New Job Countdown: Carving out a new career path

Photo credit: Urbanite

Barbara Safani, left, has advised Allegra McBane, and others, to branch out beyond their original job searches.

By Karen Tina Harrison

Special to amNewYork

Almost two months into the New Job Countdown series, our candidate, Allegra McBane, has been doing freelance work and scoring some interviews.

But, to conquer this job market, she and others may need to reinvent themselves. This week, employment expert Barbara Safani, of CareerSolvers.com, targets new areas with McBane, a former arts publicist.

Game changed?

So must you

“Openings are scarcer now in fields like banking, real estate, retail, aviation, music and publishing,” Safani said. “The jobs are there, but in different places.”

Expanding sectors include health care, education, green technology and alternative energy, and bilingual jobs.

“Evergreen fields” thrive no matter the economy: Those include infrastructure (government, transit, utilities) and child, senior and pet care.“Every industry needs personnel in support staff, accounting, customer service and IT,” Safani added.

Translate your skills

McBane’s background in arts PR and marketing could be useful in health care, pharma, financial services or consumer products, Safani said.

She could also work outside the corporate structure, promoting an individual entrepreneur, author or personality, she added.

“Appraise your skills and how they’d work in more fertile industries,” Safani said. “Find the intersection between your talents and passions and what the market needs.”

To road test a new area, you might want try a volunteer gig, she suggested.

You can research other fields on wetfeet.com, vault.com, online.onetcenter.org, and bls.gov/audience/jobseekers.htm

Redo your resume, rock networking

“A new field calls for a new focus and new message,” Safani said. “So, rework your resume to prove your skills are transferable.

“In Allegra’s case, we downplayed her music PR background and focused on marketing in general.”

With any retooled resume, your professional ID — your resume “headline” — should stress not where you’ve worked but who you are and what you can do for the new business, Safani advised.

“You’re not, for example, a real estate broker; you’re a valued salesperson,” she said.

Aside from reworking your resume, you should begin strategic networking in those new areas, Safani said.

McBane seems to have already done just that: “I’ve reached out to friends in fashion, media, advertising and financial services,” she said.

"Adaptability equals hirability," Safani said.

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