Your new job, built on the experience you have

Looking for a new job? Start with your direction

Looking for a new job is one of the most hopeful projects a working professional can take on. You may be ready for more responsibility, a better fit with your values or a move into a growing field. Your next step might be a career shift within your industry, a career switch into a new one or a career pivot that points one strong skill toward a new purpose. Whatever shape your career transition takes, a new job search goes best when it starts with a clear destination.

Begin with three questions: what energizes you, what you already do well and which roles need those strengths. A free career aptitude test can help. My Next Move, sponsored by the US Department of Labor, suggests careers that match a profile of your interests, and the National Careers Service in England offers a skills assessment with career suggestions to compare. Then write one or two target job titles at the top of a page and list the skills and credentials they ask for. That page becomes your compass.

Why a degree widens your new job opportunities

Many professional and management roles list a bachelor's or master's degree in their requirements, so earning one opens a wider set of new job opportunities. O*NET, the occupational database sponsored by the US Department of Labor, groups occupations into Job Zones by the preparation they need. It explains that most Job Zone Four occupations call for a four-year bachelor's degree, and that most Job Zone Five occupations call for graduate school, such as a master's degree.

Employers also pay attention to where a degree comes from. CHEA, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, notes that employers ask whether a college, university or program is accredited when they evaluate the credentials of new employees and when they decide on tuition assistance. A new job with a degree from an accredited university gives your application a credential hiring teams recognize and can verify.

Growth matters as well. O*NET's Bright Outlook label marks occupations that are expected to grow rapidly in the next several years, will have large numbers of job openings, or are new and emerging. Project management, healthcare management and information security are among the roles that carry it.

How your experience and prior learning shorten the path

Here is the encouraging part: the skills you built at work can count toward the degree itself. Universities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia run formal prior-learning processes, usually called Prior Learning Assessment or Credit for Prior Learning in the US and Recognition of Prior Learning in the UK and Australia. Each university assesses your evidence against the outcomes of its own courses and decides how much credit to award, and amounts vary by university and program.

When your experience is recognized, it covers part of your degree, and you complete the remaining modules with the university, typically online and on a schedule that fits your job. The degree is awarded by the university and is the same degree every graduate of that program receives. Your experience portfolio does the talking: letters from managers, performance reviews, certifications such as PMP, CompTIA or CIPD, and short reflections on what each role taught you.

Plan your job move while you earn the degree

You can build toward your next job and your degree at the same time. A degree in progress is a strong line on a resume, because it shows commitment and current learning in the field you are moving into. A simple sequence keeps both projects moving:

Keep your current income steady while you build, and give each stage a target month. Momentum matters more than speed.

• Choose your target role and the degree level it usually asks for, using O*NET or real job postings.
• Gather your experience portfolio and ask each shortlisted university how it assesses prior learning.
• Enroll, then add the degree in progress to your resume and professional profile from your first term.
• Take on stretch projects at work that match your target role, so you have fresh examples for interviews.
• Start applying when your story, your skills and your coursework line up with the roles you want.

Where to find a new job

Once your direction is clear, spread your search across a few channels and track every lead in one simple list:

A career change coach can add structure too, especially if you are changing careers rather than moving up in your current field. Whoever guides you, quality beats volume when you change jobs: a focused list of employers you would be proud to join, each approached with a tailored application.

• Job boards with saved searches and email alerts for your target title and location.
• Career pages and social channels of the employers on your target list.
• Your network, including former colleagues, alumni groups and professional associations, plus informational interviews with people in your target role.
• Recruiters and agencies that specialize in your field.
• Official job search services: CareerOneStop's Job Finder in the US, GOV.UK Find a job for England, Scotland and Wales, and Workforce Australia.
• Career transition programs and advice: American Job Centers in the US offer free help, with career counselors who assess your skills and advise on in-demand jobs, and the National Careers Service points adults in England to careers advisers.

How to present yourself for your next job

Employers want to see, quickly, why your background fits their role. Lead your resume with your target title and a short summary that connects your experience to their needs. Rewrite achievements in the language of the new field, with results wherever you can measure them, and keep your resume and professional profile telling the same story.

Online, let your headline work hard for you. The National Careers Service notes that a LinkedIn headline has 120 characters and suggests it say who you are, what you do and what you want to be. For interviews, prepare a handful of short stories using the STAR method: situation, task, action and result. Each story is proof that you can do the next job well.

Where WorkToDegree fits in your new job plan

If the role you want asks for a degree, we help you find accredited programs where what you already know can be assessed for credit. We're independent, so every recommendation is built around you. Start with a free Pathway Snapshot: share your background and goals through the contact form or on WhatsApp, and a Pathway Specialist replies by email within one business day with the routes that suit you, including countries, programs and likely credit routes.

To sharpen your direction first, try the Career Change Quiz, the Career Upgrade Explorer and the Skills Radar on this site. Then explore the rest of this section, from how to get a new job step by step to the best jobs for career changers and a checklist for changing jobs.