Article #3, Week 3, Strategies for the Career Changer, 5 Ways to Successfully Step Into a New Industry

Happy Saturday morning and welcome to week 3.

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This week’s focus is the career changer, and believe me, I think it’s a good one. It’s fair to assume that for most of us, change is difficult and can be uncomfortable. It was for me at least.

If you read our 1st article, you may remember that I made a significant career change at 31 years old. I was working in academia and seemingly happy. My last year in academia was plagued by a toxic work environment along with a boss who for a lack of a more appropriate word, was horrible. I finally realized that I needed to make a change in my life and the only way to do that was to finally identify what it was I was made to do (we’ll tackle that in a future article).

Here’s how I approached the biggest career change of my life:

1. I attempted to understand where my skills, gifting, and interests collided

I started by asking myself honest questions like, “What is it that interests me? What are my strongest skills and abilities? What would I like to try? Why don’t I like my current job anymore? What type of work would not feel like work?” Once I honestly answered those questions, I asked similar ones of my wife and mentors to see if they clearly saw what I was seeing. I realized that I had always loved recruiting, and interacting with the various recruiters brought me joy and excitement. I often found myself daydreaming about being a recruiter. I had identified a target career area.

2. I met with a trusted friend who was a professional career coach

You’ll see on LinkedIn that I am a huge advocate of getting help and support. I really don’t believe we were meant to go on these types of journeys alone. I got resume advice and perspective and some clarity on my interests. Once I felt confident with my resume and direction, I knew I was ready to get started.

3. I started to network and apply

I turned to my vast network both locally and through LinkedIn to begin expressing my interest in taking on a career pivot. I had countless informal conversations with talent leaders and recruiters about my interests. I began interviewing with several companies when March 2020 came.

4. I made small pivots while working on my long-term goals

I was nearing the final stages for a dream recruiting role with a major insurance company when Covid-19 arrived. As you probably know, hiring came to a halt in talent acquisition and I was left wondering what would happen. Instead of giving up, I changed my approach. While the industry was shut down, I decided to join a small higher education operation in the interim so I at least felt like I was moving forward. Little did I know, I was a year from my first recruiting gig.

5. I had “coffee chats” with as many people in the recruiting industry as possible

I took more calls and meetings than I even remember. At that time, I was a sponge and I was focused on building relationships with human resource and talent leaders. Even though I knew what I wanted, I also knew that I’d have to be relaxed. This proved to be an effective strategy and led to my first offer in March of 2021.

In April 2021, I successfully pivoted into the recruiting industry and haven’t looked back since. I’ve gained mentors, made countless hires, and even spent a year hiring for The Walt Disney Company.

Remember, you’re much closer to your goals than you might think. Keep focused and stay tuned for next week.

Cheers,

Mark