You’ve been there. You’re a few years into your first job, and things are going well, but you start feeling like something is missing. You want to grow and develop professionally – but how?

What is the difference between a job and a career? In this article, we’ll examine the differences between these two terms and give you a checklist to help you transition from one to the other.

The Difference Between A Job and A Career

A job is a temporary position that you hold for a set amount of time. A career is something that you work towards and develop over the course of your life. You might have many jobs throughout your lifetime, but only one career.

If you are interested in changing from your temporary job to a blossoming career, it is important to take the time to understand what will make your career transition smooth and successful.

Use This Checklist To Make a Smooth Career Transition

1. Identify Your Skills

Identifying your skills is the first step in identifying a career path and making a smooth career transition.

• Make a “skills list”

To begin, make a list of all the skills you have that are transferable to another field or occupation. This can be done by listing out specific tasks and their associated skills, such as “I know how to solve problems with math,” or “I am good at organizing things.”

• Identify your most useful skills

Next, identify which skills are most useful for this new career transition.

For example: if you’re looking for a job as an engineer but also love writing fiction novels as well (if this is true), then consider what types of writing do engineers typically need? Do they need someone who knows how electricity works? Or maybe just someone who knows how electricity works better than anyone else on Earth!

2. Break Down Your Goals

Break down your goals. You should have a clear and defined list of what you want from your career change.

Your goals should be specific, measurable, and realistic. If you’re looking for a career transition from a job in the same field, then it’s likely that your objectives are fairly similar to those of other people who are already working there—and that means they can be achieved by following the same steps as everyone else!

However, if you’re looking for something completely different (such as becoming an entrepreneur), then this might require some extra work on your part—and therefore deserve more attention than usual during this process.

Make sure they’re time-bound! This way, if things don’t go according to plan (which happens sometimes), at least there’s some closure regarding whether or not progress has been made toward reaching each goal.

Otherwise, there’ll always be doubt lingering somewhere deep inside your mind which could potentially lead you down another path altogether.

3. Be Disciplined

Discipline is the key to a successful career transition. You need to be disciplined in order to reach your goal and become a successful professional. If you don’t have discipline, then it won’t matter how hard or smart you are—you won’t get where you want to go!

Here are some tips for staying focused on your goal:

• Don’t get distracted by other things or people who try their best at distracting and pulling you away from what matters most (your career).

Be aware of these distractions so that they don’t pull at your emotions, but instead keep them from affecting how much progress gets made each day toward building a career.

• Don’t give up!

Even if something doesn’t seem very promising at first glance because there aren’t any opportunities yet available for someone like you with little or no experience under our belt whatsoever…you still need hope!

There will come another day when everything becomes clear again; then maybe then you can move forward confidently knowing exactly where you stand right now in terms of obtaining employment opportunities within companies similar enough that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable working alongside others who didn’t share similar backgrounds as yours did.

4. Gain Experience

Here are easy ways to gain experience when making a career transition:

• Learn from others in the field.
• Intern or take an entry-level job at a company that is in the same field. Platforms like Upwork, Indeed, LinkedIn or Jobberman are good places to start.
• Volunteer to help out or get involved in a project. This will not only help you learn more about your new career path but also give you some experience working with people who have been there before and are experts on what they do best (and maybe even show you how they do things).

5. Keep Your Information Current

Another key step in transitioning from a job to a career is keeping your information current. You’ll want to update your resume, LinkedIn profile, and references as you move along.

In addition, it’s important that you keep up with any certifications or skills that may be relevant at this point in time. For example, if you’re applying for an IT position at an engineering firm then perhaps it’s time to refresh your knowledge of the latest software updates and features on the market.

It can be easy enough to remember when something was released years ago; however, things change quickly in technology so don’t forget about updating these items!

Lastly: Make sure that what matters most doesn’t get lost among all these other tasks!

Also Read: Which Is Best For You: Small Business or Startup?

6. Network

Networking is a crucial part of any career transition. You can’t get ahead without it, and if you want to get ahead in your new career, networking is one of the most important things you can do.

While networking may seem like an intimidating activity, there are plenty of ways to make it work for yourself.

You don’t need to be the life of the party or know everyone in order to build relationships and establish yourself as someone who’s ready for bigger things down the road—and this doesn’t mean that every single connection will result in a job opportunity for yourself.

In fact, you should start small. It may seem counterintuitive because many people think that starting out as an entrepreneur means they have no obligations toward others outside themselves but this doesn’t necessarily have any correlation between success and having obligations toward others either way!

7. Turn Your Passion Into a Career

You can turn your passion into a career by:

• Finding a job that aligns with your values and interests.
• Developing the skills necessary to succeed in that position.

The most important thing for a successful career transition is, to be honest with yourself about what you want, how much time and energy it takes, and whether or not your current job will help get there.

If the answer is no—or if there are other options that would work better for you—then look elsewhere!

8. Find Out What is Important to You In A Career

Why are you doing this?

Before you start looking for a job, it’s important that you ask yourself: What do I want to do? What kind of career will make me happy?

The answer could be anything from being an athlete or artist to working in finance or marketing. It doesn’t matter how big or small your ambitions are; just know what they are and focus on them!

9. Develop a Support Team

Having a support team is important for every career transition. Your support team can help you with anything from finding jobs to moving into new careers and even making referrals for interviews.

Your support team should be made up of people who will listen and provide advice when needed, as well as give you honest feedback on what’s working and what isn’t.

You should also have mentors who can provide guidance in your career moves, whether that means giving advice on how to network better or hiring managers that are willing to take risks with hiring someone new into their company.

Finding people who fit this description will depend on several factors:

• Gender: Men tend more towards leadership roles whereas women tend more towards mentoring,

• Age range: Younger generations need fewer mentors than older ones do,

• Personality traits: Some people thrive off being included while others need more solitude.

Once you find the right set of individuals within reach within your budget constraints then building up this kind of relationship will become much easier!

10. Enroll in a Class or Program to Help You Transition Into Your New Career

Enrolling in a class or program to help your career transition can be an incredibly valuable tool. Whether you’re looking for guidance on how to get started, or just want someone to talk through what it means for you to leave your old job and start over, there are plenty of options out there.

As with any career move, there are things that are more important than others when it comes down to the decision of whether or not an online course is right for you—but if they’re all important factors in making this decision (and they should be), then we hope these tips will help:

• Look at their educational philosophy/approach first and foremost before considering anything else!
• A good course will have a clear methodology and it should be easy to see how their approach will help you achieve your goals.
• Look for courses that are comprehensive, covering every aspect of the transition from your old job to a new one.

Today, there are many sites that offer tons of free and affordable online courses with certificates including Coursera, Udemy, Skillshare, and even Google and YouTube! Explore the most suitable for you and get started.

Preparing For a Career transition requires discipline and dedication.

It’s a journey, not a destination. So when you are on that journey and ready to pursue your career, it’s important that you take the time to look at all sides of the issue first.

Conclusion

The key takeaway from this checklist is that you should always have a plan and be prepared for the journey ahead.

A career transition can be a challenging process, but it’s also one that will help you grow into the person you want to be. Remember: don’t wait until it’s too late!