As many major industries look to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, job openings are becoming far more common. Many industries which were shuttered down or drastically reduced at the peak of the pandemic are slowly but surely hiring again. As a professional, you might be on the lookout for a new career path.

However, navigating your way to a future career change can be quite challenging. With so many new opportunities arising, though, now is arguably the time to meet that challenge head-on.

Job openings are at an all-time high, especially in key industries such as electrical engineering and plumbing. How, then, can you work towards finding that new career opportunity in post-pandemic America?

Find firms that you would like to work for

First off, before committing to any new industry or taking on new training, you should look at the head companies within that industry. With so many industries looking for skilled workers now is the time to be more demanding about what you want from your next career change.

Look into the companies in your chosen industry that you could potentially work for. Do they provide you with the salary and working opportunities that you are hoping for?

It is vital to know who is hiring within your chosen new industry, and who aligns with your professional needs, before committing to the change.

Look for industries with open opportunities

The best way to find a new career path is to align your skills and passions with industries looking for new employees. For example, skilled trades such as electrical engineering are in high demand. With opportunities set to exist for the long-term as more on-site electrical experts are needed, it might be worth undergoing a semester or two of electrical training school in San Antonio.

With industries like electrical engineering set to have long-term vacancies, you could benefit from a tight labor market. Industries like this, and other manual trades, have been hurt badly by the pandemic. As such, you might find it easier to land a role in these industries as they look to ramp up the hiring of both experienced veterans and new trainees.

Use high demand industries as your guide

At the moment, many people are looking to move into sectors and industries they previously lacked experience within. At the moment, high-demand sectors – especially entry-level positions in fields like hospitality – are looking to bring staff in en masse. This could be your chance to land a position that would normally be stacked with qualified candidates.

Once you are in the door, most companies do not care what your previous experience comes from. With so many companies looking to take a chance on new employees, entry-level positions without specific educations are open to anyone eager enough to get in the door.

Now might be a perfect time, then, to gain experience in an industry that was previously low enough in demand that they could wait for specialist candidates.

Be transparent in the interview process

Something else that has changed quite drastically post-pandemic is the job interview process. With companies so keen to land quality candidates regardless of background, you can be much more open in interviews. Asking questions about everything from salary to remote working conditions would have previously lost you a position – today, companies are much happier to answer most interview questions.

Since your skill-set is in demand, you should look to be open and honest. Would you like to work remotely? Are you looking for certain benefits?

Never before have workers had as much opportunity to get what they want from a new job. The power is in your hands, so make sure you use that to navigate the best conditions in your new career.

Remote work challenges need to be understood

At the same time, if you are someone who could take or leave a remote working position then you can bump yourself up the queue of potential candidates. At the moment, over half of applicants are asking for remote working conditions – yet only one-tenth of new job offers are offering remote work. Therefore, if this is not a make-or-break condition of your new industry, you could make yourself far more appealing to a company by not demanding remote work.

Especially in industries like hospitality and leisure, where face-to-face interactions are almost necessary, you can stand out as the ideal candidate simply by being willing to work on-site.

Changing your future career path can be daunting, especially if you currently lack the qualifications to land a job today. By either landing an entry-level position whilst gaining a qualification or showing that your current qualifications are relevant enough, though, you could walk into a new career path with relative ease.