Shifting careers? Some tips for making the jump

Shifting jobs or entire careers is very risky business. Before one runs off to join the circus, so to speak, serious evaluation must be made before years of hard work toward mastery in a particular field are cast aside for the allure of something completely different.

Under what circumstances should you seek a position at another company? If you learn that your company is a candidate for acquiring another firm or is itself being bought out, it is time to seriously and honestly assess your current position, or someone else may do it for you.

When a company is merged or acquired, the new management will immediately make changes in the employee ranks. Individuals who fill positions the new company needs will be retained. Those who duplicate responsibilities already being handled by the acquiring company are likely to be discharged.

If you know that your company's business has been down for a period of time and if your company is closing manufacturing plants, shutting distribution centers and, in general, contracting its business -- a definite possibility in today's faltering economy -- management is probably looking for places to cut. Your job could be next.

Also, pay attention to those individuals who joined the firm in the same position and at the same time you did. Are they getting promotions faster than you?

Are their responsibilities different or more significant than yours? If the answer is yes, then you should realistically look at what the future holds for you at that company.

Similarly, your job may not be in jeopardy, but you may feel that you are stagnating. Often companies that are looking hard at their bottom line may not be promoting as fast or giving significant salary increases. The only way to improve your position and the money you make may be by seeking out positions at other companies and in other industries.

Be careful about being too quick to leave your current job. In these days of ongoing mergers and downsizings, the company you are considering going to work for may be a merger candidate itself. Before you take another job, investigate as best you can the new firm's financial situation and whether there are rumors of a buyout.

The bottom line in changing jobs or careers either by moving up your company's hierarchy or changing companies altogether is to take control of your own destiny. Competition is doing its job. It is forcing business to become more efficient, lower costs and produce better products.

In the process, business is eliminating antiquated ways of operating, including the blueprint for career advancement. Responsibilities and divisions of duty have become blurred. Risk-takers are at a premium. To succeed in this climate, you need to take responsibility for your own career path and ultimately your success or failure.

When talking with a potential employer, keep the following in mind:

Companies are most concerned with a candidate's core skills and how they can be applied in their industry. An employer may, in fact, be seeking people from outside its industry in order to gain new perspective and new ways to approach old problems.

Consider many different industries because casting the widest net possible will greatly improve one's chance of success. Job seekers should realize that they can take their base skills -- whether it is in accounting, information technology, project management or marketing -- and apply them to any number of industries. There is no reason a marketing manager for a manufacturer of brake parts cannot shift his or her skills to become a marketing manager for an agricultural company or a hospital, two areas which are hiring right now.

Relate your specific accomplishments for each of your past employers. Do not just write down or name a list of companies for which you have worked. You do not want to appear to be a job hopper, which could reflect negatively on your job performance.

Tell the employer how each experience helped you in your next job. Employers by and large understand and accept the concept that individuals make controlled changes as stepping stones to advancement. Describe/explain how your past experiences will translate well to the position for which you are interviewing.

John A. Challenger is chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., the global outplacement consultancy that pioneered outplacement as an employer-paid benefit in the 1960s. Challenger is a recognized thought leader on workplace, labor and economic issues.