Re-skilling is being mentioned in the forums and news, within companies and by individuals these days. It is easier said than done. While we understand the why to re-skill, "how to re-skill" or "what to re-skill to" – are some important questions. Add to it the market dynamics (seasonal) factor, salary, age, current experience and learnability like factors. 

Some possible and successful changes that we see and are quite possible – for eg.  

• if you are working as an SAP user for few years (eg. using SAP for HR or accounting), then studying & honing SAP skills & trying to be a functional Consultant could be possible  
• if you are an html designer then learning some Javascript could help to make the transition Or learning an analytics tool can help to move into analytics where your design and some understanding of data could be of help. 
• If you are an coordinator or translator then learning project management skills could help to join the PMO (project mgmt. office) or learning something about the domain and some documentation practice could help you move yourself to business analyst kind of roles

Basically if you can connect of what you are doing and leverage some of it - to connect to your next jump - with some understanding of the market needs would be best without too much of a risk. (sometimes offcourse you might have to switch completely to something new and that’s a big jump) 

During re-skilling – 

1. Have a finite timetable for the change and monitor oneself on weekly /monthly basis 
2. Put emphasis on hands-on skills and for that you might want to check the websites of tool or solution providers as many companies offer FREE demos or 2 week trials. This could be helpful in actually trying out and self-assessment. 
3. Reach out to professionals in that area and ask for advice /help. Some might ignore but some will definitely help out with some pointers. Having a mentor or guide helps immensely in adult learning.
4. Prepare a list of potential companies and roles you might want to apply and then keeping an eye on those companies for any updates so you are abreast of knowledge in that new industry / roles and tweak your journey accordingly 
5. Prepare a demo or something for your interview so that instead of just saying “I can do it”, you actually show it. While your earlier skills on resume are backed by your experience or recommendations from your past employers, this new skill or talent is yet not backed by anyone except you and hence the earlier you can prove /show it the better  (years back we were interviewing for a .NET position and a candidate sent a resume which talked mostly about his php experience while mentioning that he was studying .NET and keen to move into MS technologies. I was apprehensive but anyways decided to meet him. He surprised us by opening up his laptop and walking down an .NET application that he had built himself and it covered few major concepts of .NET. He then asked us to ask anything around that. We were taken aback with his proactive approach and the client liked him immediately.)  

Further I think just re-skilling is not enough but some self-rebranding is equally important. Because people who see your past resume or who have known you, need to know that you have really changed - else they continue to think you are the same earlier person for eg. till yesterday you were the SAP user and how come you are now an SAP consultant or a business analyst. Hence a new photo – new biography – new story as to how you can contribute & what motivated you to re-skill etc could be equally important. A video resume instead of plain text can also help. 

Again all this is not easy and hence an intentional effort is required. This move to something new - is also a success story that needs to be told - and shows your intangible qualities like self-discipline, learnability, flexibility, positivity to the reader. 

Lastly, when you finally re-brand & re-skill yourself, you might have to take an initial step-back on salary or your title. While your earlier experience counted, you are still starting afresh with these new skills and the client might want to try but would have difficulty justifying it internally. While this is again your call entirely, I think that one has to see this as a fresh start and then willing to take that leap. Your past experience will surely help you climb the corporate ladder in this new avatar very quickly and go past your earlier salary/title quickly in coming months/years. But sometimes to go one step ahead you might have to take two steps back is the point here. 

To achieve your re-skilling goals, if we can be of any help, feel free to write to us. My team and myself can share our insights on Tokyo/Japan market and the requirements that we see which perhaps could help you in choosing the "what" of re-skilling. 

Wishing all the best..  

Sunil Kulkarni - CEO of Fidel Consulting KK