career advancement and monetary compensation, and find the going tough when they get back into the job market. While this may seem like a dead end, there is a way out, by redefining your career path.

The first step is to understand one’s own strengths and aligning them with a company’s culture for the desired role. If these three areas intersect, there is a maximum probability of the new role being a good fit. Edgar Schein’s Career Anchors, a seminal psychometric evaluation is a good way to find your interests and values. Once interests and aptitude become known, it becomes easier to find a role that will challenge and inspire. At this stage many people realize that they are in the wrong career path, or that they need to slightly change their career goals. Then begins a journey that involves reskilling themselves so that they are ready for their new role and career.

Fortunately, at this stage people need not worry about getting a degree or certificate, as the resume is not as important as demonstrable skills during interviews. 1 out of every 3 Job changes today involves a complete career overhaul, implying that Hiring Managers are also welcoming career transitions. This spells good news for working professionals, who can apply for a new role by reskilling themselves. 

The most important thing to note with such transitions is the learning opportunity and scope for individual satisfaction. Institute of Product Leadership has had phenomenal success at reskilling professionals who feel stuck in their careers and helping them find their dream role. Prof. Ramanan, Head of the Career Management Cell at IPL says, “We have helped over 1500 professionals find careers they love, where they look forward to learning new things and growing professionally at the same time. Our alumni have got faster promotions or changed their role completely after increasing their skill-set through our Programs, which are tailor made to suit the learning requirements of working professionals.”