5 Small Actions You Can Start Right Now to Prepare for a Career Change
A career change isn't a decision that suddenly comes one day.
It starts with small frustrations, a desire for change, or that moment when you wonder, “Is this really my job?”
Yet many people put it off, thinking of a career change as just ‘something to do someday’.
A successful career change begins not with a decision, but with ‘habits’.
Today, we're introducing five concrete actions you can start taking right now to prepare for a career change, specifically for working professionals in their 40s looking to open a new chapter in their careers.
1. Update your resume to the present tense
The first step in preparing for a job change is simple — open your resume.
Most professionals go three or five years without updating their resume.
But the market keeps changing, and the required competencies evolve.
👉 Action you can take right now:
- Record projects and achievements from the last 1-2 years
- Specifically list skills, tools, and performance metrics learned in your current role
- Boldly trim unnecessary, outdated experience
Preparing for a job change isn't just ‘polishing a document’—it's ‘organizing your growth trajectory’.
2. Update your LinkedIn and job portal profiles
Today, corporate HR managers first look at your online profiles.
In other words, your digital resume already exists in the world.
👉 Action you can take right now:
- Replace your profile photo (with a professional yet natural impression)
- Include your current role + desired field in your headline
- Example: “Marketing Strategist | Brand Growth Consultant”
- Quantify key achievements (e.g., 20% sales growth, 150% project ROI)
How you present yourself determines the first impression of your job search.
3. Build a Career Support Network
Preparing for a job change alone can easily lead to wavering.
That's why creating ‘career conversation partners’ is crucial.
Sharing concerns and giving concrete feedback keeps you on track—they're your best support system.
👉 Action you can take right now:
- Schedule lunch with a colleague who's changed jobs
- Reach out to a former boss or mentor
- Join online career communities
Small conversations shift your mindset and sometimes bring unexpected opportunities.
4. Update your ‘market sense’ every weekend
Successful job changers always maintain ‘market sense’.
Knowing where your industry is headed and which skills are trending is ultimately key to your job-change strategy.
👉 Action you can take right now:
- Search for roles you're interested in on JobKorea, Saramin, Wanted, etc.
- Identify required competencies from major companies' job postings
- Watch ‘job role interview’ videos on YouTube or Brunch
This isn't just information gathering—it's a routine for realigning your career direction.
5. Secure 30 minutes daily for your ‘side project time’
Changing jobs can sometimes mean switching to a completely different path.
That's why securing time daily for your ‘side project career’ is crucial.
👉 Actions you can take right now:
- Spend 30 minutes a day learning a new skill or language
- Start a side project or blog
- Reflect on your current work and jot down ‘what you enjoy doing’
Small habits accumulate to open new doors in your career. Job changes only offer opportunities to those who are prepared.
Preparing for a job change isn't ‘someday’—it's ‘starting now’.
The first step in changing jobs doesn't have to be grand.
Open your resume today. Even if you change just one line, change has already begun.
The key is consistency.
Only those who move steadily, bit by bit, every day, seize the ‘timing of opportunity’.
Tonight, update just one line of your career.
It might just be the first sentence that opens the next page of your life.
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