Question:

I have a job which pays me well, but I want to change careers from technical/management to marketing/sales. Right now, I have minimal contact with people. I love to be with people and want to work in a team environment. I am very good at events management but have no work experience in marketing/sales. How do I apply for a position within my company in marketing/sales?

First Answer:

What I hear you saying is that you'd like more human interaction, but I should think that if you are already in "management" and have experience managing events, this type of work would already have a lot of people interaction that would be useful in a new area.

Frankly, I don't get a sense from your note of what (you think) your strengths really are or what types of positions you would enjoy. Do you want to be an events manager, or a marketing person, or in sales? These are usually very different functions within an organization. You ought to narrow down the types of jobs you'd like to apply for, by function. I'd suggest that you spend some time with people in the departments you say you're interested in, and learn what kinds of jobs you're qualified for that appeal to you. Then, it's time to look at your current skill-set and work experience, and perhaps fashion a functional (not standard, chronological) resume which highlights the specific areas where you already have strengths and that you think will be necessary to help you get into the types of positions you might like to apply for.

-- Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column.

Second Answer:

You may be in luck becasue you are interested in staying at the same employer. The first step may be to speak with your direct supervisor about your desire. The other internal route may be to go to Human Resources or to reply to a job posting that interests you if this system exists in your company. You should check your employee manual to determine if there is a policy or procedure that you need to be aware of--- like a requirement that you be in a position a certain length of time before requesting a transfer or promotion. Sometimes, a transfer at the same level is simpler to accomplish than trying to both change fields/ jobs and get more money at the same time. Once you prove your value in the new role, then you may be elegible for a raise or promotion. If making this change is not possible at your current compoany then you will need to develop a strategy to make a career move to achieve your goal of moving out of the technical side into a more sales/marketing role. You might also begin to give some thought to how you could capitalize on your technical experience and still have more human contact- like a technical support role for example. Your HR department should be able to guide you about this within your own company. You can also seek assistance from the career placement office, alumni division of your college. Good luck at finding a new job that more closely matches your current interests!

-- Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, creator of the JOBWHIZQUIZ, and specialist in cyber savvy strategic job search consultations.

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