Once you have identified your ideal jobs, treat your career switch as a business project with goals, action steps, milestones and deadlines that you assign to yourself daily or weekly. Big things have small beginnings.

Create an inventory of your transferable skills and compare them against those listed in the job postings of your ideal job. What skills do you have and how can they be applied in the new job? Soft skills such as interpersonal skills, time management and budgeting are all transferable. Then, think of ways to acquire the skills you do not currently possess, whether it’s through taking up course or learning it in your current job.

Human resource executives and hiring managers are often skeptical of career switchers who are willing to accept a junior role and lower pay as they are unsure of their commitment, so make sure that you’re able to justify yourself if you’re willing to accept a junior position. You can also bring to their attention previous instances in your career where you did a lower-level job, and how you adapted and benefitted from the process.

Go through your network on LinkedIn, school alumni and volunteer organisations and build meaningful relationships with people. These contacts can provide you with useful information on your targeted jobs or industries and might even be able to tell you of job openings before they are advertised.

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