Career transition (also known as outplacement) is a vital service offered to departing employees to promote their smooth transitions to new roles and career opportunities. While no two career transition programs are alike, they include career counselling, CV and covering letter assistance, interview training, career search strategies, and online network training (LinkedIn is a good example). Each package helps you identify your individual strengths, understand what’s trending in the market, and ensure you’re giving the best possible impression to any future employers. Some career transition candidates need more coaching and support than others, but that’s perfectly fine because a good service will continue to offer you support until you secure a new role.

What is a career transition coach?

A career transition coach is trained to help a departing employee navigate career change hurdles and challenges with confidence and success. The coach’s job is to ease what may often feel like a daunting transition into a new role or even an entirely new career. A good coach will be able to give you the best advice for a particular situation while working closely with you to analyse and optimise his or her CV, covering letter, social media profiles, online and face-to-face networking, and interviews. After all, just how similar (or different) a new role or career turns out to be is dependent on your specific skills, experience and ambitions.

Why is career coaching important?

Most job seekers are relatively unskilled at finding a new job or career. They also lack confidence in their chances of success. But a good career coach can change all that. He or she will help you establish realistic and actionable goals, address challenges with feasible solutions, and build self-confidence and motivation to make things happen. A good coach will help you understand what’s holding you back and how to get past those mental blocks. Your coach’s goal is to ensure you’re assertively moving ahead with a real plan that excites and inspires you. Your coach wants you to succeed as much as you do!

How do I find a career change coach?

The best career change coach is the one you’re most comfortable working with. Draw upon your professional experience so far: what type of person do you resonate with the best in a mentoring role? How available do you need your coach to be? Are you looking to continue in your existing industry or transition to a new one? Your coach should have a good understanding of your target sector too. And there’s one last question you should ask yourself: is it important to meet your coach in person or is meeting online a better alternative for you? You’ll need a local coach if face-to-face meetings are a must.

What is a transition package?

A transition compensation package is what you’re legally entitled to if your contract with your employer comes to an end. This isn’t the same as a severance payment, which you typically negotiate directly with your employer. That’s because transition compensation is a standard amount calculated and guaranteed by government legislation. Where the confusion arises is that the two payments are often combined into a single lump sum. However, the purpose is the same: providing you with sufficient funds and breathing room to support yourself through the transition period to a new job or career.

What is a transitional salary?

Transition compensation or transitional pay is a statutory severance payment made by employers to employees when their employment comes to an end. An allowance typically includes salary, pay-in-lieu of notice (if applicable) and wages accrued from holidays and other paid time off. The compensation is calculated from the level of your average monthly salary (usually 33%), the number of years you’ve been employed at the firm, and relevant holiday pay. If you’ve been at your company for more than 10 years or are over age 50, you’ll often receive a higher level of transitional salary than less tenured or younger employees.

What do you mean by transitions?

A transition describes a movement from one position to another – typically a new job or career in this context. You’re moving from one set of services to another. It’s a process where the journey itself is as important as the destination. That’s because a poorly planned or executed transition may make your ideal target job or career much harder (if not even impossible) to reach. Think of this transition as a flexible but vital process that ensures you’re equipped with the necessary confidence and action plan to get where you most want to go. It shouldn’t be an ordeal – instead it should be viewed as a fun and exciting event to sweep you forward to the next level.

Which of the following benefits can result from job rotation?

Job rotation is a process where you take on new tasks at a different job before rotating back to your original position within the company. This helps you gain vital experience and skills by taking on new responsibilities with new individuals and teams. Rotations promote flexibility, engagement, and retention by providing you with fresh challenges and building your value within the firm. You may also discover your real passions and identify where and with whom you work best. At worst, you may realize your original job might not be as boring or as strenuous as you earlier believed.