Haven’t tried it yet? Now is the best time to join. www.pathmotion.com

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We’ve assembled a group of twelve high-ranking professionals hailing from a range of different industries such as finance, consulting, politics, law, technology, and media; and we’re giving our users the chance to sit down and chat with them one-on-one over lunch – our treat! What better way to learn about a career than meeting face-to-face with someone who has succeeded in it? It’s our way of making PathMotion’s insider’s approach to the job market even more personal, allowing PathMotion users to speak with a highly successful professional who once stood in their shoes and use that conversation to map out their own future careers.

If you’re a lucky winner, you’ll get to listen to your Icon’s secrets to success, absorb his or her wisdom, expand your professional network, and explore new career opportunities that you may have never considered before. In the process of just talking to someone who is well seasoned in the workforce, you may be surprised to find doors opening in unexpected places.
The Industry Icons initiative is open to anyone who joins the site. Visitors simply select which mentor they would most like to meet and they are officially enrolled in the contest. New entries will continue to be accepted until October 30th when a lottery will be held for each mentor, and the twelve lucky winners will be announced shortly thereafter. People can increase their chances of winning by inviting friends and colleagues to join PathMotion and by enrolling early on. Details of the competition can be found here: http://www.pathmotion.com/icons

You don’t want to miss this unique professional opportunity! Sign up for Industry Icons today and open doors for tomorrow.

The job market has no limits. You can always find creative ways to achieve your personal goals.

Time for a career change? Register for free at www.pathmotion.com today and discover the best job for you.

We’ve already made the move to our new office tucked away in the corner of a charming street in Paris’s 20th arrondissement. The building is an incubator for promising start-ups in which a close-knit group of 50 high-potential businesses work side-by-side under one 8,000 square metre roof. The locale is modern and spacious with a large skylight in the main room that showers the young crowd of go-getters inside (that’s us) with sunlight. The combination of our new interns’ fresh faces, the extra office space, and the environment of entrepreneurs surrounding us has proven very inspiring!

But the day we moved was not so glamorous. Moving offices is always a bit tricky (we would know… we’ve done it a few times), and let’s just say techies are not natural hard laborers. After buying half of IKEA, we spent the afternoon learning that building furniture can be more difficult than building websites.

We miss some things about our old office – like the amazing bakery around the corner – but with the exception of not yet having found a replacement baguette up to our high standards, we’ve never looked back. We prefer the extra wiggle room.

If you happen to pass by the neighborhood, stop in for an espresso and say hello!

If you’re a student or young professional, the wiki will give you the inside scoop on every job description directly from those who experienced them! This is a great opportunity for you to describe both your current and previous positions and to make your career known to people everywhere. By spending just a few minutes telling us about your career, you will help countless others find a job that suits their unique skills, experience, and goals.

It’s easy to use and everyone can contribute, so don’t hesitate! The more content that is added to the site, the more we will be able to inspire students and young professionals with tailored career recommendations. So help us help you!

On average, investment banking analysts clock in 80 hours of work per week. Assuming they get 8 hours of sleep each night, they are left with just 5 hours each day – even on weekends – to do anything else.

The job market has no limits. You can always find creative ways to achieve your personal goals.

PathMotion empowers you with insights from peers’ paths and experiences to help you make the right career decisions. Get registered and see more paths and stories on www.pathmotion.com.

1. Work out your career motivations

It’s great to know you want a change, but the first crucial step is to understand why – this is not always straightforward. 

Understanding your career goals, and in particular your core career strengths and aspirations, will help you take a more strategic look at what’s wrong currently and what you need to look for in your new job. If you’re unclear about your goals, a useful first step is to take a personality test (there are many online tests that are free and very straightforward).

2. Exhaust opportunities within your current company

While a radical new start is very tempting, it’s worth considering whether your situation cannot be improved by adapting your current job so that it can better play to your strengths and aspirations. This could either be within your current job, simply by a team change (if there is a personality clash, for example) or a new position within the organisation. 

A corporate lawyer who could no longer sustain the hours and the pressure of the job changed roles to become a knowledge manager within the same company, thereby improving her work life balance while staying in the same stimulating environment. Considering a geographical transfer can sometimes give you the change you’re looking for. If this is an option for you, speak to your manager, mentor or colleague about it.

3. Learn how others have done it

It’s motivating to understand your various options based on your experience and goals. Finding out what other people with a similar background to you have achieved is a very useful start. It also helps you learn what it may (and may not) take to get there. It isn’t always necessary to retrain or get additional qualifications – instead it can be about recognising how to use your current skills in new areas to meet your career goals.

