Passion, experience keys to successfully switching careers

For Laura Skiles, the decision to change careers was not entirely planned.

Skiles, a teacher for six years at Cherokee Middle School in Springfield, gave birth in January 2006 to identical twin girls born 11 weeks premature. The newborns required her to take a leave of absence to care for them.

When Skiles decided to return to work this year, she thought about a return to the classroom, but instead joined Developmental Center of the Ozarks as public relations and events coordinator.

Her decision was largely personal. DCO - which serves infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities - provided physical therapy for one of her daughters, and she was familiar with the organization because of time spent as a volunteer and board member.

"I decided that as a PR coordinator, I get to educate the public and talk to them about what DCO does and why we're so important to the community," Skiles said. "Plus, I'm working for an organization that has really impacted my family."

Building on the past

Skiles is one of many people who have decided to switch careers, and she is using skills developed in her previous career, particularly the ability to stay organized, to aid in her new occupation.

Building on existing skills is a recipe for success, according to Bill Dowling, coordinator for the Ozarks region of the Missouri Career Center and director of the city of Springfield's work force development department.

"We'll tell people (who are considering a job change) to look at careers where transferable skills might be an option," Dowling said. "People might fail to realize that there are skills that translate from one job to another, even if the line of work is completely different."

Previous experience is a professional asset for Brian Fogle, who joined Community Foundation of the Ozarks in September as executive vice president.

Fogle had three decades of banking industry experience, following in his father's line of work. But he realized after working in community development with Bank of America, and later with Great Southern Bank, that he had found his passion - and after a lunch meeting with CFO President Gary Funk and a subsequent job offer, Fogle made the switch.

The move to CFO is not Fogle's first foray out of banking; he spent two years at Ozarks Technical Community College as vice president of institutional development before joining Great Southern. Fogle's daily job now is to manage organizational growth and strengthen CFO's affiliate foundation operations in rural areas.

"At CFO, community development is what they do five days a week," Fogle said.

"I do miss banking because I spent so many years in it, ... but going to a place every day where all of the staff is dedicated to making communities better is a wonderful experience for me."

Following a passion

Dowling said the first step to making a successful career change is determining which fields best match job seekers' personalities and interests.

That approach worked well for Mike Gollub, who with wife Kelli in March opened a Springfield office of Visiting Angels, a Pennsylvania-based nonmedical home care company.

Mike Gollub said his decision to enter the home-care field, despite having no previous professional experience, was based on his desire to honor his elders.

"I always had a passion for and a deep respect for the elderly - growing up, everyone older than you was an elder and you listened to them and did what they told you, whether it was telling you to get out of the flower bed or (offering) life advice," he said. "This job was a mission in life where I could fulfill a passion and put it to good use; I could make a life and not just a living."

Gollub said he's also able to draw on his 35 years of experience in the paper and janitorial sales industry and the interpersonal skills that he gained from that career.

"Those skills don't leave you, and it's an important intangible skill if you're going to connect with and relate well to an elderly person," Gollub said. "You have to be sincere and genuine. If you can't convey that, you don't have a chance."

In addition to drawing on past experience, Dowling said people such as Gollub are smart by entering fields with high growth potential - such as health care and information technology - assuming that they have the right temperaments.

"Sure, there are a lot of jobs in health care, but not everyone is cut out to be a nurse, and that's why we have a shortage. The temperament required for that means it's more than a job; it's a vocation," Dowling said. "You have to look at what's best for you - just because it pays a lot doesn't mean you should go into it."

Fighting the crowd

Dowling said the current recession doesn't preclude someone from finding a new job - but it will make the task more difficult.

"There's a lot more competition for those jobs now because there are more people out of work, and there will also be more people going back to school to get retrained," Dowling said, noting that demand for his organization's services is double what it was a year ago, while job listings are down by 150 in the same time. "So it may not be the best time to (change) it - it really depends on the industry. It takes some real planning, and it shouldn't be a light decision."

For DCO's Skiles, the decision was two years in the making, and she said it has been a successful choice for her because of her professional and emotional connections to the organization.

"I couldn't go into a completely different career where I didn't feel like I was making a difference," she said. "Just like in teaching, if a student came in and told me their day had been made better by my class, I feel the same way when I can talk to a family about how DCO can help them."[[In-content Ad]]