If your New Year's resolutions included changing careers or getting back into the work force, now's the time to get started.

The following is a 12-month, step-by-step schedule for changing your career. To go faster, combine steps into a shorter time period. As written, this plan can be implemented in five to 15 hours a week.

JANUARY

• Pick three to eight careers to explore

• Begin broad research —

library and Internet reading — about each career

• Narrow the list to one to three targeted fields

FEBRUARY

• For each targeted field, identify a few key people who could tell you more

• Conduct informational interviews with at least two people in each field

• Based on your in-person research, narrow the list to one target industry, job title or field

MARCH

• Choose a mentor in your new field who will advise you in your career transition

• Join a professional association in the industry you have chosen

• Subscribe to a magazine or journal in the target industry

• Conduct five informational interviews, asking each person to name likely employers in the field

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

APRIL

• Using the Internet or your professional association, learn about salaries in the target field

• Create a budget for your first year of work in the field, based on your likely salary

• If your new salary would be lower than your income now, adjust your current budget to let you "try out" the projected budget

MAY

• Identify your potential weaknesses for the field, including gaps in education or skills

• Strategize to compensate for your weaknesses; touch base with your mentor for advice

• Investigate training and volunteer options to strengthen key skills

JUNE

• Conduct job shadows to observe at least three different people or positions in your field

• Begin a training or volunteer program, or start a part-time job in the field

JULY

• Revise your résumé to reflect your new focus; include your new training and volunteer programs as well as your professional association membership

• List 50 companies that would be likely employers in your new industry; call the companies to get the names of supervisors in the departments for which you would work

AUGUST

• Begin a job-search pattern: Send five résumés and cover letters a week to the department supervisors on your list to inquire about current or potential openings

• Follow up with a phone call after every letter; request the opportunity to meet in person

SEPTEMBER

• Continue with job-search letters and calls

• Continue with volunteer or part-time work

• Continue attending professional association meetings and networking

• Get more training as needed

OCTOBER

• Continue with job-search steps

• Revisit informational interview contacts and your mentor to get advice and leads

NOVEMBER

• Begin (or continue) interviews with potential employers; negotiate offers

DECEMBER

• Begin your new job; continue training and networking

• Send holiday greetings to all contacts from the last year, and give updates on your career

Well, that looks very nice on paper, doesn't it? And yet, if you have a skeptical nature (as I do), you realize that something could go off track and prolong the process.

To guard against a loss of momentum or other mishaps in the schedule, I recommend holding regular meetings — perhaps quarterly or bimonthly — with a career adviser, your mentor or anyone else you trust to give you honest feedback.

On the other hand, don't worry if some steps take longer than anticipated. Career change is an individual process that most people don't get to practice much.

Your best bet for finishing early is to start early. If you hurry, you can finish the list for January.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.