After years in investment banking for example, many went on to do an MBA thinking this was the only way to change careers – the fact is that there are some clear bridges between banking and the corporate world already established. Also, did you know that a change from management consulting to public sector doesn’t necessarily require an additional masters degree in Politics as there are other ways to get the necessary credentials?

4. Be specific, not generic

Be sure you are aware of the range of specific options in your target career direction. For example, there are many types of jobs in the area of “development”, including development banker, micro-finance consultant, or development policy consultant.

Narrowing your direction to specific options will better enable you to assess what suits you best.

5. Search based on your goals

Make sure you cover all types of jobs which allow you to focus on your strengths and aspirations, including areas you may not have originally considered. For instance, your initial interest in journalism may suggest you are interested in an intellectual environment or in creative writing. Why not also consider a script writer for radio? Being open to options around your goals will help you put together a list of most appropriate jobs for your career change.

6. Know your target jobs

Once you’ve identified a short-list of ideal jobs to target, do everything to make sure these are the right ones. The first step here is to carry out extensive research about what your target jobs really involve on a day-to-day basis.

How to do this? Get involved – go to conferences, follow news and articles, read job applications which often outline the key responsibilities and tasks involved. For example, if you are interested in entrepreneurship or working in a start-up company, read TechCrunch and the blogs of start-ups you aspire to work with; go to the weekly get-togethers such as OpenCoffee club where you can meet fellow entrepreneurs. If you are interested in politics, become a member of a party or volunteer to take part in a campaign.

Ideally, try to spend some time in the organisation you want to work with to be able to understand the realities of the job and ask concrete questions about what people do.

7. Be gradual about your move – it doesn’t have to be radical

Change doesn’t necessarily need to involve a sudden job move. Instead, you could start off by exploring your interests in your spare time. For example, many people who would like to have more social impact often join a local association in the weekend or volunteer for a season. If you want to become an actor, it may make sense to try out evening classes.

This will reassure you and can improve your chances considerably about getting a job as you’ll have built a track record and shown you have genuine interest (and skills) to make this career move. You might find that simply getting involved in this way may be fulfilling enough without requiring a career change at all.

8. Be strategic about moving from your current to your dream job

Once you’ve decided your new path is the right one, and you want to make the change, think about the best way to move into your area and make sure your core strengths and skills work for you. For example, if you are a lawyer who wants to move into media, move into the position of a jurist lawyer in a media company. If you are a consultant, who is dreaming of running a luxury brand, first get a strategic role in a luxury goods company.

9. Map out the available and suitable employers

A new job can look amazing on paper, but in practice it will often depend on the corporate culture of the company you move into. Some people thrive in large, multi-national organizations whereas others a smaller, more entrepreneurial spirit. So how do you know what best suits you?

First research and put together a list of companies hiring for your target position, from which you can track vacancies. Once you find something interesting, be sure to do thorough research about the company, by speaking to people working there (or have worked there) through forums or direct contact.

10. Be patient

A good move might take more time than you think, and therefore requires some tactical patience.

Implementing the above steps might take a few months but it will assure you that you know the right career path for you. Once you are clear about what you’re after, it may require waiting for the right post to become vacant. But be confident that you’ve done the preparation to ensure your career change is as successful as possible and done for the right reasons. There’s nothing worse than finding yourself in a new job that doesn’t fulfill your career goals simply because you moved too fast.

Do you have other tips on changing careers?  Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below. And if you haven’t joined us at PathMotion, now is the perfect time to do so. It’s quick, easy, and free.

Thank you to all of you who have given us feedback in the last few weeks. We have been able to integrate a lot of your input and have just released an improved algorithm that will give you even more relevant job suggestions. We are also excited to let you know that we have shared our first press release with the media today:

Job hunting gets easier with UK launch of new generation career site

Get connected to the right job with PathMotion

Do you want to tell us what you think about the new www.pathmotion.com release? We are listening!

Hi everyone,

Do you want to tell us what you think about the new www.pathmotion.com release? We are listening!

Before the first press release, and because you are following us since the beginning, we are proud to announce to you the public PathMotion release!

Hope you enjoy what we are building, and help us make the future of this product yours!

Regards,
the PathMotion team

PathMotion has arrived! Born December 10, 2009 to beaming parents. Delivery was uneventful. Well-wishers are encouraged to request an invitation to preview the site. In lieu of gifts, send feedback or money—baby needs a new pair of shoes!