Make the Move: a 12-Week Career Change System for the AI Era

• Changing jobs is common

  In a long-running US survey, people born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs from ages 18 to 58. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• AI mostly assists, for now

  Jobs and Skills Australia found that augmentation generally outweighs automation, with current generative AI more likely to enhance workers’ efforts than replace them. Jobs and Skills Australia

• Forecasts are uncertain

  The BLS says the timing and scale of many potential impacts of generative AI are too uncertain to be reflected in its projections. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

1. Module 1. Move or reshape: deciding what kind of change you need

   • Career change is normal: what the official data says, and what nobody can promiseWhat labor statistics show about how often people change jobs, what this course will and won’t do, and how the next 12 weeks work.
   • What AI is and isn’t doing to jobs: reading the evidence calmlyWhat official research says about AI exposure, why projections are uncertain, and how to read survey headlines without panic.
   • Move, reshape or stay: three options, and how to tell which one you needThe difference between changing career, reshaping your current role and staying put on purpose, with questions that help you choose.
   • Your constraints: time, money, people and risk, and a 12-week plan you can keepHow to think about the time, money and people a change involves, without treating this course as financial advice, and how to set a realistic 12-week plan.
   • Project: P1 Your move-or-reshape decision brief
2. Module 2. Skills inventory, with AI as your interviewer

   • Transferable skills: what you already have that travelsWhat transferable skills are, where to find them (work, home, community) and how to describe them without your old industry’s jargon.
   • Evidence, not adjectives: turning skills into STAR storiesWhy claims like “great communicator” don’t persuade, and how to back each key skill with a short, specific story using the STAR method.
   • AI as your interviewer: finding hidden skills without oversharingHow to use a general AI chat tool to interview you about your experience, what not to paste in, and how to check what it gives back.
   • Values, interests and the conditions you need to do your best workWhy skills alone don’t pick a career, and how to use official self-assessment tools and your own experience to name what you need from work.
   • Project: P2 Your skills and evidence inventory
3. Module 3. Target roles from real data

   • Where to find real occupation data: O*NET, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Your Career and the National Careers ServiceThe official, no-cost occupation databases in the US, Australia and the UK, what each one covers and how to search them for ideas.
   • Reading an occupation profile: tasks, skills, training, pay and outlook, and their limitsWhat each section of an occupation profile tells you, how to read pay and outlook figures, and why official data isn’t personal career advice.
   • AI exposure in your target roles: looking at tasks, not job titlesHow official researchers measure AI exposure, how to apply the idea to your own shortlist, and why exposure isn’t the same as job loss.
   • Scoring your shortlist: choosing two or three roles to testA simple weighted scorecard that combines task fit, skills match, values and conditions, entry requirements, local demand and AI shape.
   • Project: P3 Your target role shortlist
4. Module 4. Test before you leap

   • Why test first: informational interviews and what they’re forWhat an informational interview is, why it’s the cheapest test of a new career, and how to find people to talk to.
   • Asking for and running an informational interviewWhat to say when you ask, the questions that get useful answers, how long to take, and how to follow up.
   • Hands-on tests: shadowing, volunteering, virtual placements and small projectsWays to try the work itself, at any age, and how to design a small test that fits around your job and stays within the rules.
   • Reading your evidence: go, adjust or stopHow to review your conversations and tests honestly, avoid common thinking traps, and update your decision brief with a clear choice.
   • Project: P4 Your test log and updated decision
5. Module 5. Close the gap: skills, credentials and licensing

   • Mapping the gap: what your target role actually requiresHow to turn 10–15 real job ads into a requirements list, separate must-haves from nice-to-haves, and see where you already match.
   • Licenses, registration and regulated jobs: checking the hard gatesWhy some occupations legally require a license or registration, how requirements vary by place, and where to check for your target role.
   • Shorter routes: recognition of prior learning, bootcamps and short coursesHow recognition of prior learning can count your experience towards a qualification, what short, structured programs exist, and how to compare routes.
   • Choosing training without getting burnedHow to check a training provider, read sales claims critically, and avoid paying for training that doesn’t lead where you need.
   • Your learning plan: AI as a tutor, and a schedule you can keepHow to turn your chosen routes into a week-by-week learning plan, use AI as a patient tutor with checks, and track progress.
   • Project: P5 Your gap-closing plan
6. Module 6. Proof project with AI

   • Why proof beats claims for career changersWhy a piece of real work persuades more than a list of skills, what counts as proof in different fields, and how a portfolio helps you network and interview.
   • Designing a proof project: real, small and finishedHow to scope a proof project that uses a core task of your target role, fits your time budget, respects confidentiality and ends with something you can show.
   • Doing the project with AI: faster drafts, your judgment, honest disclosureWhere AI helps in a proof project, where your judgment must lead, how to protect people’s data, and how to describe your use of AI honestly.
   • Packaging and showing your proofHow to write up your project so a busy reader gets it in two minutes, where to show it, and how to talk about it.
   • Project: P6 Your proof project and write-up
7. Module 7. Reposition: your story, resume, profile and letters

