1. Look at specific job descriptions for the career you want to move into. (You can find job descriptions on job boards or on the websites of companies that hire that kind of worker.)
2. Using the job descriptions, list the skills you already have and the ones you’ll need to master to move into your new career.
3. Assess your personal attributes and decide if people with your personality type can be successful in this field. Professional speakers, for example tend to be extroverts, but some are very skilled introverts. It’s probably easier to go with your natural inclinations.
4. Determine what professional association serves people in the field you want to move into. (There may be more than one.) Read the website – or websites -- thoroughly.
5. Look, for example, at the speakers for upcoming conferences and webinars to find the names of leading-edge practitioners and the companies they work for.
5. Google them and read articles written by these leaders in the field and leading corporate practitioners.
6. Using the website, determine if there is a local chapter of the association and attend meetings. Set up interviews with people who have the kind of job you want to move into.
7. Look for other on-line communities, forums, and websites. Notice the kinds of problems people are solving and how they talk about issues.
8. Sign up for a search engine alert (Try Google, for example) to bring news and information about your chosen field – or specific “stars” in the field -- to you via e-mail.
9. Find a mentor. Look for mentors at social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook or at meetings of the professional association.
10. For a mega-dose of training, attend a national/international conference of the professional association that serves the field you’re interested in.
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