Few of us stay in the same job for our entire working life. For cancer patients and survivors, in particular, the need or desire to change careers following a diagnosis and/or treatment is not uncommon. Making that transition, however, takes planning and effort. 

A critical first step in that process involves assessing your professional skills and identifying the ones that you can easily apply to a new role. Thankfully, an article from The Job Network can help you do just that. “How to Seamlessly Transfer Your Skills from One Industry to Another” provides a simple strategy for how to go about it:

Identify your skills: According to the Job Network article, “this should include skills both large and small” — as well as hard and soft. Examples of “hard skills” include professional licenses and certifications, proficiency in a language or software — basically, any “measurable and quantifiable talent that you’ve developed.” Among the examples of “soft skills” are: communication, problem-solving and leadership skills — those “more subjective and harder to measure abilities that you possess but that come in handy at work all the time.”

Identify the needs of your target industry: Figure out which industry — and, if possible, which companies — you’d like to switch to, and then identify their needs. Having a clear sense of what would be useful — as well as what is required — in your target field is critical, and will better prepare you for the formal job-search process.

Make the connection: Based on the self-assessment of your skills and the research you’ve conducted on the field you’re interested in, you then need to “hone and refine your skills to best suit your new industry.” Obviously the more qualified you are in terms of skills and experience, the more confident you’re likely to feel — all of which will increase your chances of landing the job you want.

We all know that job-hunting isn’t easy, and transitioning to a new field can make the process even more challenging. So being as prepared as possible — for both the process and that potential new job — is key. Understanding the skills that are needed for a role, and making sure that your skill set includes those that are required, will greatly improve your chances for success. 

To read the entire article, click here.

For additional help with your job search, check out the Looking for Work section of our website, and be sure to watch the archived versions of our Job Search and Career Change webinars.

You may also want to read our article on “Cancer As Inspiration for Career Changes” and order (or download) a free copy of our Job Search Toolkit.