Series: Things You Shouldn't Do When Changing Jobs - How to Determine Your 'Career Change Axis' Before You Start

Hello. I'm Ryo-chan, also known as Ryohei.

Born in the first year of the Heisei era. My vision is to live a long, active life in this 100-year life era, enjoying both work and private life, and eventually creating a 'village' with many companions while sparking inspiration in others.
Recently, I have been writing about things I have felt and noticed through my work as a career change agent, my own personal experiences, and job placement.
Last time, I wrote on the theme of 'Kotaro Kiyomiya, who shone at the Professional Baseball All-Star Game, and BIGBOSS Manager Shinjo.' I would be happy if you could take a look.

This time, I will post about the most important thing when changing jobs: the 'Career Change Axis'. If you proceed with your job search without clarifying this, you won't have a 'reason for changing jobs,' so
you won't be able to objectively judge whether your career change is a success or a failure. However, rather than providing an answer here, I would like to share some hints and ways of thinking for each job seeker to
develop their own axis.

1. Decide on the top priority you want to achieve

In conclusion, the career change axis is the 'top priority you want to achieve by changing jobs'. Fundamentally, changing jobs is done with the goal of
'improving upon your current workplace'. In other words,
priorities differ from person to person, so there is no single answer. However, if we list the priorities many people consider, they include 'annual income,' 'name recognition (company brand),' 'resetting human relationships,' and 'skill improvement'.
Even when we say skill improvement, it differs depending on whether it means new skills or deepening existing ones.

Also, there are 'flex-time (flexibility in working hours),' 'overtime (work-life balance),' 'work location (shortening commute time),' and 'position (career advancement)'. And there is 'remote work', which has spread rapidly over the last few years. With so many options, it is natural that each person's career change needs (why they want to change jobs) are different. As I mentioned in another article,

'higher annual income does not always equal a good career change'. This is because even if the annual income is high, if the content involves 'nothing but overtime' or 'strained human relationships,' it is hard to say that satisfaction is high. Conversely,
if you are satisfied with 'being able to go home on time and having a balanced work-life' or 'securing time to study or work a side job to acquire skills you want' even if your annual income drops, that can be called a good career change. However, if you start aiming too high for your needs, there is no end to it. That is why it is important to decide on your 'top priority'.

In other words, it is good to also decide what you are willing to give up. This will become your judgment criteria when you receive a job offer during your job search. From my own experience in job hunting, you will be able to decide what you can give up as you proceed with your job search.

To be precise, it is not so much that it is decided naturally, but rather a feeling of consciously deciding. And personally, if the most important requirements are met, I think it is fine to go ahead with a career change if the company meets a 'satisfaction level of 60% or more'.
There is no company anywhere that can meet 100% of your requests. First, write down your 'career change needs' and rank them one by one. You can visualize whether it is about wanting to improve from your current situation or solving a problem, so please try doing this.

2. Things you shouldn't do: 'Job change reasons without an axis'

When you define your career change axis, your reasons for changing jobs will naturally follow. However, the pitfall is that it is a no-go to just state your own requests as they are. What is important is the company's perspective, and your strengths in terms of what you can bring to the other party and appealing what you can provide at the same time. This is just one example, but...

(Example) Thinking of changing jobs in sales, but what I want to value is 'weekends off'.

Until now, I have done inbound sales, but I want to acquire proposal skills through corporate sales that require decision-making, and new business development sales. I want to contribute to your company's new sales by utilizing the relationship-building and customer service skills I have cultivated so far.

I wrote this simply, but...

Your company's sales = Company's benefit
Corporate sales have weekends off = My benefit

It is necessary to appeal that it is a win-win situation and that you are a good match. For this as well,
I recommend writing down your past work experience and taking inventory of it. Replace your experience with terms like '〇〇 skills', and dig up specific episodes as well. By doing so, the company can easily feel the reproducibility of your success, thinking, 'They will surely be able to perform well here too,' which makes it easier to leave a good impression.

3. Make full use of a recruitment agent

I believe that by putting the above content into practice, you will be able to proceed with your job search in a much more organized state and achieve a career change that you are highly satisfied with. However, if you are a first-time job changer trying to do this alone, it might feel a bit daunting. That is exactly why recruitment agents exist. I have touched on this in another article before.

This is because by sharing your needs and current situation as a job seeker, you can think together and more easily clarify your career pivot point and reasons for changing jobs. If you are a first-time job changer, please
make full use of a recruitment agent while acquiring job-hunting skills. This is because it will be useful for your second job change onwards, and it will make it easier for you to shape your own career yourself. Although this is a rough overview, I would be happy if even one person who reads this gains some insight. Please try at least one of these things. Next time, I will write about 'The difference between changing jobs and job-hunting activities that you might not know.' Look forward to it.