   • Your change story: a short, honest answer to “why the change?”How to explain your move in 30–60 seconds so it sounds deliberate rather than desperate, and how it anchors your resume, profile and interviews.
   • A resume or CV that works for a career changerHow to structure a resume or CV so your relevant skills and proof come first, what to leave out, and how this differs between countries.
   • Keywords and readable formats: getting past the first scanHow employers and application systems scan resumes, how to use the exact terms from job ads honestly, and formats that can be read reliably.
   • Your LinkedIn and online profile as a career changerHow to update your LinkedIn or professional profile so it reflects where you’re going, not just where you’ve been, while managing visibility to your current employer.
   • Cover letters and application forms, with AI as a drafting partnerWhen a cover letter helps a changer most, how to structure one in 200–400 words, how to use AI without sounding generic, and how to approach application forms.
   • Project: P7 Your repositioning kit · WE7 Marcus’s before and after resume (fictional)
8. Module 8. A job search system

   • Your job search pipeline and a weekly rhythm you can sustainHow to run your search like a simple pipeline, with stages, a weekly rhythm and a tracker, so it keeps moving without taking over your life.
   • Where jobs come from: ads, employers, recruiters, associations and public servicesThe main channels for finding roles, how recruiters are paid, what professional associations and public employment services offer, and how to choose your mix.
   • Networking without the cringeWho’s already in your network, how to ask for small, specific help, how to give back, and how to keep track.
   • Targeted outreach: approaching employers directlyHow to build a list of target employers, find the right person, and write a short outreach email that asks for advice rather than a job.
   • Applying well: following instructions, following up and keeping recordsHow to send applications that get read, when and how to follow up, and how to keep records that make interviews easier.
   • Job scams: how they work and the red flagsThe common job and recruitment scams in Australia, the US and the UK, the warning signs official agencies list, and what to do if you’re targeted.
   • Checking ads and recruiters, and protecting your personal informationHow to check that an ad or recruiter is genuine, how to spot ads that may not lead to a real vacancy, and what personal information to hold back until you’re sure.
   • Discrimination and your rights in hiring: general information for Australia, the UK and the USWhat discrimination law generally covers in hiring, including age, how to keep your applications focused on the job, and where to get official help.
   • Project: P8 Your job search system
9. Module 9. Interviewing as a career changer

   • Preparing for interviews as a career changerWhat interviewers are really checking when they meet a changer, how to research the employer and role, and how to prepare your bridge.
   • Your interview story bank: STAR stories mapped to the roleHow to grow your Module 2 STAR stories into a bank of ten or more, map them to likely questions, and handle follow-up questions.
   • Answering common questions: tell me about yourself, why the change, and your weaknessesHow to answer the questions career changers get most, including “tell me about yourself”, “why are you changing careers?”, “what’s your weakness?” and “why us?”.
   • Interview formats, assessments and practising with AIPhone, video and in-person interviews, assessment centers and tests, asking for adjustments, and how to use AI as a mock interviewer without relying on it during the real thing.
   • Questions to ask, closing well and following upGood questions to ask at the end, how to close an interview confidently, and how to follow up and learn from every interview.
   • Project: P9 Your interview story bank and plan
10. Module 10. Offer, first 90 days and the 12-month review

    • Weighing an offer: take time, ask questions, compare the whole packageHow to respond to an offer, what to clarify before deciding, and how to compare offers on more than salary, without this course giving financial advice.
    • Negotiating respectfully as a career changerWhen and how to negotiate, how to base requests on value rather than need, what to ask for besides salary, and getting the final offer in writing.
    • Contracts, minimum entitlements and leaving your current job wellGeneral information about employment contracts and minimum entitlements in Australia, the UK and the US, checking your notice period, and resigning professionally.
    • Your first 90 days in a new fieldHow to learn fast, build relationships, show early value and handle the “new kid” feeling, including how to use AI within your new employer’s rules.
    • Your 12-month review: what worked, what changed, and what nextHow to review your move after a year, re-check your AI and market assumptions, keep learning, and decide whether to stay, grow or adjust.
    • Project: P10 Your offer checklist, 90-day plan and 12-month review
11. Module 11. Capstone: your Move File

    • Decision and direction (Modules 1–2)Pull together your decision brief and skills inventory into the first section of your Move File.
    • Target role and evidence (Modules 3–4)Record your target role with the data and real-world tests behind it.
    • Gap plan and proof (Modules 5–6)Show your gap analysis, learning plan and finished proof project.
    • Repositioning and search system (Modules 7–8)Assemble your repositioning kit and show your job search system running.
    • Interviews, offer and the year ahead (Modules 9–10)Finish with your interview story bank, offer checklist, 90-day plan and booked 12-month review.
    • Final assessment (40 questions)A 40-question assessment drawn from an 80-question bank, mostly scenarios, covering every module. Pass mark 80%; retakes allowed.
    • Project: Move File rubric (self-assessed; job outcomes are not scored)

Course types, not named competitors. These are our general observations of each type, not a survey.